Adding Value to Mobile Parking Payments

In the United States, cities have adopted a model of exclusivity between themselves and mobile parking payment providers. In other words, once a city signs an agreement with a mobile parking payment provider to collect payments for on-street parking assets, they become the sole legal entity allowed to exist in that market. Typically, the battle for US market share has been fought between (3) main providers: Parkmobile, PayByPhone and Passport. While Parkmobile and PayByPhone use their own branded mobile application for various markets, Passport has differentiated itself by typically creating custom white labeled solutions for each individual city, such as “ParkChicago” for the city of Chicago, Illinois USA.

However, Atlanta, Georgia (another US city), has decided to break from the status quo, and become the first to open mobile parking payments to (5) providers, including the (3) incumbent leaders mentioned above: Parkmobile, PayByPhone, Passport, and (2) new entrants, Flowbird and SpotAngels.

While US cities have traditionally adopted a model of exclusivity, European cities have embraced a model of openness and competition. For example, in Germany, as listed on the “Smart Parking” website, there are currently (8) providers:

• Park&Joy (Deutsche Telekom)
• EasyPark
• PARK NOW
• Yellowbrick (Flowbird)
• MoBiLET
• PayByPhone
• Parkster
• PARKCO

Additionally, other EU cities, like Paris, have (4) providers:

• P Mobile (operated by the local authority)
• PayByPhone
• PARK NOW
• Flowbird

…and Lisbon has (2) providers:

• EMEL (operated by the local authority)
• Via Verde

However, Lisbon will soon see additional providers in operation due to the city opening up the market for further competition.

With the EU market currently open to competition, mobile parking payment providers have sought to differentiate themselves in their various markets via user experience, pricing models (ex. subscriptions), and additional value-added features. While some of these providers have attempted to improve the user experience with more basic features (ex. such as showing a visual map), this has no longer become satisfactory for consumers.

At Parknav, we provide the most accurate and unique parking information solutions that add value to consumers and solution providers alike. For consumers, we provide unique features, such as real-time parking availability and turn-by-turn voice guided parking navigation, enabling them to have a more pleasant, quicker and informed parking experience. For providers, we supply the most accurate up-to-date parking restriction information enabling them to properly charge consumers and provide value to the cities.

Some mobile parking payment providers have opted to try and implement some of these technologies on their own, such as on-street parking availability; however, their datasets have consisted primarily of 1 single source: data generated from parking payments themselves (via either physical payment stations or a mobile application). This is not sufficient, and more importantly, grossly inaccurate (<50%). Such inaccuracy is the result of consumers parking illegally, leaving their paid parking space early or even having a disability which exempts them from needing to pay for parking at all. Furthermore, this information is limited to only paid parking spaces, and leaves free, residential permit, EV and other types of on-street parking out of the equation.

At Parknav, we are experts in acquiring and combining various types of datasets from the automotive, mapping, telecommunication, insurance as well as many other industries while also curating our own proprietary data. These various datasets, often times unrelated to parking, along with our award-winning data science team and patented technologies, enable us to bring unprecedented accuracy to our real-time parking predictions and other parking services.

As US cities, like Atlanta, continue to open competition, and EU countries, like Germany, and cities, like Paris and Lisbon, continue to increase competition, the desire for value-added differentiation will continue…and we at Parknav have already set the standard.
These offerings include:

• Real-time on-street parking availability
• Turn-by-turn voice guided parking navigation
• Static on-street parking locations
• Off-street parking locations and information
• …and more

Want to learn more how we can differentiate you? Contact us at contact@parknav.com.

Written by Jeremy Leval