Preventing ICEing: Smart Parking Bollards as a Solution 

Australia’s electric vehicle adoption rate has surged with sales of new EVs tripling in the first nine months of 2023. This accelerating adoption means increased demand for EV charging infrastructure. But with that come the challenges of ICEing – when Internal Combustion Engine (I.. C.. E) ie. petrol/ diesel vehicles, and even EVs now, park in EV charging bays without actively charging.  In this blog we discuss how smart parking bollard solutions effectively and efficiently prevent ICEing and optimise EV charging availability and turnover.

This in turn enhances EV driver certainty around charging availability, range anxiety, and increases willingness to switch to an EV. It also assists property asset owners to optimise EV charging infrastructure by ensuring it’s turned over and used by EV drivers when they need it. 

Accelerating EV adoption and the need for more EV charging infrastructure

With new EV sales numbers tripling year on year from 33,410 in the 12 months of 2022, to 66,000 for just the first 9 months of 2023, and 88,000 on an annualised basis, we’re looking at a whopping 163% increase in annualised new EVs sold for 2023. Therefore it’s no surprise that we rapidly need more EV charging infrastructure to keep up with demand. And these options also need to be user friendly, sustainable and capital efficient. 

The data clearly shows the changing consumer landscape and sentiment towards EV adoption in Australia. It signals a broader acknowledgement of the importance of sustainable and eco-friendly transport options. 

The Challenge of EV Charging Infrastructure

Parking operators and asset owners recognize the importance of catering to the skyrocketing number of EVs and they are installing EV chargers for tenant and resident convenience as end-of-trip facilities.

So how can we support EV charging infrastructure to be robust, reliable and available? Providing EV charging infrastructure is the joint responsibility of both the public and private sector to keep up with demand.

How to stop ICEing

Despite positive momentum in EV adoption, ICEing impedes the accessibility of EV bays, hindering the smooth transition to electric vehicles.

As such, ICEing, along with range anxiety, is one of the major blockers to EV adoption, and it’s a very frustrating problem. So as we drive more EVs, it’s imperative that we solve the problem of ICEing for the efficient of use and optimisation of EV charging infrastructure.

ICEing: The Role of Smart Parking Solutions

Smart parking bollards, are physical barriers in parking spots and EV charging bays. They enhance the EV driver experience and combat concerns by building owners and car park operators about unauthorised parking and ICEing.

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Case Study: Wilson Parking uses thatsmyspot Smart Parking Bollards to prevent ICEing

In response to the challenge of ICEing, forward-thinking car park operators are adopting innovative solutions. Leading the charge is Wilson Parking. Recently, Wilson Parking Australia commissioned us to install automatic parking bollards in their EV charging bays at two of their Melbourne city off-street parking stations. These are at Wilson Parking 179 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne and Wilson Parking 542 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. 

Wilson Parking decided to install our remote control parking bollards in these bays to ensure that EV drivers using the Wilson Parking EV charging subscription, can access the bays to charge their EVs and to prevent other drivers using them from regular parking and ICEing the bays – either intentionally or inadvertently.

Optimising EV charging infrastructure 

Building owners and car park operators are not just meeting current needs; they are looking forward to optimise EV charging infrastructure and future-proof their assets. Prioritising enhanced EV driver experiences, including reliable EV charging, enables them to enhance driver experience, and therefore increase and optimise turnover of usage of their EV bays.

This results in higher return on investment on their EV charging infrastructure, and consequently their entire property asset. On a macro level, it also levels them up in the sustainability stakes. By installing EV chargers, and providing this service, on a macro level they are improving  cleaner, more sustainable urban living. . Building owners and car park operators, recognizing the inevitable growth of electric vehicles, are taking proactive measures to meet the evolving needs of their patrons. Future-proofing involves not only addressing the current demand for electric vehicle charging but anticipating and accommodating the expected surge in electric mobility.

Property Benefits

Automatic parking bollards provide certainty of both parking and EV charging, not just to EV drivers, but also to ICE vehicle drivers. They signal to potential tenants and residents that this building wants to optimise the driver experience by providing certainty of, and optimising the driver parking and EV charging experience. This can be a significant drawcard in an increasingly competitive property market.

The rise in EV charging demand and the innovative solutions to ICEing represent a microcosm of a larger shift towards more sustainable, efficient, and user-friendly urban environments. Forward-thinking building owners and car park operators like Wilson Parking Australia are ahead of the game in adopting smart parking solutions from ThatsMySpot. To enhance EV driver experiences and secure EV charging bays from unauthorised parking.