The parking industry is undergoing a transformation. Shared physical hardware provides opportunity to contract and spread COVID-19.  This new reality requires that we not only reconsider the dynamics of parking but also the policy and solutions that allow the entirety of the operation to safely be executed. 

For the health and safety of both parkers and parking enforcement agencies, it is imperative that we innovate and transform our industry through the adoption of contactless parking payments and the use mobile pay parking.

Know your facts

According to Visa, card-not-present payments are up 20% of all transactions during the pandemic. As demand for healthy and safe ways to pay increases, digital parking operations are now more than ever imperative as states lift stay at home orders and people begin to move through cities. While going digital may seem daunting, a cashless, contactless operation can help reduce maintenance costs, increase revenues, and most importantly keep residents, visitors and city workers safe.

Communicate your position

When you do decide to go digital, shifting behavior will require a clear line of communication to your community.

• Public announcement – Make a public announcement advising the use of contactless forms of payment for parking.
  
• Decals & Signage – Add decals to your meters and signage advising the use of contactless forms of payment. Display the digital options available to parkers.

Reduce physical contact

Communication alone will not stop all contact with meters.

• Reduce parking rates for contactless parking – Offer reduced parking rates for digital payment options
  
• Provide digital parking promotions – Provide motivation to shift the user behavior to contactless payment by offering digital parking validations
  
• Bag meters – Prohibit physical interaction with meters.  This can be a temporary or isolated measure to ascertain the community reaction to  going contactless

Increase digital payment options

As we shift to a digital environment, consumers will expect convenience. Cities should explore the idea of a marketplace with integrated parking payment processing. This will provide a broader selection of ways to pay for parking through traditional and non-traditional parking apps. The old rules of parking still apply; However, a city can manage all partners on one backend platform, streamline both payment and management reporting and operations and keep residents and workers alike safe.