STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: March 21, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Daren Grilley, Assistant Director of Public Works/City Engineer Genevieve Row, Parking Services Manager
Subject: Mobile Parking Payment Option
Attachments: None
INTRODUCTION
This report provides an overview of the new mobile parking payment option coming this spring to the Santa Monica Five parking structures. Mobile payment will offer a convenient option for customers to pay for parking via a smartphone app or by text. The ability to use mobile payment will be extended to the City’s on-street meters later this year and to the City’s parking garages early next year.
BACKGROUND
There are approximately 2,600 single space on-street parking meters in Beverly Hills. The City also owns fourteen parking garages that utilize a Parking Access and Revenue Control System (PARCS) and five parking structures along Santa Monica Boulevard, referred to as the Santa Monica Five, that are equipped with self-service pay stations that accept cash or credit cards.
Mobile parking payment systems provide customers with an easy way to pay for street, lot, or garage parking right from their mobile device. Parking Services intends to first implement mobile parking at the Santa Monica Five structures, followed by the single space parking meters on-street, which will be enforced with License Plate Recognition and integrated with the SKIDATA PARCS in the City’s public parking garages. The parking rates at all meters and garages will remain unchanged, with a small service fee per transaction.
DISCUSSION
On August 10, 2022, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Mobile Parking Payment System. The City received five responses to the RFP on September 12, 2022, from the following vendors:
• Cale America, Inc. dba Flowbird (“Flowbird”)
• Mobile Smart City Pango
Meeting Date: March 21, 2023
• ParkMobile, LLC
• Passport Labs, Inc.
• PayByPhone Technologies Inc.
The Selection Committee, consisting of representatives from the Public Works Department, Police Department, IT, and Finance, shortlisted four firms for interviews. After the interviews, the Selection Committee shortlisted vendors Flowbird and ParkMobile due to their existing capabilities to integrate with SKIDATA PARCS. Flowbird and ParkMobile were asked to submit a Best and Final Offer. Based on the written proposals, interviews, and final pricing offers, the Selection Committee ranked Flowbird with the highest total score in all categories for the services and support identified in the RFP.
The City has negotiated an agreement with Flowbird that includes a detailed marketing and public outreach plan, with a variety of pre- and post-launch services to familiarize Beverly Hills parking customers with the mobile parking payment application. These services include, but are not limited to, press releases and conferences, instructional videos for customers, in-person activations, and promotional campaigns.
Flowbird operates in 80 countries and over 125 cities and universities in the United States.
They have a successful track record of launching mobile parking payment services in cities across the United States, including New York, Detroit, and Las Vegas, among others.
Anticipated Implementation Schedule
Phase 1 Santa Monica Five May 2023
Phase 2 On-Street Meters Fall 2023
Phase 3 Parking Garages Early 2024
Outreach
To communicate this optional method of parking payment, advance notices will be mailed to businesses along both sides of South Santa Monica Boulevard. Information will be posted on the City’s parking operations website, the City’s social media, and BHTV. Staff and Flowbird representatives will also have a booth at the City’s Farmers’ Market for two to three weeks in April and May, 2023.
Signs indicating the new payment option will be installed at multiple locations in each parking structure. Staff and Flowbird representatives will be onsite to assist customers during the first week following installation.
Staff and Flowbird will also seek opportunities to present at community meetings to inform and involve business and community organizations, including the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau.
FISCAL IMPACT
The one-time cost for system startup, training, and marketing is estimated to be approximately $10,000 for the first year. Funds are available for this project in the approved Fiscal Year 2022/23 Parking Operating Budget. Ongoing annual costs are approximately $5,000 per year and will be absorbed in the Parking Operations budget.
Meeting Date: March 21, 2023
The vendor charges a $0.15 convenience fee per transaction to parking customers for utilizing this optional mobile payment method. This compares to industry standard fees of $0.30 to $0.40 per transaction.
RECOMMENDATION
This report is for information only.
Shana Epstein,
Director of Public Works
Approved By