Tag Archives for: Automotus

Automotus, launches its fourth cohort of the Commercial Curb Challenge

January 09, 2023

Automotus, launches its fourth cohort of the Commercial Curb Challenge

Automotus, a leading curb management solutions provider, launched its fourth cohort of the Commercial Curb Challenge. The Commercial Curb Challenge is a private-public partnership initiative aimed at helping cities implement automated curb management solutions without city-led investment. Past awardees include the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, the City of Omaha, the city of Bethlehem (PA) and others.

“Working with Automotus has enabled the Pittsburgh Parking Authority to maintain their status as an industry leader,” stated David Onorato, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. “The data collected over the past year has proven to be very beneficial to the Authority vision, that we extended our current contract for an additional two years and expanded the smart loading zones to 200 spaces. I look forward to our continued relationship with Automotus in transforming curb management through data and technology,” said Onorato.

This Commercial Curb Challenge will select five cities to join this public-private partnership to implement curb management analytics and automated smart loading to address congestion from on-street parking with a focus on developing strategies to support traffic safety issues and/or transportation emissions.

Selected cities will receive hardware at no upfront cost, support from leading technology and public sector consultants, and tools to support street safety and transportation emission goals of up to $750,000 to implement curbside analytics and automated smart loading zones.

Former recipients of the Commercial Curb Challenge include, City of Pittsburgh, City of Omaha, City of LA, and City of Bethlehem. Pittsburgh, PA has been operating Smart Loading Zones with Automotus since April 2022 and has seen a 20% reduction in dwell times and a 42% reduction in double parking.

Applications and nominations for the Automotus Commercial Curb Challenge are open until February 15, 2023 and can be entered here: https://www.automotus.co/commercial-curb-challenge. For more information, contact Roamy Valera, roamy@automotus.co.

City of Pittsburgh launches Smart Loading Zone pilot with Automotus, to streamline commercial curb activity

April 26, 2022

City of Pittsburgh launches Smart Loading Zone pilot with Automotus, to streamline commercial curb activity

PITTSBURGH, April 25, 2022 — The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, in partnership with Automotus and the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, is excited to celebrate the implementation of the Smart Loading Zone pilot program this week. This pilot is the result of a $100,000 grant awarded to the City by Automotus to create more efficient and safe curbside loading zones for commercial and app-based delivery drivers.

Technology in each Smart Loading Zone will analyze real-time curbside activity, automate payment by the minute for vehicles utilizing the zones and increase parking turnover to support local businesses. City Council authorized the creation of Smart Loading Zones in December 2021 to manage congestion in ways that benefit the City, businesses, residents, and fleets alike.

The one-year pilot program will include up to 20 loading zones in the Central Business District, Lawrenceville, Central Oakland, Bloomfield, and South Side Flats. The full map of locations can be found here. Vehicles must initiate a one-time signup to use the zones; registered vehicles have automatic access to any zone in the city.

These zones will enable streamline pick-ups & drop-offs and reduce double-parking and fuel emissions from idling vehicles. Newly collected data regarding the types of vehicles and activities occupying the curb will be analyzed to determine policies that can enhance the safety and efficiency of parking and/or incentivize the use of electric vehicles.

The anticipated outcomes of the program are a decrease in emissions from unnecessary idling and circling, reduction in parking-caused traffic and double-parking, generation of additional revenue from parking and loading, increase parking turnover for restaurants and small businesses, improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other curb users, and increase delivery efficiency and reduce dwell time.

For more information, please visit https://pittsburghpa.gov/domi/smart-loading-zones –

Park Omaha is implementing next phase of curb management with Automotus

December 16, 2021

THE PARTNERSHIP WILL SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES WHILE REDUCING CONGESTION AND IMPROVING SAFETY IN LOADING ZONES

Park Omaha has partnered with curb management company Automotus to deploy 100 “smart loading zones” across the city, with the goal of reducing congestion and improving parking turnover and curbside pick-up for local businesses.

For the project, Automotus will use first-of-its-kind computer vision technology to track and analyze demand at the city’s curbs. Omaha was an awardee of Automotus’ 2022 Commercial Curb Challenge, and as such, Automotus will work with the city to provide curb use data, real-time curb availability, and automated, pay-by-the-minute access to designated smart loading zones for commercial vehicles. The project will support the city in implementing new policies and developing dynamic pricing that reflects the real-time needs of all curb users and incentivizes more efficient, safer stops for delivery and ride-hailing drivers.

With delivery vehicle traffic on the rise, curb management has become more important than ever in Omaha, and Park Omaha is building a strategy for curb management as part of its overall parking management plan. Thus far, the city has focused on loading and unloading zones and has previously participated in a pilot program that assisted in mapping curb zones.

Automotus’ project will take this initiative a step further. Utilizing a camera system powered by artificial intelligence and algorithms, the project will allow the city visibility into when, where, and how people are using curb spaces in Omaha.

Unlike a traditional camera system, this technology only captures data that is de-identified, using it to train the technology and inform smarter policies. The vehicle license plate information is only used for enforcement and processing payments. Personal information and raw video feeds are not stored or shared, and data cannot be sold to any third party.

Data and analysis associated with the project will also give the city insights into the amount of time vehicles spend in certain areas and what type of vehicles are using curb space.

“This is a way for Park Omaha to understand how people are using loading zones,” said Ken Smith, the city’s parking and mobility manager. “This is the first of many steps we will take to optimize curb management in Omaha.”

Partners in the project also include Omaha by Design and ConnectGO, the Omaha Chamber’s transportation effort. Scott Dobbe, the executive director of Omaha by Design, said the partnership is unlocking new potential and allows the city to implement safer, more flexible transportation and curbside management systems.

“The advanced hardware, software, and consulting services offered by the program introduce opportunities for partner community organizations such as ours to better study and ultimately implement more equitable, accessible, and sustainable transportation solutions,” Dobbe said.

Stephen Osberg, the director of Transportation & Urban Development for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, seconded that.

“The opportunities offered by the Commercial Curb Challenge directly align with our vision for a prosperous and equitable Omaha developed through our outreach,” he said. “The resources offered through the challenge will allow our city to apply cutting-edge technology to better understand and actively manage the conditions along our curbs, some of the most valuable space in our urban core.”

The smart zones are aimed to address some of the busiest sections of the city and are scheduled to launch in 2022.

“Curbside congestion has been an issue that’s plagued cities for years now, only exacerbated by the rapidly expanding number of stakeholders at the curb,” said Jordan Justus, CEO of Automotus. “We’re thrilled that Omaha has taken the leap to address this issue, and we anticipate that this program will serve as a blueprint for other cities across the country to rethink how space is allocated at the curb.”

About Automotus:

Founded in 2017, Automotus uses first-of-its-kind computer vision technology to help cities, airports, fleets, and small businesses manage the unprecedented rise in congestion and emissions from commercial vehicle traffic. Their curb management solutions help their partners make data-driven policy decisions, fully automate payment for the vehicle (un)loading and parking, and make accessible, real-time curb availability data for drivers. From cities to residents and small businesses, their solutions are meant to benefit everyone by making our communities safer, healthier, and more sustainable places to live and move.

https://www.automotus.co/

About Park Omaha:

As a division of the City of Omaha’s Public Works department, Park Omaha’s team is tasked with managing the Parking & Mobility division efficiently. Park Omaha generates enough revenue to support operations, maintenance, and improvements while balancing parking supply and demand and opportunities for mobility and curb management.

Park Omaha’s goal is to create positive experiences, whether they are small weekday trips to a store or big weekend adventures with multiple stops throughout town. The division fuels our community’s economy by enabling smooth commerce.

Automotus raises $2.3M to scale curbside management technology to cities across the country

March 25, 2021

Automotus raises $2.3M to scale curbside management technology to cities across the country

The company’s video analytics platform collects data on delivery vehicle traffic and parking, helping cities work with commercial operators to proactively allocate curbside space while generating new sources of revenue

Los Angeles, CA: Automotus, a video analytics platform that monitors curbside traffic to help cities better allocate and manage curb space, has raised $2.3M to expand its footprint to more cities and launch nationwide partnerships with commercial fleets. Investments were made by Quake Capital, Techstars Ventures, Kevin Uhlenhaker (co-founder & CEO at NuPark, acquired by Passport), and Baron Davis.

Automotus-conducted research suggests that 50% of parking violations, such as double-parking, dwelling in bike lanes, or blocking driveways, are unenforced and committed by commercial vehicles — a statistic that takes on even more gravity when considering that the number of delivery vehicles in inner cities is projected to increase 36% by 2030. Using video-enabled real-time computer vision technology, Automotus processes data in real time to come up with solutions for easing traffic and making curb operations more efficient, improving traffic flow while also increasing efficiency for commercial fleets.

Automotus technology also makes it possible for cities to automatically invoice companies for their curb usage, share parking availability with consumer and commercial drivers, and automate enforcement operations. Data collected and passed on to cities — including dwell time, emissions, and vehicle type — help planners better understand curb and street activity across all modes of mobility, helping them make informed policy decisions.

Automotus’s technology has proven to be particularly valuable since the beginning of the pandemic, when home-delivery and curbside pickup services have seen unprecedented growth. Increasing numbers of commuters made the shift from public transit to individual or private modes of transportation, leading to a rise in traffic volume. Though the vaccine rollout presents the possibility of city life returning to “normal” in the coming months, experts predict these shifts in mobility will be long-lasting, making the call for effective curb management strategy all the more urgent. As cities balance the needs of all streets’ stakeholders — delivery drivers and companies delivering essential goods, restaurants building outdoor dining, and pedestrians and cyclists — building a data feed to monitor traffic, emissions, space constraints, and enforcement operations will be necessary to maintaining order and addressing safety concerns.

Pilot programs conducted by Automotus have already proven to have measurable impact on traffic, parking and operator efficiency. In recent deployments in cities like Turin, Italy and Bellevue, Washington, Automotus video analytics facilitated detailed breakdowns of curb and street traffic. This data was used to designate pick-up and drop-off zones, to guide additional parking policy, and make planning decisions. By fully automating parking enforcement at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Automotus increased enforcement efficiency and revenue by more than 500%. Implementing these measures led to a 24% increase in parking turnover and a 20% reduction in traffic.

This approach also saves commercial operators money, through increased efficiency and proactive payment for a reserved spot at the curb. In New York City, 20% to 30% of parking violations are committed by commercial operators, who rack up millions of dollars in fines each quarter. None of that is tax-deductible. Paying for parking, on the other hand, is. Moreover, Automotus presents a way for cities to regain income lost in the wake of COVID-19 through proactively monetizing curb space and enforcing parking violations, creating new revenue streams.

“The future of mobility and urban planning depend on healthy partnerships between public and private sector innovators,” said Jordan Justus, CEO of Automotus. “It has been promising to see Automotus immediately meeting multiple city needs – from bringing back revenue from parking to proactively finding win-win solutions for operators. Our technology holds great promise in finally dealing with congestion problems that have long plagued our streets.”

As cities and consumers change their habits, Automotus’s services are proving invaluable to cities who are scrambling to adapt to a changing urban landscape. “The pandemic has irreversibly transformed the delivery industry, creating a need for technology that reduces vehicle congestion, democratizes parking, and increases curb efficiency,” said Amy Coveny, Managing Partner at Quake Capital. “We’re proud to back a team that has found such a clear use case for their technology.”