Reading Time: 2 minutes

Parking lot operators are often faced with inefficiencies that arise from a lack of streamlined processes. One of the most common is the failure to achieve cost efficiency. Smart parking technology can benefit parking lot operators greatly by increasing efficiency, resulting in lower management costs.

Smart parking to manage parking lots

Smart parking technology uses IoT-enabled software, sensors, real-time data, and applications that allow operators to monitor parking spots. The objective is to decrease the time spent manually searching for the optimal parking spot through automation. Smart parking solutions also offer online payments, making it easier for owners to track revenue and minimize leakages.

Smart parking technology allows drivers to locate vacant spaces and make payment for parking on an app. This relieves parking lot operators of tasks such as running around the lot looking for vacant spaces and collecting payment at the exit, thus doing away with major inefficiencies. Not only are these tasks time-consuming, but they also result in congestion in the parking lot.

In the absence of technology, parking lot management comes with costs such as salaries of workers, cost of printing parking tickets, loss of revenue due to frustrated drivers leaving the parking lot in search of other parking spaces or inaccurate accounting of usage. With smart parking technology, the number of parking lot operators to assist drivers can be reduced significantly since the app directs drivers to their allotted space. The additional parking lot operators could be diverted to other tasks that can generate more revenue such as valet parking. 

Decreased manpower cost

Maintaining a parking lot is quite an expensive affair. Owners have to invest in hiring security guards, ticketing personnel, maintenance workers, and administrative staff to manage operations. A smart parking system significantly reduces these operating costs. Parking owners can monitor their properties through automation and less manual activity, saving on labor cost and resource exhaustion.

Thus, owners no longer need to hire the number of staff and can thus decrease management costs. Another area that can benefit from a manpower cut is the ticketing counters at the entrance and exit of a parking lot. Getting a physical ticket at the entrance and paying for it at the exit results in congestion. This can be easily eliminated with a smart parking app that generates a virtual ticket for the driver and enables him to instantly make payment through an online payment gateway.

Also read: How Smart Parking Generates New Revenue Streams

Smart management of parking lots

Not only does smart parking technology improve efficiency at the parking lot, but it also reduces the cost significantly in the long run. Many parking lot managers shy away from investing in smart parking technology because of the high investment in the beginning. However, the greater ROI compensates for it; studies show that cities can achieve an ROI in less than 2 years. Some cities, like Los Angeles, have been known to achieve the feat in just 3 months. Thus, smart parking technology is the way to go for lot owners looking to increase profitability by doing away with cost inefficiencies.