THE GREEN STANDARD

Getting Perspective on Projections for the EV Market and Industry Effects

By Rachel Yoka, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C

WE TALK A LOT ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EVs) and the state of the market. Parking operations will probably not be running the show when it comes to driving adoption and more widespread use of electric vehicles. Automakers, federal and state requirements, and code will certainly play a central role in how that unfolds for our industry.

That said, the increased adoption of EVs and the electrification of fleets will require parking, transportation, and mobility providers, both public and private, to alter operations and programs.

Survey Says

Here’s your sneak peek from the 2021 IPMI Industry Trends and Market Recovery Survey findings:

Nearly 40 percent of respondents identified “electrification and demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and technology” and “anticipating the effects of connected and autonomous vehicles” as critical trends affecting our industry. That’s not surprising, given the current focus on “pressure to recover revenue from the COVID-19 crisis (40 percent).” “Demand for parking revenue” and “pressure to generate new revenue streams” are also near the top of the list of trends and concerns (60 percent).

The industry’s shorter-term focus on revenue and recovery underlies our future success at expanding our worldview to create efficient multi-modal mobility systems, including preparing for more connected, electric, and autonomous vehicles.

Preparing for the Future

Here are a few questions for consideration as you think about how to do just that: ■ Do you intend to take a proactive or reactive approach to plan for electric vehicles (beyond the personal/commuter single-occupant vehicle)? ■ Will your focus be on charging infrastructure investment or partnering with private companies innovating in this space? ■ What are your resource constraints and competing priorities given limited resources, people power, and funding? ■ What indicators are you following and researching to make decisions about how and when to prioritize programming and infrastructure related to EVs?

If you have these answers, I’ll be waiting by my laptop and phone! Our committees and task forces are activity engaging in research on these topics to provide a comprehensive perspective. Our volunteers provide some terrific resources for further reading.

Resources

We’ve shared a snapshot of a few of them here with a bit of insight from each: ■ For a global market summary: Electric vehicle trends.

Per Deloitte, “The sales of battery electric and plugin hybrid electric cars tipped over the two-millionvehicle mark for the first time in 2019. …Take a new approach to market segmentation and exemplify how to seize opportunities and manage risks.”

This digital report is a great place to start to get a high-level overview by industry. The report identifies four considerations that will factor in global adoption: consumer sentiment, policy and regulation,

OEM strategy and the role of corporate companies.

■ Global and regional indicators: McKinsey Electric Vehicle

Index: Electric Vehicle Trends | McKinsey McKinsey’s analysis of global electric-vehicle markets addresses both challenges and opportunities. It’s proprietary Electric Vehicle Index (EVI) investigates 15 countries and shares global insights on regional differences, market share, and supply-chains. ■ For a U.S. perspective on timelines and phases : Electric

Cars Are Coming. How Long Until They Rule the Road? This

March 2021 graphic report from the New York Times explains how the timeline looks with a transition to more EVs while accommodating the current vehicles on the road, and the need to manage both over the next decades. ■ More on fleets and electrification: Integrating Electric Vehicle

Charging Infrastructure into Commercial Buildings and Mixed-

Use Communities: Design, Modeling, and Control Optimization

Opportunities: Preprint (nrel.gov). This NREL report dives into electrification of fleets and proposed code requirements. ■ IPMI’s summer Mobility & Innovation Summit on June 2930 will dive into this discussion as well during the session

Pushing the Envelope on Electric Vehicles: Planning,

Design, and Operational Impacts—be sure to attend to join in the live discussion and presentation on readying your operations for EVs.

What are you reading to gain a better perspective? Feel free to pass it on! ◆

RACHEL YOKA, CAPP, LEED AP BD+C, is IPMI’s vice president of program development. She can be reached at yoka@parking-mobility.org.

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Using Technology to Enhance Safety at Airport Parking Lots

By Ron Rich

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES HAVE CHANGED THE WAY we order coffee and pick up groceries. With just a few quick taps on our smartphones, our orders are available and ready for pickup in seconds, just the way we like them. These everyday activities have become more efficient because of the investments businesses are making in technology.

These same digital improvements are now becoming the norm for airport parking. Operators and suppliers have made many advancements in infrastructure and processes to enhance our customers’ visits while creating a safer parking experience. The physical safety of customers and their vehicles has always been of the upmost importances, but customers’ own health and wellness have shifted to the forefront of their decisions.

Embracing a Touchless Experience

Gone are the days of having to keep track of paper reservations. Mobile applications have transformed the way customers store their travel information—from hotel reservations to yes, airport parking reservations. This was on its way before COVID and has greatly accelerated as a result of the pandemic.

If your organization has not yet invested in a mobile application for your loyal customers, it may be the time. Mobile application users are specifically benefiting the most from technology. Smartphone pay is available so customers don’t need to see a cashier to check out and can have a safe touchless experience. Additionally, some apps offer a digital locator feature so customers can store their vehicle’s parking space number inside the app rather than referencing a physical card as they did in the past.

To create a truly touchless experience, QR codes (short for “quick response”) have been engaged to fully automate multiple touchpoints. This improvement has increased lot security, as it eliminates the possibility of customers losing paper tickets or mixing up paper tickets with other customers. Moreover, it increased customer safety, as customers can now enter and exit lots without needing to touch a button to print a ticket.

Whether or not your company has invested in a mobile app, implementing QR codes is a quick and simple technological update you can leverage now. QR codes can simplify processes and help customers avoid physical interactions to reduce any health exposure.

Safety and Health

The Coronavirus pandemic encouraged the airport parking industry (among so many other industries) to enhance health and hygiene measures. Many operators invested heavily in sanitation stations and PPE for staff and customers in an effort to do their part to combat the pandemic while maintaining a pleasant and safe environment.

Along with other industry sectors, airport parking operators also introduced touchless check-in and checkout experiences. If your organization is considering revamping its technology capabilities, a telltale sign that it may be time to make changes is when workarounds or dead ends are being hit, or when you are making sacrifices on business developments due to your current systems. With technology constantly evolving, it should never restrict your company’s goals—it should empower them!

Seek Customer Feedback

If your organization is looking for the best ways to invest in technology to enhance your customers’ experiences, begin with listening to what your parkers have to say. Regular surveys can be key to knowing what they’re thinking. Tying surveys to individual transactions can help you understand employee and technology interactions, variables that affected an experience, and even the weather when a customer checked in and out. This helps process whether a guest’s comments, positive or constructive, were something unique to a specific location or moment, or an opportunity for improvement.

Regularly asking customers for feedback is an easy way for your organization to identify where to incorporate new technology. Customers will tell you exactly what they’re looking for. As an example, we found customers were experiencing sun glare on self-service kiosks. By isolating the surveys that provided this feedback, we could pinpoint the exact time of day the sun glare became a problem and implement preventative measures to block the glare during these hours.

Avoid Hurdles

The phrase “crawl, walk, run” especially rings true when introducing new technology customers will use. When your business decides to incorporate ground-breaking technology, you don’t want that overshadowed with a poor implementation execution. Communicate any experience updates with your customers early and often, providing plenty of time for everyone to adjust to changes.

Technology enables the customer experience but educating and communicating with customers is even more important. Any automation and technology developments should always keep customer experience at the forefront, with a constant focus on improvements. ◆

RON RICH is chief information officer at The Parking Spot. He can be reached at rrich@ theparkingspot.com.

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