Parking: The Last Mile Need Not Be the Lost Mile

Each year, the average American spends 42 hours sitting in peak-period traffic. As if that statistic isn’t painful enough, drivers waste twice that searching for an open parking spot in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The inability to find parking is more than an annoyance – an alarming 63% of drivers have avoided going to a destination due to the challenge of finding parking. However, what if I told you the issue isn’t lack of parking, but rather a lack of information?

Although vehicle miles traveled are at their highest levels since 2007, car-ownership models are changing and fewer Millennials are purchasing their own vehicles. The rise of alternative transportation options such as ride sharing and car sharing also has changed the landscape of car ownership, with Millennials opting for convenience over the benefits that come with owning a personal vehicle.

While automakers have taken note of the ride-sharing trend – as evidenced by Toyota’s investment in Uber, General Motors’ share in Lyft and BMW’s ReachNow – they continue to have a razor-sharp focus improving the overall driving experience. With a few taps, a driver can find the best route to avoid traffic and accidents, stream their favorite podcast and check the weather. We rely on technology now more than ever for efficient travel, yet the parking experience, a key part of the “Last Mile,” is often overlooked. Drivers frequently revert back to the days before connectivity, keeping their eyes peeled for an open space. The result is that the average driver wastes 20 minutes looking for parking.

A recent survey by transportation-analytics and connected-car-services provider INRIX shows just 7% of drivers currently use real-time parking technology to improve their driving experience. However, as congestion and parking pains continue to grow, finding a parking spot quickly will become a more significant factor in arriving on time or canceling a trip altogether.

The “Last Mile”

Automakers now must shift their focus beyond getting drivers from Point A to Point B, to how to solve what happens once Point B is in sight.

Most drivers get navigated to the front door of their destination, then begin to look for parking. Drivers not only are tasked with finding a spot; they also have to contend with full lots, complicated rate cards, payment restrictions and additional congestion caused by drivers on the same hunt.

The INRIX survey found 90% of drivers want to be able to navigate directly to a parking space, and more than 75% want a parking solution integrated into the car or in a nav app. For automakers to solve the “Last Mile” problem, an end-to-end parking experience must be incorporated into the entire navigation experience. Drivers want to be able to find, drive to, reserve and pay for parking all from their dashboard.

Some automakers already are gaining a foothold in the real-time parking market. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are at the forefront of integrating parking solutions into their vehicles. The BMW 5-Series is the first car to display street-parking availability within its dashboard and new Mercedes-Benz sedans include dynamic lot parking, both powered by INRIX Parking.

Auto manufacturers also can help cities solve their congestion problems through the integration of parking technology. The parking industry traditionally has been fragmented with thousands of management companies, hundreds of types of equipment and a slew of different parking-payment options. However, today’s drivers want and expect a seamless end-to-end driving experience.

With developing technologies, this disparate parking ecosystem can be streamlined if automakers can accept that the “Last Mile” is a central part of the driving experience.

Jason Schulz is general manager of INRIX Parking.