NEW DATA: Smart Tech Makes Street Parking Smarter

When the parking meter made its grand debut in 1935, it allowed municipalities to collect money in exchange for vehicles to be parked for a set amount of time. Simultaneously, it created the inconveniences of forcing motorists to locate change wedged in between seats to feed the meter, while also keeping track of time to avoid a parking ticket.

Thankfully, today’s parking kiosks have moved beyond coin-operated solutions to accept dollar bills, credit and debit cards, mobile wallet and mobile app payments. Parking apps can spare motorists a mad dash back to their vehicle to refill the meter, and allow them to do it remotely from their phone.

In the U.S., demand for parking kiosks has grown. In 2013, the U.S. imported 223,000 kiosks. By 2016, the number of imported parking kiosks rose to 296,000, a growth of roughly 10 percent per year. Between 2017 and 2021, parking kiosk shipments are expected to increase by 8.62 percent per year.

Meanwhile, the next stage of parking kiosk technology appears to be underway in Spain. Starting in 2014, the city of Madrid began installing smart meters that did more than accept a wider array of payment options, from cash to credit cards to mobile app-based payments. The meters also track demand for parking, allowing officials to increase rates by as much as 20 percent during periods of high demand. The meters can also penalize motorists for driving environmentally-unfriendly vehicles, while allowing electric vehicles to park for free.

The brand-new Kiosk & Retail Report: Parking Edition examines how the parking kiosk market has changed in more than 80 years. The report includes over 200 data points on the broader kiosk market, as well as insights into growing demand for parking kiosk technology, and the challenges the technology will face in the future from autonomous and self-driving vehicle technology.

Here are some key takeaways from the Report:

The total volume of shipped kiosks is expected to grow by 9.7 percent between 2017 and 2021.

Parking kiosks represented 4.97 percent of the total kiosk market in 2016.

46 percent of U.S. adults have used a credit or debit card at unattended car parking meters, kiosks or exit barriers.

A Visa survey found 75 percent of drivers overfeed their parking meters, while only one percent pays for less than the time needed.

Studies have found that approximately 30 percent of city traffic is generated by people looking for free parking spaces.

To download the report, fill out the form below:

About the Report

The Parking edition of the Kiosk and Retail Report, a USA Technologies collaboration, is designed to give readers a better understanding of how these emerging parking kiosk technologies are shaping the parking industry. The report looks at over 200 data points to gauge the growing parking kiosk market and emerging mobile solutions, and takes a peek into the future of smart parking.