urban
mobility and security.
In recent years the technology available for the optimization
of the management of this type of business has development
considerably, with number-plate readers, systems that stop
windows being opened, automatic payment systems and applications
to book parking spaces.
"Until five to seven years ago, the biggest operators in this
sector had been active for 30 years, but they have become more
professional over the last decade," Fernando Braz, the editor of
the Portal Parking magazine and specialist in parking issues,
told ANSA.
"Furthermore, some investment funds have acquired stakes in
these companies and this has created new openings - the
resistance is crumbling away".
The magazine will organize the Parking Lab Expo, in Sao Paulo
March 21-23 in collaboration with Cipa Fiera Milano.
The latest developments for the garage and parking sector
will be presented during the event running at the Sao Paulo Expo
at the same time as the Exposec security fair.
The Parking Lab Expo will also feature a congress at which
issues regarding the sector's present and future will be
discussed.
One of the speakers will be Carolina Edelstein, the CEO of
Coopark, who will give a presentation on "parking in the era of
connectivity".
Her platform, created in 2017, works on three fronts:
advanced booking for parking spaces, the assignment of spaces
for company employees and an application for automatic payments
via a QR code.
"The parking sector is very conservative, very old fashioned,
but it is gradually opening up," explained Edelstein.
"It's like what happened with Uber - car parks cannot stay as
they are and, indeed, those who have realised that you can't
stand still will have success".
According to the entrepreneur, the fact that a person can
book a parking space in advance can have a direct impact on
improving traffic.
"People don't realise but parking has a direct on our lives,"
she said.
"On average 20% to 30% of traffic is made up of motorists
looking for a parking space.
"People go to the park, to a restaurant or to a meeting and
they forget that you have to park to do so.
"If a person knows where they are going to park, they don't
have to drive around and traffic in the city diminishes".
Braz also thinks that the current trend in this market
regards connectivity.
"Before you would go from one car park to another," he said.
"Now there are dozens of applications that show where spaces
are available and they make it possible to book one".
Another development that helps urban mobility is the link up
with companies that rent bicycles and kick scooters, according
to Rodrigo Lucca, the executive director of Gruppo Verzani &
Sandrini.
"These are currently the best allies of the car parks in the
quest to improve urban mobility," he said.
His group, which will take part in the Parking Lab, owns VS
Parking, a company that offers personalized solutions for the
planning and management of car parks.
"The technology has developed a lot in recent years," Lucca
said.
"The main solutions at the moment aim to reduce 'attrition'
for the client so they have an agile experience, both on the way
in and on the way out".
THE FUTURE AND SECURITY
Urban mobility is not the only area where technological
developments can produce positive effects though: security,
which is one of the main concerns in a country with a high crime
level, can benefit from these processes too.
One of the developments that can increase the user's sense of
feeling protected is the automatic reading of car number plates,
a system that is not yet very widespread in Brazil.
"Today 95% of car parks use an automated system to issue
tickets, but they do not link them to the registration plate,"
said Braz.
"This can increase security a great deal for low cost in
terms of the technology".
In Sao Paulo, for example, there are projects in which car
parks can get information about stolen cars and, if one of them
takes up a space, keep it under control.
Another factor that increases security is the reduced use of
cash at the facilities.
"Brazil has a high rate of thefts and robberies, but the
figures in the parking sector are falling drastically and the
main reason is the reduction in the use of cash, with payments
migrating towards bank cars or direct transfers," Lucca said.
"Intelligence monitoring systems connected to active centres
also help avoid attempted felonies ar our outlets".
Looking to the future, one of the things Braz is banking on
is robotic car parks, which are common in other countries like
China, but are in the infant stage in Brazil.
In these car parks, the client leaves the car in a sort of
lift, which guards and gives back the vehicle without any need
for human intervention.
According to the expert, there is still a degree of "fear"
about these systems on the Brazilian market, but the prospective
economic benefits will prevail.
"There is still some fear, but sooner or later that will go
away, because the cost of parking with this technology is
plummeting and we'll get to the point where a robotic car park
costs less than a conventional one," he explained.
"In the end, the winning factor will be the price".
All these solutions aim to reduce parking costs, with
personnel that will become increasingly specialised.
"Today there is a transition from manual controls, which
require a greater human presence, towards technological
solutions and, in turn, these workers are qualifying to work in
operational and financial management, thus generating even
better results," he said.
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