AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Not only are privately owned vehicles moving toward full automation as quickly as technology and legislation will allow, but so too will shared vehicles, eventually becoming driverless as their systems are proven robust and dependable. In this latter case, we can expect to see car sharing as we know it continue into the future, except a vehicle is reserved and arrives at your location at the scheduled time. Full vehicle automation has several interesting and exciting implications for the future of urban planning as well. With a significantly reduced need for on-site vehicle-storage, existing surface lots can be converted back to green space, offering a comfortable environment when we need a break from the office and helping keep our cities cool in the summer. And in areas where on-street parking is no longer needed, the space can be repurposed as curbside pick-up and drop-off zone for autonomous driverless taxi services. What vehicles will remain on the roads will still need to be stored somewhere when not in use, so there will always be a need for parking technology with equipment and integrations to manage their use. But as the automotive industry moves steadily toward full automation, parking operations need to keep pace with credentialing systems that don’t require human intervention; the future of access control is in automatic license plate recognition, automatic vehicle identification transponders, and similar platforms that will let driverless cars come and go as they need to.
CAR-TO-X COMMUNICATION Critically important to achieving full automation of vehicles on the road is fast and reliable car-to-x communication. This data-driven solution, in its present application, lets vehicles communicate their position and status to the cloud for use by other vehicles; this is what powers the technology behind real-time traffic updates for in-car navigation systems and lets vehicles navigate around heavy congestion. Traffic signal pre-emption is another common use of car-to-x communication that ensures emergency vehicles have the right of way through intersections. These systems often use GPS or localized radio signals to identify emergency vehicles and prioritize their direction of travel, however more broadly implemented systems have the potential to reduce fuel consumption by avoiding hard acceleration and deceleration when approaching or leaving a set of traffic lights. As more vehicles integrate with these systems and car-to-car communication becomes more robust, autonomous vehicles can selforganize into convoys. Limiting the human element — timidity, indecision — makes for safer road use for everyone, including pedestrians. Convoys also help to optimize traffic flow by synchronizing the acceleration and deceleration of each member of the convoy, contributing to a significant reduction in congestion on the roads. As roads become safer and less congested with enhanced car-to-x communication, bicycle ridership will only continue to gain popularity in inner cities as a fast and convenient alternative for short trips. As these technologies are deployed in greater numbers of vehicles of all types, cyclists will no longer need to worry about car doors opening onto them, buses pulling out in front of them, or any number of the other nuisances that presently discourage cycling in the city.
10 PARKER 4TH QUARTER 2021
TRANSITIONING TO THE FUTURE OF PARKING Parking equipment manufacturers and suppliers need to remain agile to pivot their business model as the industry evolves or they’ll be left behind. But as competition in the sector is stronger than ever, we need to be proactive in anticipating trends that are about to emerge — and sometimes leading the change ourselves. Some of the directions we see the parking industry going in will always be outside of a parking equipment supplier’s scope — car-to-x communication, strategic investment in power generation capacity, and urban redevelopment with a focus on greening and sustainability are all fascinating areas of inquiry but should be left to the experts in those fields. But what is clear for our purposes is that the future is electric, connected, and increasingly autonomous. So how does parking fit into the equation as we transition from where we are now to where the industry is going?
RESERVATIONS Becoming Canada’s leader in the airport vertical has taught us the importance of being able to offer reservations for travellers looking for a worry-free check in and boarding experience. And the demand for this type of service is easy to understand especially for those who don’t travel often, the size and complexity of many airport parking facilities can be overwhelming. For more experienced travellers travelling for work, mobile apps let them extend their business class experience beyond the premium lounge and priority boarding to parking their vehicle and collecting it again afterwards. For example, valet services can collect their vehicle on arrival and make it’s detailed ahead of their return, and if the customer is driving an electric vehicle, they can make sure it’s fully charged by the time they get back — all of this reserved in one place and billed in one place. And as mobile apps are integrated with more systems from coast to coast, these reservations can be made at both ends of leisure and business travelers’ journeys to maximize their convenience.
