Picture a parking lot. You’re seeing a huge concrete building right? Neat yellow or white lines to indicate where your vehicle should be parked? Now, with tech advancements coming our way, these concrete buildings will be a thing of the past. And even though we’re way behind Marty McFly’s vision of 2015, pretty soon we’ll be hovering our way to work. For now though, we’re satisfying ourselves with Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift and welcoming automated car parks.
Car Stackers International believes Australia is a little behind in getting on board with the car stacking technology. But we’re getting there and the first step is educating ourselves about this tech so we’re ready when it arrives. With this parking solution, it’ll be so much easier to park and secure a space, with possibly double or triple the current amount of parking spaces available if we stack vehicles.
Just like any mechanical tool, there’s still concern around the technology breaking down. But operators have given drivers plenty of instruction in how to work the machinery, and there’s always on-site operators in the rare case of an issue.
It’s not just these stacking parking systems being rolled out. Smart parking has gained more popularity in recent years, and could take over ticket parking completely in the future. Queenstown International Airport has actually installed smart parking into its Park & Ride parking area, with the aim to reduce congestion and encourage drivers to park off site if they need car space in the long term.
It’s a good idea, since the Park & Ride area of the airport is often crowded and an overall nightmare to navigate, especially with so many people walking in and out of the airport. Smart parking would certainly help curb the unavoidable road rage stoked by occupying the same little car park.
We’ve mentioned it before, but driverless vehicles are on their way. We’re talking 5-10 years. Pretty soon, autonomous vehicles will be taking over the roads and driving yourself will become a thing of the past. You can read, do work and even take a nap while at the wheel…literally! We’ve already got driverless trains operating on the recently opened Sydney Metro, so we can definitely look forward to more of these tech advancements in the future.
That’s not all. We’ve got websites and apps that let you know when street parking is available, paid or free, and how long you can use it for. Not only does it help you avoid a fine, it helps to eliminate the traffic caused by drivers constantly circling the block looking for a spot. Our own research has shown that for every journey, a driver spends an average of 15 minutes looking for parking. What a waste of time!
Drivers have also explored options that allow them to rent their own parking space from others in the area. Companies like Spacer and Parkhound have hosts that rent out their parking spaces and garages to people who need them within a particular area. We’re also aiming to reduce the amount of traffic. Plus, most spaces are off the street, so you won’t have to worry about coming back to car that’s been side-swiped.
The future is so full of promise, especially when you think about what parking technology has already done for us. It can only go up from here, and soon enough, we’ll have the seemingly unattainable dream of the hovering and flying vehicles of Blade Runner. It’s only a matter of time, and you’re going to experience and live it.