Yes, I got a car! Hear me Roar! – ParkNews.biz week of Aug 18 – 24, 2020
Yes, I got a car! Hear me Roar!
ParkNews.biz week of Aug 18 – 24, 2020
“Yes, I got a car. I got a car because cars are kind of this ultimate form of personal protective equipment”
This week on ParkNews.biz what is most striking is that we will move forward instead of succumbing to fear and thus complacency.
For one, Millennials who in the past didn’t want to drive are buying cars. There is safety and freedom and independence in owning a car. As it is said in the article from the Atlantic, Uber and Lyft rides are less popular due to pandemic. Myriad Millennials used TNCs since car ownership seemed more expensive or caused congestion. However, now the data shows that it was those share rides as empty cars on the roads that added to the congestion problem and not car ownership.
“The last 10 years congestion has gotten bad across the U.S., especially in the past three or four years. A lot of areas have really bad traffic that just did not have traffic before that. And we also know that air pollution in some places is getting worse, especially from cars. A lot of the blame here seems to be on Uber and Lyft because all these ride-sharing apps, instead of working on a taxi system, where basically taxis know where to go to sit for rides, Uber and Lyft have moved to this system where cars are sorted by algorithm and there’s just a ton of cars without passengers on the road at any one time, driving basically from the end of one ride to the beginning of another.
They have made congestion a lot worse. And something I do wonder … I used Uber and Lyft a lot before the pandemic. And to some degree, the cost of owning a car is more, but not that much more than I might have spent on Uber and Lyft. I bought an old used car and I was spending a lot of money on Uber and Lyft. And if people, after the pandemic, switch a third or a half of their rides on Uber and Lyft to their own private vehicle—a private vehicle that when they are not driving, it is just sitting in a garage somewhere or sitting in a parking space somewhere—it could reduce congestion and improve overall outcomes because if that took some number of Uber and Lyfts off the road, we could actually see congestion decrease.
Ride-sharing apps are really bad for congestion.”
So here it is to driving again, parking and being free. Overcoming our fears and facing life head on.
Some of the companies this week that are doing it are:
SP Plus – they are partnering with ChargePoint to create easy and convenient charging in all their facilities. Yes, go and buy this electric car. You can park it and charge it anywhere and everywhere.
All Traffic Solutions Debuts Give Back Program . They donate message signs to Police Departments. According to Andy Souders, CEO of ATS. “We are always looking for new ways to collaborate with our law enforcement partners and give back to those in need right now. This program will bridge the gap between stretched police budgets and limited grant funding.”
Yes, people are driving and parking. And we have an opportunity to make their parking experience the best.
PayByPhone does that so well at Bowling Green State University. Roamy Valera, PayByPhone CEO says: “Campuses in North America are increasingly adopting the PayByPhone app because it simplifies and modernizes parking for students, faculty and visitors.”
ParkMobile brings better parking experience to University of Alabama. HonkMobile in Port Jefferson Village and London, Ontario. Passport in Omaha, NE, Portland, ME and Buffalo, NY.
Yes, I got a car and I drive and park because I don’t subscribe to fear. Hear me roar!
Astrid Ambroziak
Editor, ParkNews.biz
Creative Director PT
Parking Today
310 390 5277 ext 9