Parking Management in the Post Covid Era

Parking Management Has Changed

With the current pandemic affecting the way we live, work, and interact with each other, many businesses are deciding to change the way they operate in order to reduce the effects of COVID-19. People are starting to return to their jobs and schools, but now they have to keep in mind the possibility of exposure.

In many major cities, public transport is unused, while metered parking lots are full to overflowing. Regardless of how long it takes us to reach “the new normal”, it’s likely that social distancing will be around for quite some time. The more parking-related services you can offer that are online or automated, the better your chances are of attracting and retaining customers.

Employees can feel safer when they return to work, knowing that they won’t have to handle cash, permits, or violation slips all day. No matter what your company’s current parking situation looks like, OperationsCommander can help you optimize your offerings with fully scalable parking solutions.

For instance, say there’s a university that’s opening back up, but with modified or hybrid courses. The old parking fees were mostly for full-time students and staff; now that the time spent in physical classrooms is being reduced, the parking fees will have to be updated as well. Not just for the next semester, but likely for the next several semesters as the demands on the parking systems continue to change. If the school is having to manually issue, charge, and enforce multiple permit tiers each semester, that would mean a huge burden on the school personnel.

Contactless Parking Will Help

OperationsCommander has developed a variety of solutions for just about any situation. Whether you’re updating from a paper-based system for the first time, or you have a system that just doesn’t allow for expansion, OPS-COM is able to customize your parking and security systems to be exactly what you need.

Now that face-to-face interaction is being kept to a minimum, a cloud-based, self-managed parking system can help set you apart as a company that prioritizes safety for employees and customers alike.

Here’s an overview of what OperationsCommander can offers

• A single database to manage permits, violations, and incidents
• License plate recognition technology
• Built-in mobile parking payment options
• Hand-held patrol units with LPR and GPS mapping using real-time data
• Ability to choose between virtual permits or hang-tags
• Customizable permit types, lot definitions, waiting lists, and pricing tiers
• Complete customer database with email notifications
• Management through text notifications for short-term permits (Text2ParkMe)
• Full dispatch logging, as well as alarm/alert processes
• Management of locker assignments
• Exceptional customer service with each service package
• 24/7 online customer access to applications and appeals
• Comprehensive reporting and case tracking
• Full technical support for training, customizations, and integrations
• Easy payment provider integration
• Customer access through mobile app or website

Depending on what your company needs, OPS-COM can supply a full parking and security system, or incorporate previous installs where it’s possible. As a practical example of this, OPS-COM worked with a certain company that needed to overhaul their parking system, but didn’t want to buy an entirely new set of compatible parking meters after having spent thousands of dollars on what they already had.

OPS-COM was able to integrate the required features with the existing parking meters using an API, and the company was able to optimize both efficiency and long-term operating costs.

Now that people’s transport priorities have changed, they’re able to handle any potential increase in volume without straining their resources, or asking their employees to take any undue risks.

With an OPS-COM system, all of the customer’s data goes into a single database for easier management. As a part of the database, there are options to use different modules. The main module options are:

• ParkAdmin, which oversees selling, tracking, and managing permits
• ViolationAdmin, which manages the citation processes in real time
• IncidentAdmin, used for incident reporting and case management
• License Plate Recognition (LPR), used for efficient enforcement with virtual or traditional permits

Each of these modules feed into the same database, and most features are available for both the administrators and the customers. In addition to the four modules, there are other features that can be added to the system, such as Text2ParkMe and Locker Management. Almost every one of these features has something in common: they drastically reduce the number of touch-points, which is ideal for both the parkers and the administrators.

Let your customers do most of the work!

One of the key advantages of an OPS-COM install is that up to 95% of the customer’s activity is actually managed by the customer. There’s no need for in-person payments, physically issued tickets or violations, or office spaces where appeals and disputes are taken care of. Anyone who uses a parking permit would be able to recognize the value of eliminating unnecessary contact with people or equipment, especially these days.

On the company’s side of the equation, this type of investment could mean that in the future, management and administration costs would be a fraction of what they were before the OPS-COM install.

OperationsCommander doesn’t just offer a one-size-fits-all solution; rather, the aim is to bring a unique solution for a unique situation. This kind of flexibility is needed now more than ever, and OPS-COM is committed to helping businesses of all kinds adjust to the changes that have happened in the last few months.

For many businesses, the barriers against infection start at the door; but if you run a metered parking system, OPS-COM has practical solutions that will start lowering the risks as soon as a car enters the parking lot.