/ MOBILITY & TECH
Mobility, Electrification, & Parking: Do They Go Together?
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By Sylvia Rio Martinez-Mullally, MPA
HE AMBITIOUS GOALS ARE SET. We’re in a race to create sustainable, energy-efficient, and low-carbon
technologies in mobility. We also need to provide safe, convenient modes of transportation options without adding to traffic congestion, pollution, or hassle. Furthermore, the national electrification goal is by 2030, hybrid or electrified vehicles should represent 51 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales. Got it? Those targets are only a few years away. As the space gets more crowded, what are the trends and, most importantly, how does this affect parking? How Soon is Now? The Infrastructure Bill was signed into law in November. This bipartisan bill amounts to $1.2 trillion or $550 billion over five years of new federal investments in U.S. infrastructure. This gives funding to states, cities, airports, and authorities for projects ranging from bridges and roads to investments in the efficient transport of goods and services. Or, as we say, curb management. As funding may now be available, we have an opportunity to test and/or adapt these into our programs. New technologies will affect our on and off-street operations, infrastructure, and our policies. We may be managing future projects related to connected infrastructure, shared data, and perhaps curb parking subscriptions. In the past, a vehicle’s true value was its hardware and a parking
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space was valued from the revenue it generated minus the cost per space. With the electrification of mobility, those values may change. Both may now be considered platforms providing services, goods, and access to information for multiple users.
Last Mile-Delivery Robots Some delivery companies have semi-automatic bots (robots) in their fleets that can be remotely operated to deliver goods or items to customers at short distances. Although there are different types of bot models, it’s essentially an eco-friendly lastmile solution using non-humans for urban deliveries. This could pave the way as an alternative to vehicle curb management on streets. Instead of reconfiguring lanes and/ or losing revenue by eliminating spaces, delivery bots are configured to roll on sidewalks. This could reduce the number of delivery drivers looking for places to unload, idle, and take up valuable space at the curb. These mobile units are composed of hightech sensors that can gather information on their surroundings and detect traffic lights to safely and efficiently complete their deliveries on time. Although it may be too early to determine if you’ll be seeing bots in your city or university, as long as delivery services remain a mainstay, last-mile innovative ideas like this will continually evolve.
PARKING & MOBILITY / FEBRUARY 2022 / PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG
Mobility Wallets Transit, shared mobility and multi-modal structures that include scooters, e-bikes along with parking charges are challenged by the fragmentation of systems. Coordinating payments in virtual wallets may advance ridership and adoption rates with a seamless user experience that is now expected. With one central wallet, managers will also have access to mobility behavior patterns. Using data is critical when matching people to the right mobility options.
Mobility Incentives for Employees To help promote advanced MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) and MOD (mobility on-demand), some states advocate for an employer’s exemption in providing commuter benefits to employees. Allowable benefits include commuter highway transportation, transit, qualified parking, and biking commuting programs. Adding multi-modal programs and newer services such as MaaS or newer mobility concepts may help incentivize more employees into using alternative modes of transportation to work.
Vehicle Electrification The electrification of vehicles, especially in heavy-duty fleets, is expected to improve air quality, decrease CO2 pollution, and boost economic sustainability. However, that also
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