TECHNOLOGY
Unpave paradise , put away parking lots
The future of transport and property
I
JUSTIN COETZEE
CEO of GoMetro , a local public transport app
t seems that the innovation and disruption evolution has hit the homefront in earnest , with industry practices and the old way of doing things being disrupted as never before . The latest casualty ? Parking bays , according to Justin Coetzee , CEO of GoMetro , the mobility-as-a-service startup that is changing the way South Africans think about getting to work .
“ Cities are starting to realise that requiring less parking space is a good thing for livable cities ” says Coetzee . He continues : “ City centres have become more and more congested , with a recent study showing that 30 % of traffic in a CBD is due to people searching for parking .
Noting the impact that a lack of parking had on traffic , cities in the 1960s started requiring a minimum amount of parking bays for any new development . But even minimum parking standards are the wrong way to go , and cities are realising that the easy provision of parking actually increases car usage in the CBD . City authorities are now thinking of incentivizing alternative mobility solutions to massive amounts of parking bays by saying ‘ we ’ re going to tax you for every parking bay you build and maintain .’
The “ smarter way ” is flexible mobility , a recent concept which is set to revolutionise the way people move around the city and how they consume transport services .
Property prices to follow suit
“ There ’ s an enormous correlation between working flexible mobility routes and the desirability or price of a property . There ’ s a very well-documented link
Flexible mobility , the pioneer of which was Uber , entails getting around via customised transport solutions , usually shared , that involves people being able to use various taxis , minibuses , busses , trains , and more at their convenience rather than driving their own car around .
The vehicle ( car , taxi , van , bus ) drops you off at or close to your destination and then moves on to serve other people - meaning you never have to apologize for being late for a meeting because you couldn ’ t find parking .
between land value and transport network availability . The easier it is to access amenities , the higher yield rent will be ,” explains Coetzee , citing the very popular and influential Vox video on YouTube entitled ‘ The high cost of free parking ’.
18 OCTOBER 2017 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine