According to IBISWorld, over the past five years, revenue has grown by 2.8% to reach $10 billion in the industry of parking lots and garages.
One of the vital parts to a successful parking lot or garage business is parking control systems. A parking controller ensures cars that are supposed to have access do have access and cars that aren’t supposed to have access are denied access.
As parking control equipment continues to level up, the technology makes it easier for owners to cash in without the headache of being hands-on with the parking business.
Not sure how these systems work? Stick around to find out what components are needed to make these systems work for your parking business.
Running a Parking Business Without Parking Control Systems
Without proper systems in place for automation, an attendant is necessary. Not only is an attendant an extra expense, but you have to work human error and sick days into the equation for extra headaches.
While it is possible to run a parking business manually, the benefits you receive from using an automated system will outweigh any expenses you will incur.
How Does the System Work?
There are different combinations when you are setting up a system for your parking lot. One vendor, Parking BOXX has equipment options for operators that run small, medium and large operations. Understanding how the equipment works and which equipment you need is necessary to have a successfully operating business.
Two types of users will frequent your business:
• Transient
• Non-transient
Transient users are people that park for a day, a couple of days or even as little as a couple of hours. These users get a ticket from the system when they come in, and they pay for the time they use when they go out. There are different ways for this process to take place.
One of the scenarios is:
The user drives in, gets a ticket and comes back out after their use. They go to a central booth where they insert their ticket and pay their dues. Once their dues are paid, they continue to their vehicle and go to the exit where there is a barrier. The barrier will open once they scan the ticket to show they paid for their parking session.
Non-transient users are people that have a pass for a week, a month or even longer. Most of the time these long-term users will have a membership card or RFID on their windshield so they can enter and exit as they please.
Depending on the type of system in place at your parking business, there could be other advanced features. Some of those features are as follows:
• Traffic jam detection
• Traffic jam control
• Parking guidance
• Parking area payment
• Intelligent parking area admin
• Emergency situation control
• Interface systems to traffic control systems for the city
• Parking area ventilation control
• Parking area light control
Whether you are beginning your business out of your basement or you have a corporate office, you will find life is much easier when you have a top of the line system working for you.
If you are a small business, you can scale up as you raise additional capital. Working with a company that can help you through those growth stages will allow you to experience growth without as many growing pains.
Increasing Customer Ease of Use
Each of the features you add to your system is meant to help users have a better experience. One of the pet peeves parkers have is entering a garage that does not have any spaces available.
Using parking guidance will allow your system to show how many spaces are available in your lot before the customer decides to enter. If the lot is full, the driver can move on to another lot that does have space available.
The system has the ability to track when cars enter to decrease the number of spaces available and when someone leaves the lot it increases the number of spaces available. This technology will help decrease traffic jams and frustration in large cities which will also have a positive effect on the environment.
Some parking guidance systems have the ability to guide customers to a level with open spaces. Many of these systems show an available spot with a green light over the space and a red light if the space is taken. The lights are helpful when there are smaller vehicles in spots that are difficult to see when you are coming up to the spot.
The easier the customer experience, the more likely it is that customers will continue to use the parking area. While customer satisfaction might not seem beneficial to your bottom line for transient customers, it is possible to turn those transient customers into non-transient customers in the future for on-going income.
Benefits of Using These Systems
Instead of having to make sure your employees show up for their shifts when you have your system in place, you can operate unmanned 24/7. Through remote management, you can keep tabs on your business to see what is happening in real-time.
When you want to expand and add more parking lots or garages to your businesses, you can manage multiple locations from one place. Continue to build your empire without adding administration costs for reduced operating expenses.
Security is one of the issues users always consider when using a parking lot or garage. Having parking gate systems will give your customers confidence that their vehicle will be safe from intruders that shouldn’t be in the parking area.
The Latest Tech Developments in the Parking Industry
Having proper information about parking control systems allows you to choose the best system for your parking area whether it is big or small. There are many add-ons that can continue to build out your system, but a simple gate and payment collection system can get you started.
Do you have some ideas for great tech we should cover? We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or reach us through our contact page.
