The parking industry is shifting rapidly from simple, static and hardware driven to connected, dynamic and software driven. In an age where people are constantly connected to their phones, apps and the digital world in general, it only makes sense that city operations would follow suit. Many city procurement groups, however, have found it challenging to keep up with the changing times, and unknowingly procure for an outdated solution, especially in the case of enforcement solutions.

We believe that when procuring for a parking enforcement solution, cities should actually procure for an end-to-end digital platform that can manage an entire mobility operation (not just one piece of it). 

Control your operation through one provider

The typical enforcement RFP seeks a solution that focuses on parking enforcement alone, with the management of other mobility types siloed into separate operations despite all modes of transportation occupying the same physical space at the curb. But with these functions siloed, city leaders and officials lack a comprehensive view of how a city’s streets and sidewalks are being used and a way to regulate and manage them together. 

The solution to this problem is an end-to-end digital platform designed to unify parking enforcement and parking management. The result is a streamlined solution that works cross-functionally across products making it easy to: 

• Connect parking data to enforcement officers on the street
• Reconcile parking and enforcement transactions to align with settlement summaries
• Automatically prohibit the purchase of permits tied to a license plate number with outstanding citations

Increase compliance and decrease citations

In order to increase revenue, cities should be focused on increasing parking compliance, not writing more citations. When a city can offer more ways to pay for parking (meters, apps, pay stations, etc) residents and visitors alike find paying for parking more convenient and therefore are much more likely to comply with parking laws. This ultimately drives parking revenue up and decreases the amount of tickets that need to be written. 

Portland, Maine, as an example, was able to decrease their citations written by 20% which they attribute to offering more ways to pay for parking. By using one solution, Passport’s digital platform, they can offer more ways to pay including mobile parking payment solution, and can manage digital enforcement on the same system.

Utilize data to make strategic decisions

When you have an end-to-end digital platform to manage enforcement along with other mobility solutions, you can access all your data in one place to view your operation holistically. This allows you to make more informed decisions. For example, data on parking compliance rates can support better decision making on pricing and positive reinforcement of parking rules. If city officials can see patterns in specific neighborhoods where compliance is low and citations are high, they might be able to make better informed pricing and time changes to help create more affordable parking in that area, which will ultimately lead to higher compliance rates. 

For more information on how Passport’s digital platform can help with your enforcement needs download our white paper or contact us today.