December 12, 2016
It has been great to attend the ITS World Congress (Speaker), PACE and Transport Camp over the last 2 months. Here are the 5 top points that our team took out of the 3 conferences.
1. Congestion Levies on Parking Don’t Work
The congestion levy aimed at Car Park Property Owners is not working to reduce traffic congestion. It may seem obvious the Parking Australia Conference (PACE) delegates would come to this conclusion however what was surprising is that Professors, Politicians and Town Planners across these conferences were all of the same opinion. The consensus was that we should be looking at solutions similar to London and Singapore that actually have an impact on congestion and are not just a revenue raising exercise for State Governments.
2. Parking Creates Mobility
There was a lot of talk that parking will be lost when autonomous cars are the norm however we just don’t subscribe to the view that these vehicles will circle around our roads waiting for someone to request a ride. It is clear that parking is not dead just yet.
Parking as a service is an important fit that is missing in current MaaS solutions. Anytime a car is used parking remains a necessary part of the solution including car sharing schemes. Parking is an important part of the first and last mile of any journey and this will continue into the foreseeable future.
3. Autonomous cars won’t mean less congestion
There is no doubt that autonomous cars are going to be a part of our future, however, what is less clear is the impact they will have on traffic congestion. Won’t the impact of vehicles in search of a passenger, commuting between pickups or returning to a designated base add more congestion to our roads? Traditional car parks will need to adjust to this disruptive technology however we still believe they will have a part to play as recharging, service stations and yes parking.
4. Residential car parks sit idle
On average three in every 10 apartment building car parks are vacant. The cost associated with building a parking space and the price the owners of the apartments are paying for a car parks attached to their apartment shows how this is a poor use of these areas. It was refreshing to hear Town Planners talk about how they would like to reduce the amount of car parks that are approved with new buildings however there seems to be a few road blocks in current local government legislation.
5. Mobility as a Service is here to stay
Gone are the days where most commuters simply drive into work. Today, it is not uncommon for an individual to drive from home to the station, catch a train into the city, then hop on a tram, then walk the rest of the journey to the office.
In Melbourne we are seeing that the introduction of Uber and the free tram zone has affected how people travel to the city. Commuters are driving to cheaper or even free parking locations and using the free tram or Uber to get them to their final destination.
We are excited as UbiPark is positioned to help car park owners move into the new world of mobility as a service. Parking consumers are demanding a seamless mobile solution for parking. That’s what we provide at UbiPark.
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