Smart Parking Programs Are in the Midst of a ‘Significant Growth Year’
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Sensor costs are decreasing 10% to 15% yearly, too.
Smart parking, which is still relatively in its infancy, will grow to more than 1 million sensor-enabled, on-street smart parking spaces worldwide by 2024, according to a new Navigant Research study.
The consulting team predicts 2015 will be a “significant growth year” between large-scale adoption in many North American and European cities, as well as interest from overly congested Latin American and Asia-Pacific cities.
That estimate is down from 2013 because of the slower-than-anticipated adoption rate, particularly in North America.
According to the report, the federal grants most local governments need to jumpstart smart parking projects haven’t proven to be forthcoming:
Significant funding from national governments has generally been necessary for cities to deploy this technology on a large scale. Nevertheless, the smart parking sensor and communications industry continues to grow steadily, and interest in the technology from cities is higher than ever. Additionally, other segments of the market, such as universities, airports, and corporate campuses, have been ramping up deployments of smart parking systems. These organizations are realizing the considerable benefits of optimizing parking availability and revenue generation on their properties.
Sensor networks that can identify occupied vehicles are the backbone of smart parking systems providing real-time space availability information to drivers with the help of mobile apps, social media and data analytics.
Drivers looking for parking are responsible for around 30 percent of urban traffic congestion, according to the study.
Poorly managed parking leads to frustrated drivers, wasted fuel, increased air and noise pollution and a sluggish economy. But municipal governments could instead benefit from more revenue from the steady parking fees that come from such smart parking programs.
In fact, according to Navigant Research:
Most importantly, cities need to be convinced of the financial benefits and congestion reduction potential of smart parking solutions when deployed at city scale.
The technology is already where it needs to be—with sensor costs decreasing 10 to 15 percent yearly—and accuracy and battery life are always improving, the report continues. Batteries can last 10 years and spaces reserved and paid for by smartphone—spaces that soon may be monitored by only one or two well-placed cameras.
Globally, smart parking’s market worth is priced at $40.9 million in 2015. That number will reach $324.6 million by 2024, per the Navigant Research report, when smart parking will no longer be niche and instead the norm for municipal governments.
“The smart parking sensor and communications industry continues to grow steadily, and interest in the technology from cities is higher than ever,” analyst Ryan Citron said in a statement. “Large cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Moscow, among others, have adopted smart parking systems that are improving chronic congestion in their city centers.”
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