When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020, colleges and universities throughout the country sent their students home and transitioned to online learning. This impacted every facet of university operations, especially parking. Not only did university parking departments have to deal with the decision of how or whether to refund parking fees for the remainder of the year, but they also had to deal with the logistics of managing parking permits. Many faced challenges getting permits back from students, issues with them being replicated or faked, and more.

Of course, the COVID era isn’t the first-time colleges and universities have faced issues with paper parking permits. For years students have looked for ways to cheat the system, often with creative results. Institutions have tried their best to stay ahead of such issues, adding things like bar codes to the permits to make enforcement easier and limit the opportunities to replicate them. However, as technology has advanced so too has the ability to forge printed items like parking permits. This can result in significant losses for the parking department.

In today’s parking landscape, many colleges and universities are looking to transition to virtual parking permits on their campuses. Virtual parking permits are a great solution to not only reduce “cheating” but also significantly reduce costs associated with printing, mailing, and more. Check out ParkEngage Permit Parking. Faculty and staff can purchase permits online, register their vehicles, and easily manage their payments and renewals. Further, university parking staff can easily enforce parking on foot or in vehicle with our LPR enabled solution, while eliminating the need to issue hangtags, decals, or permit stickers. Check out the future of permit parking now!

ParkEngage has partnered with AAA Parking to integrate its touchless parking technology at the new Zoo Atlanta parking facility. This collaboration will transform the parking experience for patrons of the new, more than 1000-space, Grant Park Gateway parking facility. Zoo Atlanta attracts more than 500,000 visitors each year.

The ParkEngage Touchless Parking solution does not require the end user to download any apps and does not require any proprietary equipment to be installed. ParkEngage tracks when the user arrives to the facility, where they park, and when they exit. It allows the customer to perform all of their parking tasks via their mobile phone. The system gives customers control of their parking experience right at their fingertips, in a safe, efficient, and quality manner.

When visitors arrive, they will use their phone to check into the facility. The customer will then receive an eTicket on their mobile phone and proceed to their parking space. Upon returning to the parking facility, the customer will simply open their eTicket to initiate mobile payment. They will then be able to immediately checkout of the facility and exit the garage after retrieving their vehicle.

ParkEngage Touchless Parking will provide AAA Parking and its customers with a number of additional benefits to create a seamless parking encounter, including:

• Eliminating backup times at gated exits or valet wait times
• Eliminating paper tickets through the provision of eTickets
• Eliminate cumbersome physical membership passes and use ePass in its place
• Implementation of efficient and convenient payment through mobile pay
• Promote special offers and event-based pricing
• Ability to sell add-on services that customers can purchase or reserve directly from their mobile devices
• Provide personalized customer service and create brand loyalty

AAA’s Regional Director Event Operations, Miles Hamilton stated “AAA Parking set out to provide Zoo Atlanta members and visitors with a way to conveniently reserve and redeem e-reservations using a simple platform that requires no app to download. AAA Parking partnered with ParkEngage to create a 100% contactless solution while providing members and visitors a seamless process.  It was the ability of ParkEngage to provide us with a customized solution that really stood out to us.” This innovative technology is just another groundbreaking feature integrated into the Grant Park Gateway garage. The facility also includes a 2.5-acre green roof, electric vehicle charging stations, and bike racks.  It is the world’s first project to receive both LEED Sites and Parksmart certifications. The ParkEngage Touchless Parking solution enhances the sustainability features of the garage by significantly reducing the amount of time spent idling at the entrance and exits.

Photography courtesy of City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation.