Mass Transit - 38

BEST PRACTICES

Transforming the curb -
one data point at a time
By Roamy Valera
CEO, PayByPhone

VANCOUVER, B.C. * British comedian
Tommy Cooper once quipped, "You
know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a
little note on the windscreen, it said,
'Parking Fine.'"
It brought me back to the start of my
career as a parking enforcement agent in
Miami. Of course, drivers rarely joked
when I issued parking citations because
their coin-fed meters had run out.
Today's parking landscape is more
complex than it was three decades ago
because of the increasing modes of
available transportation. At the same
time, technological advancements that
include mobile payment apps have
made using the curb a more frictionless
experience for motorists and municipalities alike.
By adopting mobile parking apps,
for instance, smart communities have
untethered motorists from constant
trips to the parking meter by offering
the ability to check and extend parking
time - all through a mobile app. Plus,
these same cities have benefited from
the data collected from mobile payments
apps, which can help better manage the
complexities of the curb.
So, to make strides toward transforming a municipality's curbside management, use data gleaned from mobile apps
to improve usage patterns and match in-

frastructure and traffic processes to the
needs of the community, while simultaneously educating constituents on the
benefits emerging technology provides
for mobility.
Data delivers usage insight

In the past, data consisted of how much
money was collected from a meter. Today,
mobile payment apps provide cities with
information to help them better manage
the curb: how much people pay to park,
their method of payment - whether mobile app or credit card- length of stay,
which areas fill up quickly and which
are underused, to name a few.
This data helps municipalities better understand parking utilization and
demand to better manage parking infrastructure - and particularly curbside
management, which is increasingly important as more pedestrians, cyclists,
motorists and transportation purveyors
share the curb. Add that to varying zone
requirements and drop-off and pick-up
areas, and managing the curb becomes
an increasingly complex puzzle.
When parking, transportation and
mobility managers have access to this
substantial amount of data, they can
better evaluate the information and
make data-driven decisions to manage
all aspects of the curb.
Education is necessary for adoption

While data is a must when tackling the
different pieces of the curbside management puzzle, to fully master the curbside,
cities must also educate consumers on
the benefits of adopting new technology
and show them how to use it. Seattle, for
example, introduced a successful stakeholder engagement campaign that intro-

duced consumers to a modern, easier way
to pay for their parking.
Transportation department employees covered a car in sticky-backed
pay-and-display receipts motorists were
accustomed to receiving from the city's
parking kiosks. They were prompted
to remove a sticky note, which gave directions on how to download and use a
mobile parking app to receive a parking
discount. The campaign generated buzz
while giving users a reason - a discount
- to try the app.

Plus, these same
cities have benefited
from the data
collected from
mobile payments
apps, which can
help better manage
the complexities of
the curb.
Technology can dramatically change
the curbside management landscape, but
only if it's widely accepted by motorists.
And with new apps and technologies
popping up seemingly overnight, there
can be challenges in achieving widespread adoption from constituents. By
educating consumers and providing strategic marketing initiatives, transportation leaders can encourage technology
adoption to provide a smarter, more
streamlined mobility landscape for both
motorists and the cities they inhabit.
Give parking fine a new meaning

Coming in the September/October issue:
Best Practices for TNC Integration
Have you experienced success with the integration of TNC services into
your network and want to share your story? Please contact Executive
Editor Mischa Wanek-Libman, mwanek@masstransitmag.com.

38 |

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JULY/AUGUST 2019

As mobile payments become more prevalent, cities around the globe can use data
from adopting these apps to improve
management of the curb while educating consumers on the benefits mobile
payments provide.
Doing so will help ensure that when
people talk about "parking fine," they
truly mean that the parking in your
municipality is indeed, fine.

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