| Technology Profile
Key areas included system
integration such as scanning
cars, CRM or account
management systems (AMS),
enforcement/debt collection
systems, and data analytics;
providing high levels of
customer service by employing
best practices in multimedia
contact centers and quality
management systems (QMS)
to deliver superior customer
service to the users of our
services; and financial expertise
because in the tolling industry,
it’s all about maximizing the
revenue and the collection
efficiency to benefit both the
municipalities and the public.
The same aspects were key in a
recent client win for a segment
of the Paris parking enforcement
contract, in addition to many
other regional cities parking
management contracts.
Amsterdam at a glance
In Amsterdam, Egis processes
more than 170,000 license plate
checks a day, handles more than
180,000 parking permits and
collects €200m (US$222.5m)
a year in parking fees. These
figures can be easily compared
with free-flow tolling projects
with similar average daily trips,
volume of registered accounts
and amounts collected on behalf
of the toll authorities.
It’s only the beginning,
with the advancement of
Mobility-as-a-Service blending
tolling, transit, parking and
many other services into a
single, ubiquitous service.
customers do not have to
register with multiple service
providers/tolling providers to
use multiple infrastructures.
Enforcement and debt
collection are also key
components of the tolling value
chain. Drivers may not pay their
tolls in time and therefore
specific enforcement
methodologies – soft and hard
collection, from in-house staff
to collection agencies – and toll
violation escalation up to traffic
citation and/or a fine, court
hearings, and court package
preparation need to be
implemented to guarantee
the highest level of toll revenue
collection to the infrastructure
owners, for the ultimate benefits
transferred from public servants
to private companies. Tolling
has experienced similar
challenges where public
roadways were conceded to
private concessionaires.
Interoperability will soon
be a key issue for the parking
world. Why should
municipalities and parking lot
owners/operators be locked in
with a single payment service
provider? Cities need to erase
barriers for new service
providers to enter the market
creating an open marketplace
for the provision of parking
services to the public.
As we have seen for road
user charging pilots in
California, Oregon and soon
Washington State, authorities
can create open marketplaces
where service providers
compete to access customers
to the benefits of the customers
and local governments.
Parking enforcement was the
critical piece of the puzzle when
as much as 80% of the parking
fees were not paid by users,
bypassing the system by
counting on the fact that bylaws
officers would not be prompt
enough to catch them.
Technology such as data-driven
analytics and license plate
scanning vehicles now allow
parking operators to detect,
react and prevent parking
fraud much more easily.
Natural move
In conclusion, tolling and
parking have a lot in common
and it is a natural move for
tolling businesses like Egis to
move into the smart parking
world. Egis won its first parking
management contract for the
city of Amsterdam because it
leveraged numerous core
competencies from its tolling
practice to develop innovation
for this new market:
September/October 2019 Traffic Technology International 067
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
Left: Amsterdam is
benefiting from parking
management services
of the taxpayers and users of
these same infrastructures.
Modern day parking
On-street and off-street parking
– often grouped under the term
smart parking – share numerous
identical characteristics to the
tolling world. Smart parking
services have become more
technological, and coin-only
parking meters have evolved
to the introduction of parking
payment mobile phone
applications. Enforcement has
also changed, from officers
walking the streets to issue
paper tickets, to scanning cars
amplifying the efficiency of the
process and the ticket
automatically being mailed to
the vehicle owner’s address
Parking users were once
known only when they were
violators, but now they become
customers anytime they use a
parking facility or spot. This
represents a paradigm shift.
People expect to pay their
parking with their smartphone,
using a single app, even in a
remote small city. This is often
preferable over carrying cash.
Legislative changes have and
are occurring to allow private
third parties to manage part or
the entire value chain. Cities can
now partner with vendors to
provide additional payment
parking options in addition
to parking meters, which have
evolved to accept bankcards and
NFC tags. France has even
introduced legislation to allow
municipalities to outsource
parking payment enforcement
activities to private parties.
These projects may also
involve huge staff transition
aspects as the workload of
enforcing parking may be
| Free reader
inquiry service
Egis
To learn more about this advertiser, please
visit: www.magupdate.co.uk/ptti
/www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
/ptti
