As mobile payment adoption continues to grow and eventually become the predominant transaction method for on-street parking in municipalities, the SP+ Municipal team has an opportunity to vastly improve the overall functionality of paid parking in the context of mobility systems and elevate customers’ parking experience. Mobile parking payment availability is the bridge that connects travelers’ point of departure to their ultimate destination. Available connectivity between mobile parking apps that provide digital payment capabilities, on-site parking technology, and surrounding SmartCity infrastructure, provides value not only to the end user, but to the entire transportation and mobility landscape.
On street parkers who download one or more of the leading mobile parking apps and adopt digital payment options immediately receive the benefits of payment convenience, remote meter extension options, and enhanced customer service communication. At the same time, mobile payment capabilities allow paid parking systems to reduce expenses related to revenue collection, reconciliation, and parking enforcement. Outstanding liability is also reduced as a result of less cash moving through their system. Additionally, stakeholders and citizens of municipalities experience environmental improvements as a result of reduced city street congestion.
Driving Toward an Open Parking Ecosystem
Motorists across the nation and around the world are turning to mobile apps, websites and other forms of technology to efficiently find and pay for parking. SP+ acknowledges that to continue the growth of mobile app utilization for on street parking, we need to open additional opportunities for customers to engage and transact with paid parking systems. The SP+ Municipal Division has become adept at managing and maintaining multiple vendor API integrations. This key ability positions us on the forefront of offering multiple mobile app technologies all with simultaneous and concurrent access to a singular paid parking system.
For all municipal parking programs, our transaction objectives always focus on customer convenience and mobile payment availability delivered through technology. By offering multiple mobile app payment solutions we create several beneficial scenarios by which we positively affect the program and instigate revolutionary changes in mobile parking app platform’s offerings. This competitive landscape promotes customer choice, increased accessibility, improved mobile app user experience, provider diversification, and pro-consumer rate competition.
Along with our municipal and technology partners across the country, the SP+ Municipal Service team is laying the foundation for the future of public parking programs where electronic payments will expand beyond parking app providers. No longer exclusive to just parking apps, our paid parking systems will be tasked with establishing integrations with outside transportation technologies such as mapping services, connected commercial and passenger vehicles, TNCs, and even lifestyle apps. We are building the infrastructure of partnerships and solutions to help municipalities manage these complex data communication networks through open mobility ecosystems where a city’s curb space chaos is effectively organized, managed and used to inform proactive decision making.
A Positive Impact for Atlanta GA
The City of Atlanta has been perennially listed as one of America’s top most visited cities. With over 50 million visitors annually, many travelers are coming from cities and towns that also have parking programs and utilize mobile app technology for payments. That is great because it means downtown Atlanta visitors already have mobile apps, with established accounts on their cell phones. They already understand the mobile app payment process and are comfortable paying for parking electronically. To make it easier for these users to participate with the technology they already have, the City of Atlanta’s parking program was the first in the nation to allow multiple mobile app participation on their on-street parking system. Not only has this added additional convenience for their customers but has helped to further the City’s mobile app participation objectives.
If a visitor already has an app downloaded to their phone and account set up, the likelihood of them downloading a second is small. The majority will decide to pay the on-street meter instead. However, if they see a mobile app they already have is accepted, they will use it to facilitate their transaction. Aside from providing an excellent customer experience, as noted above, the operational benefits in greater efficiency and cost savings to the program are numerous.
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