The Role of Data in Urban Mobility and Parking

Why do we need to think about parking data in Australia?  How important is parking data in cities in Australia?  How much smarter does the data make us or what does it help us do?

The answer is data about vehicles, population, mobility and in our case, parking, is very important in our cities. To help shape city liveability, population growth, ease of transport, accessibility, economic growth, and incredibly importantly, sustainability.

Here are some recent numbers related to how many cars we are parking in Australian cities:

🚗 21 Million – registered vehicles in Australia in Jan 2023, comprised of 🚙 15.33 million – registered passenger vehicles (cars) 🛻 3.95 million – light commercial vehicles. 💨 With projected car emissions expected to decrease from 🌱 43 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2030 to 38 million in 2035.

Source: Statistica March 2024

Smart Cities Collect Transport and Parking Data

Smart parking data provides critical insights into:

• how people and vehicles move around cities, 
• where congestion points occur, and 
• how we can better manage parking spaces to optimize their use.

With the influx of incredible new smart technologies, there are a myriad of ways that we can collect transport and parking data. These include:

• Parking Sensors: Deployed on streets or in parking lots, smart parking sensors can detect whether a parking spot is occupied or vacant.
• CCTV and cameras: CCTV and Cameras capture real-time vehicle movement, entry/exit times, and parking duration.
• Parking apps and mobile parking services: These tools are focused on the driver and how and where they behave. They allow drivers to find and reserve parking spots with ease and convenience. And at the same time, parking asset owners and parking operators enjoy the benefit of real-time data on driver and user behaviour at different time periods, including peak demand.
• Smart parking meters: These are a favourite for on-street parking, especially for local Councils. Local government uses smart parking meters to more efficiently enable payment for on-street parking. It takes friction out for residents, and enables cashless payment, which also reduces collection costs. Smart parking meters also provide insights into payment behaviours, duration of stay, and the overall usage of parking spaces.
• Connected mobility: This one is incredibly powerful. With the advent of connected mobility in our cars are constant data collection points. The volume of data points is enormous and with in vehicle cameras as well, companies like Tesla are garnering enormous amounts of data about the journey and the surrounds at all times. 
• EV charging data: This helps operators understand the demand and usage of electric vehicle charging stations, and the best place to install chargers to meet demand as optimally as possible.

When you aggregate and analyse these data points, you have a real-world scenario, which you can use for both historical analysis, and also with the right algorithms, predictive analysis as well. This level of data is incredibly useful for policy making decisions for local councils and smart cities. And it’s this type of driving and parking data and behaviour that we can feed back into policy and implementation to optimise smart city resources.

How Smart Cities Use Transport and Parking Data

With a data pool – or what’s more commonly known as a “data lake” – the smarts is to learn how to analyse and leverage it. As a smart city, or a local smart council, this is something you need to do optimally. Once you capture the data, the key learning is how to slice and dice it, to leverage it to make informed policy decisions around parking and transport.  As a smart city or local council, this data allows urban planners and policymakers to optimise parking, road and transport resources, ensure sustainable practices, and drive economic growth.  And most importantly to make our cities more liveable, smarter and more sustainable.

What are some of the most common ways you can use smart parking and transport data in smart cities?

• Traffic flow optimisation: As a smart city or local council you can use real-time transport and parking data to help control congestion. For example you can direct the pattern and timing of traffic lights to streamline traffic. Or offer alternative routes so as to disperse those high traffic areas at peak times. For parking, by eliminating on-street parking during peak periods, this frees up additional lanes for traffic flow.
• Dynamic pricing for parking: By adjusting parking tarriffs based on demand, as a smart city or local council, you can balance parking space use throughout the day, according to peak and off-peak times. Again, higher parking rates discourage drivers to park there, which may be intentional so as to minimise the impact of “cruising”, which is when cars slow down just looking for parking.
• Reducing carbon emissions: With all types of smart sensors and smart meters, from air quality to water and sound, and even smart parking meters, smart cities can improve environmental impact. Motor vehicles and traffic are one of the highest categories of carbon emissions, so if you manage parking and traffic more efficiently it has an enormous positive impact on carbon emissions.  
• Digital twinning: plays a key role in this optimisation. Real-time digital replicas of parking infrastructure help simulate and manage energy use, occupancy rates, and urban sustainability. As a smart city you can use these models to improve asset efficiency, aiding in achieving carbon emission reduction targets.

On-Street vs. Off-Street Parking Data: A Key Distinction

One challenge in data collection arises from the difference between on-street and off-street parking environments. In on-street parking, mobile connectivity is generally available, enabling seamless data transmission in real-time. Off-street parking, like underground garages, presents challenges due to unreliable Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity.

Without real-time data from underground parking, operators may face challenges in optimizing space allocation, resulting in inefficient asset management. This lack of data flow can also hinder the real-time management of EV charging stations.

How do you capture Parking Data Underground?

Capturing real-time data in off-street parking is challenging due to:

• Limited connectivity: When you’re in off-street parking basements which are generally underground, these environments often lack connectivity. Whether it’s Wi-Fi or mobile network signals. 
• No real-time data:  Without connectivity, it’s impossible to get real-time data. This means that drivers and parking operators cannot see or monitor usage or availability in real time. This has a massive impact on driver experience and the ability to optimise your parking assets in a timely manner. 
• Impact on customer experience: If the available data is delayed and not in real time, then drivers will not have confidence in finding a guaranteed parking spot,. And this leads to reduced driver and customer satisfaction.

All these factors pose a significant barrier to providing seamless parking experiences and real-time data insights to asset owners. However, innovative parking technology offers solutions to these challenges.

Solutions for Off-Street Parking Data Collection

To tackle limited connectivity in off-street parking, parking operators and asset owners should adopt smart parking technologies. One example of such technologies are Smart parking bollards. These are activated via Bluetooth, enabling real-time visibility of parking spot availability even in underground areas. These smartphone-operated parking bollards allow operators to guarantee reserved parking spots and improve the overall customer experience. 

Smart Parking Bollards for smart cities

At thatsmyspot, we offer a range of smartphone parking bollards or bluetooth parking bollards which work on smart apps. These solutions enable drivers to reserve parking spots and capture real-time data from underground parking facilities. We utilize this data to inform asset owners and operators about space availability, optimizing space utilization and enhancing customer service. Parking Spotz allows operators to guarantee a reserved parking spot for their customers, even in the most challenging environments.

Improving City Liveability Through Technology

If you’re a smart city striving for urban sustainability, embracing smart parking technology and data-driven solutions is crucial. By doing so, you can:

• Reduce carbon emissions: By optimizing your parking, you’ll have less “cruising” – less cars circling endlessly looking for a parking spot – and this immediately reduces congestion and pollution.
• Enhance city mobility: With clean, real-time and relevant parking data, as a smart city you can improve the coordination of multi-modal transport options. And while this includes parking, it also iincorporates public transport, cycling, and ride-sharing services among others.
• Increase city efficiency: With real-time data at your fingertips, you can better manage traffic and resources in your smart city. This ensures smoother commutes and improved city liveability.
• Support the sharing economy: By using hygeinic and sanitised data to optimize the allocation of parking spaces, as a smart city you can promote a more efficient use of urban resources.

Future-Ready Parking Technology

With technology and AI moving at the exponentially rapid rate it is, smart parking solutions are only at their beginnings. They will continue to evolve and respond to customer demands more efficiently and effectively.  Robots and robotic systems already automate parking tasks, but this will only amplify going forward. And when you think outside the box to collaboratively integrate more and more possible functions, parking space optimisation skyrockets!  These integrations are essential to make our cities smarter and more sustainable. And these smart parking solutions have a significant role to play in improving the lives of our city residents.

To deliver the best data sets, it’s also critical for hardware sensors and software solutions to collaborate. Providing seamless, real-time visibility and transparency for drivers and smart cities, among the myriad of other stakeholders.  This collaboration enhances customer experience, boosts asset owners’ profitability, and improves the sustainability and efficiency of parking spaces.

The Parking Spotz Solution: Optimizing Data for Stakeholders

The Parking Spotz solution provides extensive data collection and analytics, benefiting parking operators, city planners, and other stakeholders. By leveraging bluetooth parking bollards and smartphone integration, Parking Spotz provides real-time data on parking availability, user behavior, and occupancy trends. This data enables operators to:

• Optimize parking asset utilization: Real-time data informs parking operators about space occupancy, allowing for dynamic pricing and better space allocation, leading to improved efficiency.
• Streamline EV charging management: The platform provides insights into EV charging station usage, helping operators to track demand patterns, manage downtime, and ensure maximum station utilization.
• Enhance the driver experience: Drivers benefit from guaranteed reserved parking spots, seamless entry and exit, and real-time updates on parking availability through the smartphone app. This significantly reduces the time spent searching for parking, improving both convenience and reducing emissions.

Parking Spotz provides city planners and mobility experts with key data on parking trends, traffic flow, and EV charging demand. This data aids in policy formation, ensuring sustainability and optimizing urban resources for future infrastructure planning.

By integrating smart parking technology and real-time data, Parking Spotz revolutionizes city parking management, energy efficiency, and urban sustainability. The solution enables operators and cities to use parking technology for data-driven decisions, improving efficiency and customer experience.

Smart parking technology is essential for cities to enhance sustainability, cut carbon emissions, and improve residents’ living conditions. Investing in Bluetooth parking bollards and real-time data helps operators efficiently manage parking assets in challenging environments.

At Parking Spotz, we provide cutting-edge solutions to ensure that both parking operators and customers benefit from real-time visibility. All while contributing to the future of smart cities and urban mobility.