Will 2021 be the Year that Digital becomes King for the Parking World? - RingGo
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Will 2021 be the Year that Digital becomes King for the Parking World?
Introduction
It’s that time of year when we all reflect on the year gone by, and what
a year it has been. In 2020, we all stood around and smelled the fresh
air. We took walks and heard wildlife return to residential areas. We saw
smog disappear and appreciated how clean our cities could be. This
was not the change in mindset we anticipated, but it is one we hope
will last as the government also embraces ambitious targets to phase
out petrol cars.
Despite everything that this year threw at us, we moved forward. Maybe not in the
way we planned, but we pivoted and found our agility. Sitting at the end of 2020, with
many unanswered questions still looming, how do we take what we learned and move
into 2021?
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Looking back to
move forward
Predictions by Peter O’Driscoll, Managing Director.
The mobility industry was one of the hardest hit in 2020 as everyone
stopped moving. Trains were empty, roads were deserted, and parking
plummeted. While many of my 2020 predictions were still topics of
discussion this year, they inevitably veered in a significantly different
direction.
“One of the biggest changes I think we will see in
2021 is in the public transport pricing model. With
remote work still slated to be more popular than
pre-COVID, less people will see the need to pay the
price for public transport. ”
Peter O’Driscoll, Managing Director
Over 50% of people are still traveling less
than they did pre-COVID, and despite
the fact that many are likely to return to
pre-COVID-19 habits, private cars are likely to
maintain their new found popularity along-
side biking and walking. In 2021, it will take
a real force to get people back on public
transport in the numbers we have traditional-
ly been used to.
Driving into the office once or twice a week becomes more financially feasible, if not
also safer. Public transport – especially trains – need to put together more competitive
pricing to compel commuters back onto the platforms.
The time it takes us to move back to public transport is also a time in which more cars
are on the road, bringing pollution back to the forefront of people’s minds. To combat
the increasing use of cars, I think we will start to see the extension of emissions-based
vehicle schemes – ULEZ, CAZ, EBP – to offset the environmental impact of busier
roads.
Additionally, lots of towns and cities will look at traffic reduction schemes such as low
3
traffic neighbourhoods to meet local pollution targets, making the cities greener.
Another interesting direction change was that everyone became reengaged in the
digital debate, not from an ease of use standpoint or a technology advancement argu-
ment, but for safety — priority number one this year. Safely parking in a touch free way
without using coins and parking machines; safely social distancing by not queuing at
parking machines, and safely getting the economy moving again.
We also strengthened our relationships with local authorities, but instead of looking
at improvements, we were triaging issues. Turning parking off and on again, providing
solutions to help key workers, and strengthening touch free parking to encourage mo-
torists to venture out when restrictions were lifted. Local authorities have suffered this
year, and it was everything we could do to help out in any way we could.
I really believe that lots of changes that come out of 2020 will have knock on effects to
other mobility areas in 2021. Watch this (parking) space…
4
Embracing digital solutions
in 2021
Predictions by Sarah Earl, Product Director UK
2020 forced everyone to focus, and as traditional business models
were threatened by lockdown regulations, tech flourished. Companies
have had to reinforce their core strategies, put research into new and
emerging markets or products on hold, cut costs and re-evaluate what
their customers really need.
To do this, everyone went digital. From small village stores, fish and chip vans to baby
groups. If you haven’t embraced digital to give customers an online offering during
lockdown, then you are most likely going to struggle to survive. Parking was no differ-
ent.
Nobody wanted to touch street furniture when we emerged from months of lockdown,
they no longer wanted to stand in queues with other people or carry coins. This meant
that parking apps were a lifeline for people wanting to venture out, but also be cau-
tious of a new range of threats from the virus.
I believe that 2021 will continue – if not quicken – this trend of embracing digital solu-
tions, and apps will be at the centre of it. Organisations need to focus on accessibility
and the usability of apps, while considering a more security conscious consumer base.
5
Getting ahead of the
regulation curve
In 2021, PSD2 will finally be enforced, and while this has been pushed
back to September, I think it will be part of a year of change in the
payments industry. As we try to work around a system that introduces
friction for users, it is our opportunity to innovatively create solutions
that are compliant and friction free.
The need for a smooth payment process will
drive consumers towards SCA compliant
payment methods such as Apple Pay and
Google Pay in 2021. If your app or website
does not feature these payment methods,
customers are likely to disengage due to
the authentication step up.
2021 is the year to get ahead of the regulation curve by listening to customers and
driving innovation through the payments process.
6Women in tech, rising up
the ranks
Women have definitely started to rise up in the ranks within technology
organisations, there is no doubt about that. When I have openings on
my product team, I see as many capable female candidates as I do male
and I am currently working with some very smart, driven women.
That being said, there still seems to be some limits to what type of work women are
embracing in tech and how high they can rise. They are few and far between at the
C-level, and this is something I would like to see change in the coming years. It will
only become more feasible as we pull along the ambitious women coming behind us
and raise our voice collectively.
Unfortunately, there is still a disparity between female representation in product organ-
isations versus engineering organisations, and a big part of this is to do with education.
7A focus in engineering still begins early and forces you down, what feels like, a very
rigid path. Product organisations, on the other hand, bring together people from lots
of different backgrounds, are more inclusive and collaborative, and cater to people
who might not have necessarily started in tech when they were teenagers.
I do see this trend changing as the way we educate children changes.
Today, women are exposed to coding, and
technology in general, at such a young age,
it will become a more natural fit for many
to pursue in education and as a career. The
little girls of today, will become the tech
leaders of tomorrow.
8Data-driven decisions
Predictions by Gareth Buchanan-Robinson, Commercial
Director
2020 saw big plans go out the window and instead drove focus towards
pivoting, survival and helping others where possible. But 2021 will see
organisations reprioritise again, with a bigger focus on their long-term
business plans. Although these plans may look a bit different, they will
still be about driving the business forward – we cannot stand still in 2021.
Local authorities have traditionally been slow to change and adopt new technology,
but they have to start reacting. They need to better understand the behaviours of
motorists and give them what they want. We have been talking about digital solutions
for years, but 2021 has to be the year local authorities embrace them. Creating a touch
free environment must be a priority – in the next two years we will see at least 50% less
parking machines on the street and preparing for that transition has to start now.
In 2021, councils need to continue to revisit their entire strategy around parking, in
fact, they need to stop thinking about it as a parking service entirely. It can no longer
just be about efficient parking; it has to be about health and safety – both short term
and long term.
“The long-term result of adopting digital solutions
for parking is the data it provides. This data helps
determine and predict the behaviour of drivers both
today and in the future, but it needs to be put to
good use. ”
Local authorities need to start understanding matters such as regional congestion and
the types of cars sitting in that traffic, in order to make better decisions about dynamic
pricing, electric car adoption and congestion reduction. In 2021, with tight budgets
and rising pressure, these are not changes that call for educated guesses or gut in-
stinct, they call for decisions rooted in data.
9Diversifying the parking
playing field
In parking, many of the players in the happenings in 2020, and so the parking
ecosystem will never look the same industry must diversify.
again. There will be mass amounts of
consolidation in 2021 and into 2022 Consolidating mobility functions -
as we shift focus from just parking to parking, charging, fuelling, tolling,
overall mobility. This will be driven permits, train and bus fare, bike
largely by the changing transportation rental, etc - all in one place will form a
behaviours and the growing consumer somewhat North Star. And it will take
need for speed and efficiency. years. Becoming the sole provider of a
customer journey in mobility is a large
With the continuing adoption of task. But 2021 will be the start.
different work patterns, commuter trains
will find themselves less busy at peak Creating a parking hub where consumers
times as we no longer feel the pressure pick their preferred parking app to pay
to get the 7:20am to London every day. up and down the country is a first step.
People will continue to favour driving to It creates choice and freedom driven by
work over public transport and many will consumer demand. It raises the stakes
only commute on certain days. Mobility and pushes each provider to innovate.
has been changed irreversibly by the
10
10Advancing the digital
conversation
Closing thoughts from Peter O’Driscoll
2020 was a year of adjusting to consumer needs; not something that
the parking industry has always catered towards. Often, we get bogged
down in what those running the car park need and forget about the
motorists we hope will park their cars there. But this mentality has to
change. We have to catch up with the consumer-driven culture.
In 2021, as there is a continued race to the bottom with tender offers and pressure on
margins for local authorities, I think we need to take a step back and really think about
what we are offering the consumer. We need to factor choice into the equation and in
such a competitive market, choice is often completely taken away from the user.
Next year we will start to see this change
as the leaders in our industry start to
experiment with what it would look like
to have a multi-vendor ecosystem. If the
motorist had a choice of which parking
app to use when they park, not only would
it be better for them, it would be better
for the operator.
It would advance the digital conversation even more and force app providers to create
really great products.
Creating this multi-vendor model leads directly into creating smarter cities, where data
from lots of different sources – multiple parking apps being one of them – can be ag-
gregated in a specific platform making it easier to understand, plan, and innovate even
more. This will present the opportunity to create interconnected journey’s through cit-
ies, as well as track how and when people are using different modes of transport. This
ultimately all leads back to creating smarter, cleaner, healthier, more liveable cities.
While this goal of a smart city might still feel far away, those that don’t take the first
steps towards it next year will find themselves left behind quickly.
11We are not going to flip the calendar on December 31 and find that all of the challeng-
es we have faced in 2020 magically disappear. In the mobility industry, it is still going
to take months to find level ground, but 2021 is not a year to stand still. It is a year to
take what we have learned and start investing. It is the year when digital will finally
become king of the parking world.
12About RingGo RingGo is the UK’s no. 1 cashless parking solution. We’re driven by one thing: making our cities healthier, cleaner and more liveable. Transforming cities into places where people can move around freely, with easy-to-use mobility solutions, while reducing congestion and pollution. How? By unlocking the power of technology to make parking simple, quick and effortless for drivers, operators and cities. We’re proudly representing our UK and European brands including RingGo, PARK NOW, Parkmobile, and Park-line. Our team of 500 parking pioneers serve clients throughout Europe from our offices in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. RingGo is part of YOUR NOW Group, the global joint venture in mobility solutions founded by BMW and Daimler. NOW Group offers car sharing, ride-hailing, charging and parking solutions to help people navigate their urban journeys with ease while being environmentally conscious. RingGo Maplewood Chineham Business Park Basingstoke, Hampshire RG24 8YB www.ringgo.co.uk
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