Coronavirus Pandemic: A More Transient Society

Coronavirus Pandemic: A More Transient Society 

Most of the parking industry is still quantifying the substantial loss endured in the past 7 months (and 10 days…) while also looking further and further into 2021 for hope that cities will re-open, in-person work will resume, and cars will once again fill garages. We dare not try to stamp a date on it yet. This has been tough and will continue to be tough – but we must continue to look for the opportunities.  

It’s budget season - the time in the 3rd and 4th quarters where expectations are set, commitments are made, and a plan is developed. Generally, this will be one of the toughest budget seasons to navigate. How low is the bar set? How do you put your best foot forward without over committing? What is even considered conservative? Parking revenues, unless of course you have a crystal ball, will be anyone’s WAG. But there still must be opportunities. 

There are many factors that have gone into the reduction of traffic to parking facilities, and equally as much will contribute to the volume that we hope will return. To calculate, you must factor in each cities’ unique policies and parameters, employer’s necessity for in-person work, commuter confidence in public transportation, and many more. One output should be highlighted: How will all of these factors, including blended office/WFH policies, contribute to the volume of traffic on any given day? More specifically, how many days per week will the average person come to the office? How will those days that they do not come to the office be offset by another person’s varying schedule that now drives to work rather than take public transportation. Will they still perceive a monthly subscription (let’s call it that for now on, please) as the best value? There is the potential for opportunity. Well, it depends.  

Public transportation fears aside, let’s talk about the potential for permanent shifts in WFH policy. Earlier this summer, it was reported that 42% of the U.S. Labor Force was working from home. While it took some time to get used to, many companies have been successful in their ability to shift – frankly, they had to be. Employees have had little to complain about this arrangement. But most studies suggest that at least partial in-person work is desired to develop workplace culture – and thus it will likely resume. This is at the very least changing how employers view the necessity of their office footprint. With the prevalence of open floor plan offices already at record levels, reconfiguring that space for the future will be more realistic (fewer walls to knock down). If a company switches to a policy that allows for one, or several, WFH days, how does that change their needs? Can they reduce their footprint? Can they make better use of the space? At least at first, we all know that room for social distancing will be the dominating factor. Not to remind anyone, and I know this is a sore subject, but many are and will be stuck in leases.  

So how does 3 days a week in-person and 2 days a week at home policy affect parking? How about a 2/3 split? 1/4? What about when you factor in people that would take public transportation over their own vehicle just because of the economics? What if they only need to park 1-2 days per week – how does that affect the commuter mix? Will monthly parking subscriptions still be modeled how they always have been? Will commuter packages finally get the love they deserve? 

 I’d like to draw attention back to the star of our show: Transient Parking. Ah, transient parking – Always there for you when you are late to a meeting, don’t know where you are going, or have not made other arrangements yet. For a one time use the pricing model makes a lot of sense, depending on who you ask. Of course, that is non-economical if you are planning to park most days of the week. But what if you are not planning to be in the office 5 days per week? What if you do not even know what days of the week you will be coming in? What options are there for you then? 

We may be seeing a recipe for a more transient workforce. And in parking, we all know transient tickets are more valuable than monthly on a single day/single space basis. Or as an old colleague of mine always said: “Monthlies keep the lights on, transient makes the money”. Which points out the obvious loss of monthly subscription contracts. Can that really be offset? 

More cars, less frequency, higher instance value. Solve for “x”.