EasyPark Group’s Yearly Chronicle 2022
The parking tech company EasyPark Group, owning and developing the parking apps EasyPark, PARK NOW, ParkMobile, RingGo and Park-line, continues to grow and strengthen the position as the parking tech company with the widest coverage in the world. In 2022, the company has grown both in new and existing markets, with new cities such as Paris in France and City of Boston in the US, as well as new countries like Slovakia in Europe. During 2022 EasyPark Group launched support for the EasyPark app for Android Auto. And in a collaboration with French automobile manufacturer Renault, EasyPark Group launched direct in-car integration of the EasyPark app in the New Renault Megane E-Tech infotainment system.
With approximately 45 million yearly users, EasyPark Group has had an annual transaction growth of 60% and an annual revenue growth of 45% between 2018 and 2022 (CAGR). The 2022 figures also show that the number of parkings increased by 29 percent globally compared to last year.
Electricity and fuel prices have not affected traffic
Despite the fact that prices for fuel and electricity have broken new records in 2022, data from EasyPark Group shows no significant change in mobility and thus the number of completed parkings during the year.
Data shows that the number of parkings are increasing at the expected rate, as more people find their way to the parking apps. In countries where the EasyPark Group has a strong user base, there is a steady movement of vehicles over the year. App parkings are increasing in line with more users, while the average of completed parkings per user is close to the same as for 2021, when electricity and fuel prices were at different levels compared to today.
Parking apps reached new record levels in Europe
The use of parking apps continues to grow in Europe and the US. The countries that are leading this development are the Nordic countries, in which drivers manage their parkings via a mobile app far more than in other countries. In the capitals of Denmark and Norway, in Copenhagen and Oslo, between 90 and 95 percent of the residents use a parking app to manage their parking, compared to other payment methods such as physical parking meters. In 2022, Sweden's capital, Stockholm, reached over 90 percent use of parking apps over any other method, for the first time ever. Helsinki in Finland is approaching the 90 percent mark, with an 87 percent share of drivers turning to parking apps.
In Italy, one of Europe's fastest growing markets for parking apps, both Rome and Milan have in 2022 nearly reached a 50 percent usage of parking apps compared to any other payment method. EasyPark Group’s expectation is that 2023 will be the year when parking apps will overtake the position as the most preferred method for managing parking in Rome and Milan. Another emerging market that has experienced exponential growth in parking app usage in Europe is Spain. Nearly two-thirds of Madrid residents are turning to a parking app when managing their parking expenses.
Electric vehicle charging increased by 190 percent
In 2022, EasyPark has continued to expand collaborations with both local and nationwide operators for electric car charging in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Slovenia. Data shows that more electric car owners are turning to EasyPark to manage their electric car charging, and it also shows that the number of transactions per charging point are increasing in line with the increased electrification of Europe's car fleet.
In the countries where it is possible to pay for electric car charging with the EasyPark app, transactions have increased by 190 percent during 2022 compared to 2021. The average charge volume made per transaction has also increased over the past year by almost 16 percent. On average, users are charging 11.89 kWh per transaction.
In Sweden, where EasyPark has come the furthest in gathering the national charging operators in the EasyPark app, EasyPark has managed to increase the availability of charging points by over 30 percent. This means that electric car owners can access almost 40 percent of Sweden's public charging points through the EasyPark app.
More than a parking app
Digitizing parking data offers valuable insights that provide considerable benefits to cities’ policy makers. Benefits which include improved parking accessibility for residents, reduced traffic congestion and support for local businesses. With Parking Data as a Service (PDaaS), EasyPark offers a holistic overview of the city’s parking supply and demand.
The development of PDaaS continued in 2022, with new collaborations in cities such as Aarhus in Denmark, Heidelberg in Germany and Westminster in the UK. Additionally, Chattanooga in the US and Milan in Italy have started a Parking Data as a Service pilot.
A word from the CEO
An essential part of a livable city is the availability of parking spaces. It may sound simple, but let me elaborate.
No one benefits from drivers circling around the streets to find a free parking space. It affects the mobility and vibrance, when more cars than necessary drive around in the city. It is also an unnecessary cost in terms of fuel and emissions, both for the individual driver, but also for the climate. In a stressful situation, drivers may end up choosing to park their car illegally. It may solve the problem for the individual, but creates problems for other citizens in the city.
Most large cities have little, or no, opportunity to increase the number of parking spaces. Many of the world's largest cities have on the other hand created car-free zones in city centers. But this doesn't solve the problem, it just moves traffic from one place to another. I dare to say that decision-makers do not always have a clear picture or plan of how the diverted traffic will affect the rest of the city, when introducing car-free or no-parking zones.
Countries, municipalities and cities are under great pressure to find solutions to stop climate change. Let us, and our colleagues in the mobility industry, help out. We have extensive experience and a mountain of knowledge about how, when and where cars move and park. We also have far developed algorithms to predict what happens to the mobility in a city when parking spaces are added, disappear, regulated and new streets are built or removed.
At EasyPark, we understand that cars are part of a bigger ecosystem. That is why we offer Parking Data as a Service, in which we collect data points from both on, and from the side of the road. We can for example collect the location of bike-stands, pot-holes and scooter-parking spots. We are the only parking tech company collecting this holistic information to strengthen our hub and algorithm with data - for decision makers to be able to make smarter and better decisions to make their cities more livable.
An interesting scope of use of the collected data could be to determine where and when people are parking their cars, bicycles or scooters, during the night. With that data, smart lighting systems could be optimized to save energy, and at the same time prioritize extra safety measures for the public. This is only one of endless possibilities to explore, that could have a great impact on security, sustainability and management of the cities of the future.
Our primary goal and vision at EasyPark Group is to make cities more livable. Cars will not disappear from our cities, at least not in the seeable future. The facts actually tell us it will be quite the opposite. The population is increasing, and we constantly grow our footprint by traveling more. Cars will need to share city space with public transportation, bicycles, pedestrians and scooters in a sustainable way. All these parts, together with restaurants, museums, libraries, stores, parks and most importantly the people, is what makes a city livable.
Cameron Clayton
CEO EasyPark Group
Louise Ekman
Chief Communications Officer
+46 70 5222 117
louise.ekman@easypark.net
About EasyPark Group
EasyPark Group is a leading global parking tech company with the vision to make cities more livable.With award-winning technology, EasyPark Group has eased parking since 2001 and today, the company helps drivers save time and money by finding and managing parking and electric vehicle charging. It allows businesses, parking operators, property owners and cities to administrate, plan and take data-driven decisions. EasyPark Group owns and develops the apps EasyPark, PARK NOW, ParkMobile, RingGo and Park-line and operates in over 3,200 cities across more than 25 countries. Visit www.easyparkgroup.com for the latest news and information.
