Let's Talk about 2016. Let's Talk about Smart Cities.

Well, before we do that, let’s take a quick look at how Passport and the transportation industry have evolved alongside each other during the last five years.

In 2011, when Passport had just a few employees and was known as “PassportParking”, cities and agencies were just starting to learn about the potential impact of adding mobile payments to their operations. We were very much in “educate the space” mode, because, while some cities already had widespread adoption of mobile payments, most were not even considering it.

Mobile was seen purely as a convenience. An additional option for parking customers to avoid standing at a meter or carrying coins.

In 2013, when Passport had 20 employees, most cities and agencies were buzzing about the potential revenue impact that mobile payments could bring to their operations. RFPs were coming fast and heavy - at least a few a month. We had just launched the first mega-scale Private-Label platform with ParkChicago. Not just a branded app... but a fully customized flow tailored to the Chicagoland community.

All eyes had turned. Agencies had realized that maybe there was more to this mobile thing than just an added convenience.

In 2015, when Passport grew to 60+ employees and we dropped “Parking” from our name,  cities and agencies started to ask us what other services could be integrated into their mobile applications. With rapidly growing numbers of eyes on their apps each day, they wondered if there were other ways to serve their communities. Having recently launched CatchtheComet, one of the first mobile payment for transit solutions in the country - the answer was clear...

Combine the worlds of Parking and Transit. We are no longer making “payment option” apps. We are building platforms for cities and agencies to provide not only for electronic payments but tools for their communities to Plan, Track & Pay for their trips. In Tucson, Arizona, we launched the first sole payment application for both parking and transit with GoTucson.

In 2016, Smart Cities will become a reality. 50% of the global population today are active users of mobile data services, and according to a recent Ericsson report, the number of smartphone subscriptions will increase to 6.1 billion by 2020. Mobile platforms are providing conduits and huge opportunities for data feedback loops that were virtually non-existent in the siloed Parking and Transit spaces. These real-time data sources provide for powerful back office tools that allow Agencies to use data to improve the services they provide.

The smart city ecosystem extends beyond municipal assets like the parking meters or transit systems described earlier. Smart Cities include the broader, collective set of key stakeholders that can affect a downtown experience. Most visitors to a downtown are doing so for work, shopping or entertainment reasons. Furthermore, and not surprisingly, so many of these stakeholders also touch transportation systems. There is an old adage about parking being the first and last impression from a downtown experience. That is certainly the case for most, outside those that commute in public transit or even private ridesharing services. How do citizens in your town plan trips downtown? How do they track public transit or pay for parking?

The people have spoken, and it is clear that the on-demand economy is here to stay. The less friction involved with each stakeholder’s portion of the downtown experience, the greater loyalty potential and staying power of the customer. Retailers in many cities have even built further rapport with potential customers by participating in parking and transit subsidy programs.

Scenario in a Smart City

Think about Gary, who uses “GoPleasantville” to plan a trip uptown using Pleasantville METRO, tracks his bus using the same app and simply buys a ticket through his phone to board the bus on his way to work. Later that week, he drives his family to dinner and parks at a private lot that he was guided to for having the most available spaces, and pays for his parking session using the same app. After entering the restaurant, a Bluetooth beacon automatically recognized him as a “GoPleasantville” app user with an active parking session, and automatically validated, or subsidized, his parking session. Pleasantville, with its vibrant ecosystem of public agencies, private operators and merchants have provided their community with a much richer downtown experience by utilizing readily available technology in the market.

RFPs for mobile payment solutions are being released in staggering numbers - at least a few a week these days. Agencies procuring for these types of services today have a unique opportunity to reframe their mindset and think about utilizing the full power of mobile as an enterprise platform.

This is the time to think about setting the future of your Agency up for success with a true Smart City platform that will grow with the ever-changing needs of your Community.