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Parking prices have non existent or been too low for decades. As competition for the curb increases, the following must change.
Typical curb and roadside free parking in major cities.
A variety of competing functions are increasingly being performed at the same time along the curb in today's quickly evolving environment. Short-term parking lots are still needed, but they are increasingly serving other purposes as well. Auto Rickshaw, scooters motorcycle and bikeshare operators seek parking spots, rideshare apps need pickup and drop-off areas, commercial and on-demand deliveries need loading zones, and restaurants are adopting parklets for outdoor dining and count goes on. The curb plays an important role in the success of a number of different industries in many different ways. It is also one of the most vast and valuable pieces of real estate in a city, in addition to being a significant community area with a limited capacity.
Despite this, we have neglected our curbs for many decades. The vast majority are merely built and managed for parking spaces, which we refer to as the "physical curb." And despite this, we don't always manage to get it properly. The majority of cities do not set the price of on-street parking according to the actual worth of demand or the amount of money needed to recover costs, and many also have lax enforcement policies on laws such as parking time limits and loading zones.
In many Indian cities, we have also failed to educate the general public of the curb's worth, leading to the mistaken belief that motorists and merchants are entitled to roadside parking, rideshare pickup and drop-off, and commercial loading and unloading at no or very minimal cost.
The value of curbside real estate has degraded to the point where municipalities are missing thousands in money that could be used for parking, infrastructure, and other municipal needs. It's time for that to change. Cities should be motivated to rethink and improve their approach for the dynamic future of the "digital curb" in light of rising digitization, rising curb demand trends, and the convergence of parking revenue loss due to COVID.
Digital barrier
Flexible places for passenger pickup and drop-off, commercial loading zones, bike and scooter parking and travel lanes, transit stops, parklets for outdoor dining, and short-term private automobile parking. Tomorrow's curb.
This story begins with a multi-part plan to help communities of all sizes balance curb management demands, equality challenges, service, and money. We'll look at Kerblet's survey of on-street parking in all planned smart cities and curb management studies, including new data-collection devices. Why? Cities can manage the dynamic curb and its crores with plans, policies, and price.
Before confronting the digital curbside, we must understand how cities planned and failed to maximize parking.
Low rates: why? They aren't based on demand, encourage turnover, or provide parking. Morning, afternoon, and evening metered parking in Aurangabad was over 85% full. Pune's commercial districts are over 85% occupied, and Mumbai's center is about 100% full.
Based on these discrepancies and facts, here are five things we need to know about our current parking approach:
As our curbs become more active, technology will be important.
Cameras, Kerblet Mobile Apps, Kerblet Monetization platforms ,GPS, and Bluetooth will collect data to monitor and enforce restrictions. Pay-by-cell was one of the earliest parking technologies to help cities raise income by encouraging individuals to pay for parking and follow restrictions.
Off-street parking should be cheaper than on-street.
Customers and businesses might value curbside parking on the street more than parking lots and garages off the street, so it should be priced to reflect this demand and encourage turnover. Setting off-street parking rates lower than on-street parking rates is a good way to get people who park for a long time to use these facilities.
Our study shows that the opposite is true in most of the cities we looked at. In capital cities, you have to pay to park on the street at the curb more often than in garages and lots. On-street parking is free in all 29 cities that are the capitals of Indian states, but only four cities have free parking spots that are not on the street.
This is likely because cities have calculated the cost of off-street parking and charge rates to collect some or all of that expense. It's been harder to do the same for curb parking. The curb's cost, if calculated, is unlikely to reflect the increasing demand.
Completely free nights and weekends do not apply for parking.
Cities shouldn't give away prime properties while demand is high. Progressive cities that want to provide better customer service charge for on-street parking in evenings and weekends, when restaurants, stores, and entertainment are busiest. Customers demand easy parking. They enjoy short walks and don't mind paying more to park compared to a night out. Faster parking prices lead to shorter stays and higher turnover, creating convenient access.
Parking meter or Kerblet platform revenues should cover costs.
Paid parking is a public good. As more people struggle for curb space, infrastructure, administrative, and enforcement costs will rise. It's good policy to set fees to recover these costs and utilize some of the cash to fund equal and accessible transportation options like bike parking and transit passes.
Cities completely underestimate the value of our curb assets
Indian cities must employ data, rules, zoning, fees, and technology to build policies that regulate demand, create sustainable revenue sources, enhance equity and access, provide a greater level of service, and ensure curbs remain a valuable community asset.
Kerblet Parking's turnkey parking management solutions cover all of the issues listed above, and they offer cities and municipal body administrations in India a one-stop-shop parking solution that helps them prevent revenue loss on their curbside assets.
AUTHOR BIO
Snehalchandra is the founder of Kerblet, an Aurangabad-based startup whose mission is to change the way people find, reserve, and pay for parking.