Alex Smith |
We can’t make a curb longer than it is, so trying to fit a much larger volume of vehicles into the same space requires more efficiency in how we handle parking to ensure equal access.
Delivery companies, like Amazon, FedEx, and Uber, now have hundreds of thousands of vehicles parking in cities every day. This vehicle volume leads to traffic congestion, pedestrian safety concerns, and curb access issues for the public. The Vision Zero Network reports that approximately 42,000 pedestrians are killed annually due to vehicle congestion. This is a growing problem as more contributors vie for access to a finite curb resource.
To help solve these issues, Umojo designed the NexCity platform modernising the way municipalities approach their parking infrastructure. NexCity can quickly be deployed with a ‘Measure – Analyse – Execute’ approach and with integrations for technologies that cities already use, such as Microsoft Office 365, all major mobile apps, meters, and enforcement vendors. NexCity digitises a parking system by bringing all mobility data into one platform where administrators can assess the entirely of the parking system. Then using Power BI, can identify what Umojo calls the CurbScore, a system that identifies the safety and equity efficiency of the curb. It can then provide recommendations to increase revenue, decrease costs, make the streets safer and improve parking efficiency.
Umojo does all of this with a wide range of investment, starting at ‘Analyse’ with zero infrastructure investments using existing data, existing street cameras, or installing Umojo’s solar-powered, cellular cameras in different areas of the city. These cameras allow Umojo to ‘Measure’, using the most accurate video AI in the industry to anonymously track how all vehicles use parking spaces. Then municipalities can ‘Execute’ with data driven decisions that improve curb equity. NexCity’s algorithms prioritises curb usage over vehicle identification to protect the privacy of the citizen. The goal is to improve the CurbScore, not track the users.
Using Umojo’s NexCity platform, cities can gain much greater control of their parking system, improving pedestrian safety and reduced traffic congestion. With NexCity, municipalities can improve their parking policy and create a safer environment for everyone.
Rick Neubauer is the founder and CEO of Umojo
This article was originally published in the Autumn 2022 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.