Nearly 30% of congestion on city streets is caused by people looking for places to park. But as much as we hate parking, we hate bad parkers even more.
In the US, each driver spends an average of 17 hours per year searching for parking spaces, costing the American people almost $73 billion a year. More vehicles on the road mean more carbon emissions, more wasted time and fuel, and more stress for drivers.
One in three drivers in the US parked without paying and got away with it in 2017. Traditional parking systems rely on route patrols, ticketing, and towing for enforcement which are time-consuming and require a tremendous amount of human capital. The problem comes when obstructive, more dangerous parking is not cited and vehicles are not towed in time.
Taking over and inhibiting movement on sidewalks and bike lanes forces pedestrians and cyclists to risk their safety by moving into driveways. Vehicles parked on streets reduce road space and not only disrupt a continuous flow of traffic, but prevent emergency services from tending to their duties.
Local communities and residents can participate in reporting parking violators to keep their neighbourhoods safe. And to make it more engaging, participants can be rewarded for their help. For every illegally parked car a resident reports with their smartphone, they can receive points on their dedicated cloud wallet.
The more cars they report, the more violations can the local authorities act on in time. With our API, citizens can earn, store, and spend points on local rewards like free public transport tickets and parking vouchers. Showing top scorers on leaderboards can encourage even more people to actively participate in helping to reduce the number of dangerous violations.
By making the most of technologies available to us today, we can transform our communities, cities, and countries for the better. Together, we can make a difference. What would you do to improve your neighbourhood?