Car Wash, Anyone?

 

By Maria Irshad, CAPP, MPA

In January, when the New Year resolutioners began flooding the gyms, I started parking my car on the rooftop because parking in the surface lot was chaotic.

The first thing I noticed on the rooftop was that there were about 130 parking spaces, but I counted 35 Tesla EV Charging stations. Although the number seemed high, I noticed that at least half of the chargers were in use every time I parked.

Each Tesla driver was haloed by their cell phone light in their dark vehicle as they sat waiting for the charge—a captive customer.

This was the case every time I went. And I kept parking on the rooftop even as the surface lot traffic became manageable and parking opened up.

I wondered if anyone was working on mobile convenience stores to take advantage of the Tesla owners, who were now a captive audience. When would the entrepreneurial spirit strike? I was reminded of how street vendors function in Pakistan—any parked or, for that matter, stopped vehicle was a potential customer, and vendors did not hold back in aggressively selling their wares.

Well, capitalism struck last night.

A gentleman accompanied by two younger men, maybe his sons, pushed a cart stacked with cleaning equipment by every parked Tesla. Car wash while you charge!

I didn’t see if anyone took them up on their services but I was satisfied that the American entrepreneurial spirit is well and alive. As things change, we find a way to make those changes work.

Maria Irshad, CAPP, MPA, is Deputy Director for the City of Houston and Chair-elect of the IPMI Board of Directors.  She can be reached at Maria.Irshad@houstontx.gov.