5 key mobility and parking trends for 2020
There you have it. It’s 2020. A new year, a new decade even. The last few years, we’ve seen a lot of developments within the industries of parking and mobility. They are changing rapidly, due to technological developments, demand for sustainability and the need for more flexibility. To keep you updated, we’ve drafted a list of 5 not to miss trends in the mobility and parking industries.
Trend #1: MaaS keeps increasing in size
The majority of large cities are currently facing a mobility challenge. Cities are getting busier and busier, and simultaneously cities strive to reduce CO-2 emissions. But when people can’t reach their destination, how can a city deliver on mobility standards? From this matter, the concept of ‘Mobility-as-a-Service’ (MaaS) derived.
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) describes the shift away from personally-owned modes of transportation and towards mobility provided as a service, paid for with a single account. The key concept behind MaaS is to offer travellers mobility solutions based on their travel needs.
In the Netherlands, one of the first full-service MaaS solutions is planned to launch in May 2020. AMAZE, as it is called, is a collaboration between the municipality of Amsterdam, the Zuidas district and the businesses Amber, Radiuz and Over Morgen. Together, they will offer an app that enables users to plan, book and pay for their journey in one place. AMAZE offers public transport and shared mobility (such as bikes and cars) and therefore results in optimal travel advice for each given moment. It’s a clear example of how we can expect a lot more MaaS solutions to appear in the years to come.
Trend #2: The importance of mobility hubs for the first and last mile
Within cities itself, people already see alternatives to using fossil-fuelled cars. But for visitors and commuters from outside the city centre, bikes and public transport can’t cover their entire journey. While long-distance travellers still rely heavily on cars, the first and last mile can easily become more sustainable thanks to new micro-mobility solutions, such as shared (e)bikes and (e)scooters. In the United States, these micro-mobility vehicles already account for 60% of all trips.
To achieve a more sustainable first and last mile, and to keep cars out of the city centre, mobility hubs are increasingly important. Mobility Hubs are spaces of connectivity where different forms of travel seamlessly converge. They provide an integrated suite of mobility services, such as an opportunity to park cars, charge electric vehicles and to hop on to other means of transport. Several major cities report on the use of mobility hubs, such as Bremen (Germany), San Diego and San Francisco. At ParkBee, we’ve also realised several of these mobility hubs, for example in The Hague. We do this together with our partner Hely. We are planning to launch more of them over the coming years, and expect other initiatives to do the same.
Trend #3: Smart parking
A trend that’s closely connected to MaaS, is smart parking. This service is enabled thanks to the ‘Internet of Things’. This is the process in which everyday devices are connected via the internet, respond to each other and work together. When you use these connected devices within a parking garage, you can enable the concept of ‘smart parking’. It can, for example, help you determine whether there are vacant spaces in a garage. In return, users of digital parking apps can check whether there are spaces available.
This information transparency will lead to better user experience, but also to a more sustainable journey. When visitors look for their parking garage in advance, their search kilometres will decrease. Proof of this is found in a recent study by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). After they implemented their smart technology within several parking garages, they discovered that there was a 43% decrease in the average time it took a driver to find a parking spot, and a 30% reduction in the distance travelled while looking for parking space.
At ParkBee, we can support this statement. In 2019, we saved 788.345 km of search traffic, simply by offering more parking locations upfront. Evidence suggests that pre-booking parking spots and real-time availability via digital channels lowers the need for on-street parking spots in a particular area, by enabling other spaces that can be occupied instead. In relation to the mobility and urban challenges cities are facing nowadays, we can expect a lot more IoT-applications within parking garages.
Trend #4: We will see more EVs
The technology needed to drive electric vehicles (EVs) is improving. Driving ranges are increasing, and the batteries responsible for this are getting better and better. According to a publication by Statista, the global EV market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22,3% in the next six years.
By 2025, Europe is expected to sell roughly 6.4 million EVs per year. Norway is in the lead as the world’s largest EV ownership per capita. Of their total car use, already 21,5% is an EV. The Netherlands is the third runner-up in Europe, where 13,9% of all new-sold cars is an EV. Aside from that, the city of Amsterdam intends to eliminate all fossil-fuelled cars from the city’s streets by 2030. This will have a significant impact on the streets and the type of cars we will see here. Since EVs are considered emission-free, we will probably see a lot more of these cars shortly.
This trend also influences parking locations, since electric vehicles require charging, and while the current EV penetration rate is still relatively low, most car manufacturers are planning to push EV ahead. For parking locations to remain attractive, current owners should already investigate new means of parking and charging. At ParkBee, we discovered that 8,5% of our drive an EV, in contrast to 4,69% in general. As a result, the demand for more charging facilities increases. That’s why we incorporated EV in our sustainability strategy, to make our product ready for an electric fuelled future.
Trend #5: Mobile Payments
Currently, there are 2.7 billion smartphone users worldwide, and the number of smartphone use is still increasing. The average smartphone user uses 9 apps per day or 30 apps per month, and as a direct result, consumer parking apps are on the rise. The fact that smartphone users are acclimating to mobile payments is closely connected to the growth in digital parking apps. According to the Statista Digital Market Outlook, the mobile payment volume is expected to increase by tenfold by 2021, and it will reach a transaction volume of roughly $214.7 billion this year.
In the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, 80% of all population has adopted the use of smartphones. When making parking accessible via smartphone, you can make parking accessible for nearly everyone. That’s why ParkBee is partnering up with companies such as Parkmobile, RingGo and Yellowbrick. We are also adopting new payment methods such as Apple Pay. Together, we can offer mobile payments, making the need for cash redundant.
Looking at the numbers mentioned above, we strongly expect this trend to continue even further, enabling new products and payment methods in the years to come.
Embrace the future
The list could be endless. We also spotted the need for more flexible parking solutions and investors that are looking for more sustainability as part of their benchmarks. But for now, we believe these are 5 key trends in the parking and mobility industry for 2020. Which one do you believe to be valuable for your business?
