Before the pandemic, car parking spaces were only allocated to managers. These places were occupied because the management worked within the office building. However, the global COVID-19 outbreak changed everything. The hybrid work model has become a permanent feature across all corporations. And that is why car park spaces permanently allocated to given individuals seem like a waste. If a manager is working from home for say two days in a week, their car parking space remains empty.
Latest research
According to the latest research, as many as 6 in 10 respondents choose the hybrid work model as their most preferred. On top of that 91 per cent of those working remotely or applying the hybrid work model want to continue doing so. It is worth noting that employees aged 25-34 and residents of cities with populations of more than 500,000 are more likely to use the remote and hybrid work models.
Furthermore, by the end of 2021, 19 per cent of job vacancy ads were for remote work. As many as 44 per cent of those surveyed would be discouraged from applying to a company if they found out that the employer expected them to work exclusively from the office.
Car parking spaces at the office building
Employees waste time looking for a vacant parking space around the office building. This represents 15 minutes per day, which translates into more than 150 minutes per month if the employee works in the office for only 10 days per month. This is a huge waste of time and may make staff late for meetings or even miss important events.
More importantly, the irritation generated by looking for a parking space can be further fuelled when a person sees a vacant space and still cannot park there because it is assigned to a manager. When looking for a place, an employee experiences unnecessary stress because they know that the search may take too long.
Problems with parking spaces
However, office car park problems are more extensive. There is also the dilemma as to whom to allocate car parking spaces permanently and who shouldn't be taken into account. This may give rise to conflicts between employees, as someone may be overlooked in the allocation of access to the company car park.
Another problem is keeping an eye on and monitoring to ensure too many people do not have access to the car park, as too many drivers may turn up on a given day, risking car parking chaos and unnecessary frustration. The time-consuming, costly and risky process of issuing parking cards for all employees who want to drive their cars to the office is also worth mentioning.
Car park payments
Micropayments for one-day parking space reservations at the office is an interesting alternative to free car parking spaces. The vast majority of employees own cars, but unfortunately the amount of parking spaces available to the average company renting office space is clearly insufficient. The ratio of the number of employees to car parking spaces oscillates at around 10:1.
Is paid parking in an office building a better solution?
When an employee books a paid parking space, they ‘respect' the booking more as they have spent their own money on it. Such a person will remember to cancel a reservation if they decide to work from home or use other means of transport to commute. Furthermore, we recommend for cancellations to be possible only up to the day before the start of the booking.
If an employee wants a refund for a reservation cancelled on the day it was supposed to take place, they will have to provide a valid reason, such as a doctor’s note. Paid spaces make it possible for the car park to be utilised much more efficiently.
When an employee does not come to the office by car because they are working from home, someone else will be able to use the same parking space and park comfortably.
Reserving a car park space like reserving a desk
The system for booking rooms, or desks is similar to a car park reservation system, where anyone can book a parking space, desk or room via a mobile app. Such a system facilitates secure use of spare resources.
ParkCash parking space reservation system
Implementing a parking space reservation system makes it possible to find a vacant car park space for every employee. Parking spaces are no longer permanently assigned to a specific manager, instead they are in a pool of spaces available to company employees. Users can reserve a car parking space in real time via the ParkCash mobile app. The mobile app has a facility for mobile payments.
A company car park is used effectively when parking spaces are not empty. One-day reservations are great if a person works only two days a week in the office for example.
The system facilitates 100% car park usage efficiency. Between 5 and 10 individuals can use a single parking space in a month. Reservations based dynamic allocation of parking spaces makes this possible. A parking space reservation system is a simple solution to give employees access to vacant spaces.
A parking space reservation system as a job perk
A parking space reservation system encourages employees to return to the office. Employees are much more likely to use a company car park if everyone has the opportunity to leave their car there.
The booking system improves workplace comfort. Employees are able to plan their journeys because they know whether parking spaces are available. If none are available on a given day, they may choose an alternative method of commuting, such as public transport.
The ParkCash app allows users to reserve a space with an electric scooter charger, which may be installed inside a car park. Such charging stations mean that during the summer employees will not break H&S rules by bringing their scooters into the office to plug them into ordinary sockets. They will be left outside of the office in a secure environment to be collected after work with a fully charged battery.
Reservations for guests
The ParkCash system may be used to reserve car park spaces for guests coming to visit an office. Visitors receive email notifications in advance with information needed to open a barrier and car park.
Barrier mobile remote control
At traditional car parks a barrier has to be operated with a traditional plastic car park card. ParkCash delivers alternative methods of opening a barrier. Ordinary car park cards generate unnecessary stress for both the driver and the car park manager. First and foremost, a change in tenants or persons to whom a parking space is assigned requires such a card to be physically handed over. Secondly, unfortunately, such a card can be lost. Integration with barriers, on the other hand, is simple for the office manager.
ParkCash Mobile Remote
ParkCash solutions also include the innovative Mobile Remote concept, where a mobile app is used to open a barrier. Once a car parking space has been reserved and during the actual reservation period, the user may open a barrier via their Bluetooth and internet enabled phone.
The Mobile Remote increases security, as a person without a parking space reservation will not open a barrier. To ensure the flawless and secure operation, our barrier-mounted controllers are equipped with SIM cards and Bluetooth transmitters.
It is worth mentioning that, with the Mobile Remote on a phone, it is possible to grant access to the car park in seconds to anyone. Such rapid response times are not possible if physical car parking cards are still used.
Our customers have two other methods to open a barrier at their disposal!
A QR CODE – during the period for which a car parking space is reserved the barrier can also be operated using a QR code.
LPR camera – during the period for which a car park space has been booked, the barrier will automatically open upon detecting the car registration plate.
System data
Reservation system data can be used to improve car parking space management. This helps to avoid the difficulties that can arise when decisions are taken without necessary data. This is an exceptionally important function for car park owners.
ParkCash data includes the following:
- car park use frequency per employee,
- car park perk value calculations,
- frequency of permanently assigned spaces being used by other drivers,
- consumed and cancelled reservation rates,
- car park use time per employee,
- car park space reservations revenues.
Summary
The innovative ParkCash solutions are in line with smart office requirements. Customers are particularly appreciative of the system’s complexity. Employees choose the hybrid work model and car parking spaces are available to everyone. This makes for a modern workplace.
Contact us and use Calendly to schedule a demo with Piotr Nizio, ParkCash CEO to find out how to transform car parking facilities at your company.
