School Parking: Generate Income by Optimizing Parking

School parking lots are essential for the smooth administration of your school; they are also an excellent source of passive income. They are usually located close to schools and universities and are often empty during non-peak hours. However, school parking lots are also a significant headache for students and parents alike. Parking lot owners constantly look for ways to increase revenue and improve their lot’s usability.

In 2014, the average vacancy rate of a parking lot was estimated at between 20% and 30%, representing a loss of several million dollars. In this article, we’ll uncover tips on optimizing your school parking lot to maximize its value.

What Is Passive Income?

Passive income refers to money earned without spending any effort or putting yourself out there. It’s money generated from something other than working. For example, if someone rents an apartment to tenants who pay him rent every month, he has a passive income because he doesn’t have to go anywhere to earn money. He collects it!

The same goes for parking lots. They will bring in more money if they’re well-maintained and optimized. This means that even though you don’t actively look after them, they still make money for you.

How Can You Generate Regular Revenue From Your School Parking Lot?

Many new spots are waiting to be recycled. Leasing out your school parking lot not only helps you mitigate heavy traffic, but you can also generate regular revenue from it. However, the first thing you should consider when developing a steady income from your parking lot is whether or not you want to sell tickets.

Selling tickets allows you to charge people for using your parking lot. However, selling tickets requires constant maintenance as you must ensure that all ticket machines are operational and that no one steals them. In return, however, you get paid whenever anyone uses your parking lot.

If you decide to sell tickets, here are some things you might want to think about:

• What type of tickets would best suit your needs?

There are two types of tickets available: monthly passes and hourly passes. Monthly passes cost a set fee, while hourly ones cost a small amount per hour. The latter option may seem expensive, but remember that each person only pays what they use, which adds up quickly.

• Where these tickets should be sold

Ideally, you’d like to find a location where many cars park regularly. That way, you won’t lose too much money due to theft. Also, avoid locations near busy roads since drivers tend to speed through those areas, which could cause accidents.

• Should you offer discounts?

Discounting tickets makes sense, especially if you plan to run special events such as concerts or sporting matches. Offering discounts helps attract customers and encourages them to come back again.

• Do you want to limit access to certain vehicles?

Some companies choose to restrict access to specific vehicles based on license plates. Doing so ensures that everyone gets equal treatment regardless of vehicle ownership status.

• Are you willing to invest in advertising?

Advertising costs vary depending on the size of your lot. Smaller schools usually opt for free methods, such as posting flyers around town, whereas larger schools often hire professional firms to help advertise their services.

• Will you accept credit cards?

Credit card payments are convenient but require additional fees. Therefore, most businesses prefer cash transactions.

• Does your business model include charging extra for reserved spots?

Reserved spots refer to places where you reserve a spot for an individual customer. These spots are typically located next to entrances or exits. They are ideal for large groups of people who wish to enter together. Charging extra for reserved spots increases revenue significantly.

• Is your parking lot accessible 24/7?

Accessibility is important because it prevents visitors from being turned away during peak hours.

• Can you afford to pay someone else to manage your parking lot?

If this is the case, then why bother with managing it yourself? You’ll have more time to spend doing other activities instead.

• Have you considered leasing out space?

Leasing out space means renting out part of your parking lot to another company. This allows you to earn even more money without having to do any work at all! It’s also possible to lease out multiple spaces simultaneously. 12) Could you make some improvements to increase revenues? Parking meters are one example of things you might consider improving upon. For instance, adding timers to the meters will allow you to charge different daily rates. Another idea is to add security cameras to deter thieves.

• Do you need to provide insurance coverage?

Insurance covers damages caused by third parties. However, it does not cover damage done to your property.

Shared Parking

Shared parking uses a parking space to serve two or many more land purposes. When practiced, shared parking allows more users to optimize a parking space while generating more revenue.

The benefits of Shared Parking;

• No upfront investment required

Unlike private parking facilities, shared parking doesn’t involve purchasing expensive equipment or paying rent every month. Instead, you share the cost of maintenance among users.

• Easy management

Since shared parking requires less staffing, managers don’t have to worry about hiring employees.

• Flexible pricing structure

You can set prices according to demand.

• Low operating costs

Because shared parking involves sharing resources (i.e., land and infrastructure), its operating costs are lower than private parking.

• High utilization rate

A high occupancy rate ensures drivers won’t wait too long before finding available spots.

• Increased safety

Drivers feel safer knowing that others are nearby if something happens.

• Reduced traffic congestion

By reducing the number of cars entering and leaving the building, shared parking reduces traffic congestion inside the building.  

How can shared parking help optimize school parking lots?

Opting for shared parking comes with several advantages. Since teachers, students, and other employees don’t stay too long in school, they only have to utilize the parking lot during school hours; renting parking spaces allows schools to generate a regular monthly income, which can help them with other school activities or cover other expenses.

On the other hand, you can also enhance the value of your school parking lot with parking management systems.

Parking management system

Most parking lots are manually operated. This act makes managing multi-level, multi-tenant car parking a daunting activity for parking lot providers and owners. The parking management system digitizes the operation and management of parking lots and all parking processes related to vehicles, visitors, payments, and allocation of parking spaces.

A parking management system limits manual monitoring and the process of tracking vehicles. With parking management, you can customize and define your parking areas.

Parking Management System for School Parking

There are many reasons why parking management software would help optimize your school’s parking lot. Here are just a few examples:

• Increase efficiency

A parking management system allows you to monitor each driver’s spending to determine which areas require improvement. By identifying these problems early, you can prevent them from becoming more significant issues later on.

• Reduce operational costs

Instead of spending countless person-hours manually monitoring your parking lot, you can automate this process with an automated parking management system.

• Improve customer service

If you want to improve customer satisfaction, then you should invest in a sound parking management system. A well-designed parking management system will give customers real-time updates regarding their car location and information regarding payment options. In addition, it will enable you to send messages directly to your clients via email or text.

• Better manage staff

With a parking management system, you’ll assign tasks to different people based on their skill set. This way, everyone knows what needs to be done at any moment. You can also create schedules so that specific jobs aren’t performed during peak hours.

• Save money

When managing a large parking lot, keeping track of all the details becomes challenging. However, with a parking management system, everything will become easier because you’ll know exactly where things stand at any given point in time.  

The benefits of sharing parking facilities

Sharing parking facilities has increased safety levels while decreasing traffic congestion. It also helps reduce operating costs since drivers don’t have to pay individually for parking spots. The following are some of the essential benefits associated with shared parking facilities:

• Increased security

Since more vehicles share one space, it makes sense that fewer accidents occur. Drivers who park next to each other tend to notice potential hazards sooner than those who drive alone.

• Reduced fuel consumption

Drivers spend less time searching for available parking spaces. They also avoid having to back out of tight spaces if someone else wants to leave first.

• Improved air quality

Vehicles emit pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. With shared parking, drivers spend less time searching for where to park their vehicles, and as a result, the number of cars roaming the streets will be reduced, and in turn, fewer vehicles emit pollutants.