There is nothing more welcomed to a sports fan than to realize their team is back playing, in a regular environment, with real fans in the stands. If anything, this pandemic reminded us of a time once taken for granted. However, that same fan is quickly reminded of the long ingress and egress lines of attending an event. The treacherous bottleneck of cars, merging from multiple feeder roads into one giant black top just to claim their spot and set up shop.
But that is not how it should be.
With the vast selection of automated parking systems on the market, there is no excuse to NOT automate your event parking process. And if you still haven’t, what’s keeping you from automating?
Event Parking Automation should be driven by the ideal customer experience. Here’s a few tips on how to accomplish this:
Offer Pre-Paid parking pass options. No need to reinvent the wheel, just partner with a parking app who already has the infrastructure and can integrate with your website and parking technology.
Create dedicated entrances to reward those that planned ahead with an expedited entrance if they pre-paid and perhaps even closer parking options.
Utilize smart technology for enforcement or expediting pre-paid pass access such as LPR technology or smart handhelds that can instantly read bar codes or license plates. The goal here is that the car can glide through the entrance at a slow speed and continue into the parking lot without stopping.
Let parkers in, enforce later. This approach would let parkers through the gates, allow them to pay via mobile app once they parked (utilizing specific QR codes), and get them in their seats as fast as possible. Enforcement teams can then start their routes utilizing License Plate Recognition (LPR) to determine who has paid and who has not. Imagine the real-time heat-mapping on this option!
Consider offering Early Access Parking for tailgaters who will get to enter ahead of the peak ingress time.
Consider offering a Fast Exit Pass. This can be offered for a fee and parkers will be able to park in an area that allows for a faster route out to the main streets. This shows your customer that you care about their egress experience as much as their ingress experience.
Communicate as much as possible ahead of the event to all ticket holders and on your website. Make sure your website has clear and concise information on how to purchase parking, indicating specific entrances, hours, parking fees, ways to pre-pay, FAQs, Parking Policies, Maps, etc.
A better fan experience: Parkers don’t want to think about parking and they definitely don’t want to be inconvenienced by it. Automating helps fans along in their journey and helps you deliver a better fan experience for your venue from arrival through departure. Here are some of the benefits:
Creates a higher level of comfort for fans if info is thoroughly communicated and they know what to expect.
Creates a fast ingress & egress for the venue.
Creates a less-stress environment for the fan by saving them time.
Saves you money by automating the process your team can focus on more important tasks instead of the mundane ones in a manual process. (like offering and operating a special shuttle for ADA parkers!)