Smarking is repairing the connective tissue of society by optimizing parking assets and driving new revenue which, in turn, funds transformational transportation initiatives like bikesharing, carpooling and door-to-door shuttles.

Visual data generated by Smarking’s parking business intelligence platform provided key insights on the strategy and actions necessary to promote the growth and sustainability of a thriving Aspen’s downtown. The results surpassed Aspen’s initial goals,  decrease peak occupancy by 12.5 percent and increase parking revenue by 26.1 percent.

Most impressively, the total business receipt volume in the downtown increased by 20 percent, due to the accelerated turnover of parked vehicles on street, in turn driving visitors’ shop traffic. The increased parking revenue has been used to fund transportation methods like bikeshare, carpooling and door-to-door shuttles as part of the city’s “Drive-Less” campaign to reduce traffic congestion.

The City of Aspen is a tourist hub, but only during certain seasons. As a result of the seasonal swings, city officials realized their existing static pricing model for parking was not efficient, with parking occupancies varying from 50 percent during the off-season to full occupancy in the busy summer months.

To further study the occupancy levels throughout the seasons and determine a solution to manage demand and available parking spot inventory, city officials kicked-off a three month pilot program using the Smarking data management system. The goal was to increase prices in the core parking zones and use the incremental revenue to fund alternative transportation methods.

Similar successes are now being replicated in many other cities such as Santa Monica, CA, Walnut Creek, CA, New Haven, CT, Miami, FL,  and Boulder, CO. Learn more about Aspen’s experience here.