Commuting in our new normal – What does it look like?

Indoor parking station

The massive challenge for transport mobility as we all return to our “new normal” is managing commuter services while simultaneously ensuring safe and hygienic physical distancing and crowds not building up to unsafe levels. Particularly on public transport.

So what does that look like for commuters? For our Australian public transport system? And, for those commuters who opt to use their own cars as their primary mode of transport?

In order for commuters on public transport to be able to observe safe 1.5 metre physical distancing rules, capacity will be drastically lowered. It is estimated Sydney buses will be running at just 14% capacity, and Sydney trains on a mere 24% of capacity during peak hour. Source

Will people now feel the only safe way to travel is to get back in their cars? Driving to work, and driving their children to school?

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Consultancy firm, WSP Australia, warns that commuters could permanently “switch” from public transport to their cars if they don’t feel safe on the city’s trains, trams, or buses. Source

If this is the case, is it inevitable we will return to significant traffic congestion on our roads? On Monday May 25th May students return to school full-time in New South Wales. How will we avoid “Carmageddon”, during peak school-travel times, with business and school traffic more challenging than the traffic congestion prior to what we have been experiencing? Source

Social distancing on public transport
Social distancing on public transport

Collectively as private citizens, employers, and governments we need to adapt our transport mobility and mindset so flexible alternatives and solutions span across the private and public transport sectors.

Positive and innovative measures for traffic congestion already underway include:

·     Businesses encouraging a gradual return to work for their employees

·     Staggered start/finish times with flexible working hours to avoid “peak hour” congestion

·     Workers adapting and modifying their individual commuting habits

·     School students having priority on public transport for key school travel times

·     Local governments creating additional cycle lanes and pedestrian walkways, even if only temporarily

·     Parking stations removing time restrictions for early-bird and online bookings, so as to accommodate their customers’ new flexible working hours

·     The NSW state government increasing car parking in metro Sydney to encourage people to stay away from trains and buses. On 18 May 2020 the NSW State government announced that temporary free car parking will be set up at Moore Park, and ten kilometres of temporary pop-up cycleways will be rolled out across metropolitan areas. Free shuttle buses and/or light rail services will then be offered for travel into the city. Source

Smart parking on phone in hand

In the private sector, many parking operators have responded to their customers’ key concerns of hygiene, safety, and cleanliness by upgrading their systems to contactless solutions. From seamless online pre-booking your allocated parking spot to cashless transactions and processing at payment terminals – all without the need to touch a ticket, meter, button, or any hardware.

thatsmyspot.com.au smartphone parking bollards support this new need for safety and assist in potential traffic gridlock, enabling commuters to safely pull into their own parking bays, designated with their own smartphone parking bollard. They simply use the app on their phone to enter and exit their parking bays. Contactless and touch-free.

An additional upside is that when not needing this allocated parking spot, the owner of the parking space can share their parking spot with other pre-authorized users. This facilitates a sharing economy on a completely contactless basis. Safe and hygienic, re-thinking and adapting our use and allocation of available parking resources.

TMS-APL4-smartphone-parking-bollard-with-auto-sensor
TMS-APL4-smartphone-parking-bollard-with-auto-sensor

thatsmyspot.com.au is a proudly-owned 100% Australian family business. We are based in Sydney and deliver Australia-wide. We are committed to helping businesses and individuals to stay safe in this “new world” simultaneously vastly improving one’s parking experience and solving parking “pain-points”. 

We offer a range of smartphone, remote-control, and manual parking bollards and parking locks to protect and enhance your parking experience.

Visit: www.thatsMYspot.com.au or Phone: 1300 644 533

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