IN SHORT

Highlights from the IPMI Blog

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ROPEd Into the Future

By Kirk McManus

The future of parking is already here. The next generation of parkers and parking entities will involve flying airships, driverless automobiles, a phone app, a web browser, and a car charger. Lift Aircraft already has an FAA-approved, single seat flying airship. A person with a backpack or purse can fly themselves to their next destination. The airship has no doors or windows and maybe not a heater or air conditioner, but when the model T first originated it didn’t have air conditioning, GPS, a radio or heated seats. It only takes an hour of training to begin flying back and forth to work. Eventually flying airships will have the same safety and comfort features as the modern automobile.

The arrival of airships completely changes the parking paradigm. Parking garages and parking lots will have to be redesigned or renovated to make room for flying airships. Airships driverless vehicles and vehicles will use the same parking spaces.

Typically when an entry lane or exit lane of a parking garage or parking lot and the gate arm won’t raise, the driver presses an intercom button or a screen to get assistance. But what happens in a driverless car when there is no driver to press a button for help? What happens when the driverless car is disabled in the entry or exit lane?

A driverless car simply returns to its point of origin or parks elsewhere, most likely in a free parking stall. (Return to Origin or Park Elsewhere—ROPE). This frees up more parking spaces for more vehicles in payment stalls and fills up free parking stalls faster. It also reduces revenue to the parking provider since the driverless car doesn’t pay to park.

An airship can’t be booted and may require a larger tow truck or towing airship The airship must be chained and locked to the ground or other surface object to prevent takeoff.

The technology in a driverless car must be able to detect a gate arm when entering or exiting a parking garage or lot. Whatever frequencies a driverless vehicle or airship uses to navigate must not interfere with the frequencies used in raising gate arms or counting parking

stalls. A driverless car can’t insert a credit card or debit card to pay on exit, print out a ticket upon entry, and pull a receipt at an exit lane either. A flying airship can’t easily stop at an entry lane to pull a ticket, print a bar code ticket or insert a credit or debit card to enter or exit a parking area. Accommodations must be made so that flying airships can take off and land. Flying airships, driverless vehicles and standard vehicles will all be in the mix, making parking a challenge and with many opportunities for growth! The future is here. We can start now to prepare by installing conduits and infrastructure and electric services for future growth. Installing airport lighting on top light poles, parking garages and our facilities so the infrastructure is there before the flying airship arrives. Conduit can be installed underground to make room for future expansion. Parking garages will need higher ceiling heights and larger entrances and exits to allow for airships to enter and exit. A decision may need to be made as to how old a passenger can be in a driverless vehicle in case the driverless vehicle becomes inoperative or in an accident. Typically, technology evolves faster than safety policy, or public policy. What a great time it is to be in parking. As we look to the future we’ll need more technology experts, GIS experts, and happy faces at the customer service counter to keep our customers happy! KIRK MCMANUS is a parking and transit service repair technician at the University of Nebraska.

What Is the Long-Term Impact Of Covid on the Parking Industry?

By Jeff Perkins

The pandemic has not only changed the world forever but has also had a significant impact on the parking industry. In 2020, the volume of parking significantly decreased, and many of the underlying consumer behaviors related to parking transformed. Now, as parking comes back and surpasses the pre-COVID levels, the big question is: what’s has really changed?

The insights from the past 20 months give us some ideas about what we can expect in the future. Here are a few observations: ● People are gravitating to their personal vehicles versus public transportation, putting further strain on city congestion and parking.

Only time will tell if people go back to using public transit, but for now, the personal vehicle is clearly the preferred method of transportation. ● Office buildings that used to be full five days a week now see fewer employees as companies offer much more flexibility. This has led to commercial properties rethinking how parking is allocated as companies are less willing to pay for unused spots. ● Universities are offering much more flexibility for parking. Rather than forcing students to buy a permit for a semester, many schools are introducing a “daily decision” option, giving students the option to pay as they go.

As some of these trends continue to evolve, the parking industry will need to take a closer look at policies and technologies to ensure they are keeping up with the changes in consumer behavior. The reality is, what worked in 2019 just might not work in 2022 and beyond.

JEFF PERKINS is CEO of ParkMobile.

Focus on Your Employees

By Shawn Conrad, CAE

We’ve all seen the reports around the tight labor market and rightfully so. Hospitality, construction, retail, and manufacturing industries like parking and mobility are grappling with a shortage of workers as our businesses and economy inch forward.

While the search for new employees is getting a lot of attention, it’s important to check-in on our current staff members to see how they are coping with today’s stresses.

In a number of human resources-focused reports on the status of employees’ mental health during the pandemic, it comes as no surprise that our employees are dealing with an extra heaping of worries that stem from COVID, its variants, the stress of children being home and schooled virtually, work budgets being cut or reduced, and a plethora of work or personal issues. With all this happening at once, take some time to see how your team members are coping. While the issues people deal with can be complex, there are a few things supervisors can do to decrease an employee’s stress and anxieties: ● Be transparent with your information–surprises amplify anxieties. ● Be flexible, if possible, with work hours to help parents work around their children’s virtual schooling. ● Plan work projects in advance and prioritize them so co-workers can meet expectations and timetables. ● Ask your employees how they are doing–and really listen to their response. ● Acknowledge what people are doing and let them know you appreciate them.

Most important, be sure to focus on your well-being. As the airline industries have cemented in our brains, put your oxygen mask on first before trying to help others.

There are going to be challenges ahead of us, but if we look after each other and take care of our physical and mental well-being, we will be able to tackle these challenges and seize the opportunities coming our way as well.

SHAWN CONRAD, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.