Parking Guidance Systems
Finding Your Space
By Chad Snyder
Texas Parking Association 2012
March 30, 2012
Agenda:
• Technologies we are used to seeing
• Technologies we are hearing about
The basics
• Parking Guidance Systems: helps parkers find an available space,
and/or return to the space after visiting destination
• Basic types from the user perspective:
• Trip Info: reservations, rates, directions and availability info available
via web/apps/GPS systems
• Parking Availability Displays (PAD): Dynamic signage
• Parking Location Reminders:
• Traditional approaches
• Electronic approaches
• GPS-based
Photo courtesy TCS Intl
Guiding Principle:
“The half-life of knowledge in technology is 6 months. Half
of what I know sitting here right now will be obsolete in 6
months, that is the speed at which technology moves and
why you can never stop learning.”
- blogger known as everyday CIO
If we wait to do this presentation until we “know all” about today’s systems,
what we say will no longer be “state of the art”.
Human Factor…..
No matter how great the system,
the benefit of a parking guidance system
ultimately relies on these things:
the driver has to see it
the driver has to understand it
the driver has to believe it
finally
the driver has to use it
Poll of 9000 drivers in Britain sponsored by
parking operator NCP
•Average motorist spends more than six days a year circling
streets and car parks looking for a spot….over the average
life that is nearly a year lost.
•42% of people will not attempt to park in space if another car
is waiting behind them;
•44% have "lost" their car;
•50% have gone to wrong floor or section to look for car; and
•20% have tried to get into wrong car.
News release Oct 2010
User Interfaces
Conventional approaches to remembering
where you parked
Static Signs
Numbering
Color Coding
Theme
Musical
Photo courtesy
Standard Parking
Web-based approaches
•Reliability of counting (more later)
•Info before leaving home outdated by time driver reaches
parking
•Reservations “waste” spaces, not serving actual customers
•Safety issues for en-route information
•San Fran app requires vehicle to be stopped to show data
Another evolution:
additional parking location reminders
•Preprinted reminder cards available at elevators
•Kiosk issues printed reminder
•At elevator, location stamped on parking ticket
•Tie License Plate number to parking ticket at entry
•Add LPR cameras at
• Same points as ramp/zone counts
• At end of every aisle
• Every stall
Cost benefit of LPR
primarily for lost cars?
•How often do patrons lose cars?
•How often does patron ask for help?
•How much would LPR system reduce staff times?
Still in infancy….
Navigation
Courtesy Wifarer
•GPS (exterior) /WIFI (interior)
•To available parking
•Parking to destinations
•Back to parking facility, floor or parking stall
•Of course, parkers have to download and use
•As with any app, lots of marketing extras/benefits
•Advertising/coupons of sales/specials at stores in malls
•Frequent visitor/parker program for those that download
• E-mail lists for construction, tips etc.
• Rewards, coupons discounts
Parking Availability Displays
Photo courtesy
TCS Intl
By facility
By floor/zone
By aisle
By space
Back of house….
Photo courtesy
ParkHelp
Facility Management Information
As often the case with technology,
Europe way ahead of US re PGS
• Aachen, Germany (installed over 25 years ago)
• Used most by those who live farthest and/or come to CBD least often.
• Survey:
Photo courtesy
• 46% used PGS to confirm availability of spaces.
Dambach
• Of those not able to park at desired location, 56% used to find other pkg
• Cologne, Germany
• 42% indicated used PGS most of the time or always
• Of non-users, 40% had preferred parking location, and 35% indicated that they
always find a stall.
• Frankfurt, Germany
• Survey found that about 80% of drivers were aware of the PGS
• 20% used system to find parking
Studies found #1 benefit is improving confidence
that parking will be available
• San Francisco: PGS on freeways increased parking/use of transit
• Detroit Airport: 50% of off-airport parkers choose it due to lack of PGS on
freeways
• St Paul MN: 17 facilities in PGS system had 83% occupancy during event
vs to 62% occupancy in 25 facilities that didn’t participate
• Milwaukee: implementation of web-based pre-trip parking info
• In one year,
• persons who said parking availability prevented them from visiting downtown
reduced by 10%
• Increased perception that downtown Milwaukee was improving as place to
visit from 54% to 68% --25% improvement!
• Montgomery County MD Metro: PGS caused people to change habits
(e.g. left home later), resulting in 20% drop in arrivals before 8 AM. Also
increased transit use slightly.
• 1/3 of commuters using one lot indicated that they didn’t even know it
existed before PGS
ISG also reduces cruising within garages and
customer frustration
•Survey: Baltimore Washington Int’l (BWI) vs other DC
airports
•ISG also reduced illegal parking in fire lanes and other noparking areas in parking facilities
So why aren’t they… everywhere?
•Reliability…specifically related to counting technologies
•Cost
• Capital
• Operating
• Maintenance
•Cost-benefit
Parking Guidance Systems ISG Features
•Counting
•Management
•Dynamic Signage
•Space Sensors
Photo courtesy of ParkHelp
Accuracy is critical!
Lack of accuracy at one facility impacts
believability at that facility AND at others in area.
9 and 8 are the only floors that show same count, out of 10!
Why do you have to
recalibrate regularly?
Count Error for Every 100 stalls
Turnover Facility/Floor Loops Facility/Floor Sonar
Pk Day
95%
97%
Day
Week
Day
Week
Airport Hourly
10
25
125
15
75
Retail/Hospital
5
13
63
8
38
Mixed Use
3
8
38
5
23
Office
1.2
3
15
2
9
Airport Daily
0.75
2
9
1
6
Airport Economy
0.2
1
3
0
2
* ISG error is corrected nearly every time stall turns over if well maintained
Assumed 50% of facility/floor count errors cancel each other out
Statistics could be even worse for traditional loop detectors
ISG
99%
Hour
Week
1
*
1
*
1
*
1
*
1
*
1
*
Maintenance Contract Costs
Average/year over at least five years
•Parking Access and Revenue Controls: ~10% of initial cost
•PGS: ~ 7% of initial cost
Lessons from the field:
anything other than ISG
• Loop detectors NOT ACCURATE ENOUGH for ramp/zone counts
• Tailgating, speed, high axles, motorcycles vs pickup trucks
• Use higher quality detectors; specify 97% accuracy and TEST
• Over time, even with “self-tuning”, accuracy will decline unless retuned
• Very difficult to count parking aisles, especially 90 deg
• With two-way traffic, MUST assure
cars drive over loops/under bars
Photo courtesy TCS Int’l
Lessons from the field: ISG sonar sensor
mounting varies by conditions
• Some ultrasonic sensors need to be centered over stalls
• Still may not “see” pickup beds, convertibles, motorcycles, smart cars
• Red/green lights best at end of stalls
Photo courtesy ParkHelp
Photo courtesy McClain
Photo courtesy TCS Intl
Lessons from the field: ISG
Without end aisle signs
• Patrons stop and peer down aisles to see if
there are green lights
• Congestion at critical points and rear end
accidents?
• At some point, aisles are too long to peer down
• Will speeds increase to race to the green light?
Photo courtesy ParkHelp
Lessons from the field: ISG
• Market is being flooded by new vendors
• Experience and system details matter
• KNOW if you are a beta test site
• Wireless MAY help bring cost down needs to be proven
Manufacturer marketing claims….
• BIG CAVEAT: Yet to see study for most of these claims that is
reliable across wide cross section of circumstances
• Increase in PR?
• Yes
• If first in market, will likely get good press.
• But if everybody does it, is there a benefit to PR
• Decrease in carbon emissions?
• Sure some but > 50% as some have claimed?
• Only reduces inbound travel
• May only help peak hours, peak days
• Integration through I/O modules
• Barriers, lighting, etc...
More claims
•Increase in parked cars in peak hours?
• Are you turning cars away now? Do you close floors/facilities and divert
to other parking when 90-95% full?
• Do people not come on peak days/hour that could be accommodated?
• Come another time of day which actually is good?
• Some reduction in peak hour “parking demand” due to cars driving
around less, parking sooner.
• Bigger impact with shorter average stay…e.g., grocery.
• Will your parker stay longer in destination or same length of time?
• How often are peak, peak hours when fills to maximum?
2 hours per day?
2 hours per week?
2 hours per Saturday in December?
But….
•Does it really give you a competitive advantage?
• Definitely increases customer service perspective
•Once multiple places have it, advantage dissipates
More claims
• Increase in revenue:
– Airport had purportedly 10% increased revenue due to:
• More parkers parking on airport instead of off airport
• People had more time in terminal, bought more stuff
– Other claims +2-5%
Decrease in operating costs? Yes
– Need less people directing traffic at peak hours/days
– Counting is more accurate, less time/frequency to recalibrate
• Management info
– Particularly where no revenue controls
– Used data to sell tenant that particular mall entrance is high traffic
location
Advantages…
specifically for ISG with LPR
•Finding your vehicle
•Security
•Knows when object in space is not a car
•Easier maintenance; all equipment centered over aisle
•Enforce parking assignments without nested gates
•Color coding for specific spaces: reserved, accessible, etc…
•Can charge different rates without differently encoded tickets
• 15 minute stalls
• Differential rates for roof parking from other floors
• Differential rates for closest parking on a big floor
• Different rates for different types of vehicles
But...
•No technology can solve bad parking
functionality and parking layout.
•More complicated equates to more costly and less
benefit
•ISG needs to be implemented with a layout that is
complementary
Use dead ends or U loops for individual
space monitoring
• Dead ends gain 36 stalls, +12%
• U loops gain 8 stalls +2.5%
“Dead End”
But how do you program and sign this???
“U Loops”
And our biggest concern….
disturbing reports of PGS systems
•Once installed it needs to be maintained
• Not recalibrated regularly
• Service and support
•Software on unsecured server corrupted by malware
•Communications compromised
•Turned off
Conclusions,
specifically for ISG
• Can be a benefit with the right customer base and garage design
• More installations in US
• One of biggest benefits is more accurate counting by floor/zones
with less frequent recalibration than loops
• Another benefit is more accurate information for management.
• But have to USE IT….
• Perception that it helps if not fixes bad function is wrong
• The more complicated the circulation pattern
• The more it costs
• The less it helps parkers find a space
This consultant’s opinion
no matter what type PGS
• Parking availability displays should show
stalls available not simply “open”
• Parkers will make better decisions
• Can override to “full” manually when appropriate
• Floor by floor display at entry only not enough
Use at or before major decision points
With ISG use end aisle signs at key points
• ISG has many benefits if you can afford it
• But almost impossible to show dollar ROI
• TEST to confirm accuracy during installation
• COMMIT to
• Calibrating regularly
• Maintenance
• USE it to manage parking!
Questions?