Finance

Parkonomics has published a five-part investigative series examining the transportation infrastructure investments tied to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The series, co-authored by Andrew Sachs, CAPP and Kevin Bopp with original interviews featuring Frank Ching of LA Metro, applies a mobility economics framework to evaluate whether LA's $26 billion in Olympic-adjacent transportation spending will produce lasting value or follow the pattern of past host cities.

Vancouver, Canada – Lightyear Capital, a New York-based private equity firm with over US$8 billion in assets under management, has completed its acquisition of PayByPhone, a leading provider of digital parking payments and mission-critical parking management software to more than 1,300 clients globally, from Corpay (NYSE: CPAY).

The transition to a fully Automated Parking Access and Revenue Control System (PARCS) offers many benefits, but it also comes with a set of significant drawbacks that organizations must consider.

This on-demand eLearning course was developed by the Education Development Committee guides you through the steps to build a new parking structure, and you have been selected to assist with this project. Congratulations! The anticipated cost is $35-40 million. We are glad to have you on our team.

San Diego, CA — EnSight Technologies, a leading provider of vision-based parking intelligence and guidance solutions, announced that it has been approved as an authorized affiliate of Lion National Corp under its cooperative purchasing contract #02-139 with OMNIA Partners.

Vancouver, Canada – Lightyear Capital, a New York-based private equity firm with over US$7 billion in assets under management, has signed an agreement to acquire PayByPhone, a global leader in mobile parking payments, from Corpay (NYSE: CPAY).

Fort Lee, NJ — Parking Base, the industry leader in parking management technology, announced the launch of Enterprise Manager™, a groundbreaking new parking management platform that provides an accounting-first approach to parking management. Enterprise Manager eliminates fragmented reporting, manual reconciliation, and disconnected systems by delivering clean, normalized, and general-ledger-ready parking data across entire portfolios.

Five years later we are still feeling the effects that COVID-19 had on our staffing. Prior to the pandemic our operation had about fifteen full-time and part-time employees. Due to attrition and turnover, we are just barely functioning today with ten full-time and part-time employees. We’ve learned to function very lean, but it is not the standard we have come to pride ourselves on. It is also eating our current dedicated employees alive. We’ve hired several people to try and bring our numbers back up, but we are experiencing turnover at an unprecedented rate. Prior to the pandemic, turnover was very uncommon for our department. So, what has changed and why have we been unable to retain who we’ve hired? We currently have two full-time positions we are actively recruiting for, and we are reflecting on this very question, so the constant cycle of recruiting and hiring can hopefully end for a period of time and our service delivery can become stable once again. Here are a few thoughts we’ve had on our retention issues and how we are planning to solve those issues moving forward. Money. As a public servant, salary is expectedly lower than the private sector, but since the pandemic the gap became a chasm. We have lost several employees due to the below average wages. For the two positions we are currently recruiting for we knew we needed to pivot our compensation strategy to be competitive in today’s market. We were able to work with our compensation department to change the job titles to reflect the current needs of our operation and to compensate fairly. Expectations. We’ve had a few employees leave due to a lack of understanding of job duties. During the interview process and initial onboarding, we plan to take the approach of verbally explaining our job expectations and providing written documentation outlining the job duties and expectations. While this may not solve our retention issues, we’re hoping this will help alleviate them. Meredith Garrett, CAPP, is the Assistant Director of Public Safety, Parking & Transit Services for Kent State University. Meredith can be reached at mgarre12@kent.edu.

Paris, France, and Miami, USA – Survision, the pioneering Franco-American company specialized in automatic vehicle recognition technologies, is proud to announce a major milestone in its history: a successful Management Buy-Out (MBO) supported by the majority fund Capital Export, secured through a €25 million investment to accelerate its growth and strengthen its position as the independent leader in License Plate Recognition (LPR) and Vehicle Identification solutions. A New Chapter of Independence and Ambition This operation marks a new phase in Survision’s strategic development. With the support of Capital Export, Survision reinforces its long-standing commitment to remain independent, standing out as one of the few LPR companies not acquired by an industrial player. “This investment allows us to pursue our vision of creating a truly open, neutral, and platform-agnostic vehicle recognition ecosystem,” said Jacques Jouannais, CEO of Survision group. “Our ambition is to become a global Vehicle Recognition Platform, seamlessly compatible with any payment or mobility system.” A Strategic Move Toward Global Leadership The new funding will accelerate Survision’s AI innovation roadmap, international expansion, and the deployment of next-generation vehicle recognition technologies that power smart cities, parking , tolling and access control worldwide. In addition, this operation provides Survision with the financial strength to pursue a build-up strategy, enabling the company to acquire and integrate other key players in the mobility sector. These targeted acquisitions will reinforce Survision’s technological edge and broaden its global footprint. Capital Export’s participation brings strategic and financial expertise to support Survision’s growth, while ensuring that its entrepreneurial DNA and technological independence remain intact. Managers and Employees at the Heart of the Adventure One of the most distinctive aspects of this MBO is that Survision’s managers and some employees are now shareholders. This collective participation embodies the company’s values of unity, authenticity, and shared success. “The fact that the team is directly invested in the company’s future gives Survision an authentic and unique energy” said Charles-Antoine Eliard, Managing Partner at Capital Export. “Our role is to provide the long-term capital and strategic support that will allow Survision’s teams to fully realize their international ambitions while preserving their independence and innovation culture.” About Survision Founded in 2001, Survision is a leading provider of Vehicle Identification and License Plate Recognition (LPR) technologies serving transportation, mobility, and security industries across more than 36 countries. The company’s proprietary camera and software solutions deliver unmatched speed, accuracy, and reliability to partners in parking, access control, tolling and smart mobility ecosystems. Survision’s vision is to create a global vehicle recognition infrastructure, empowering seamless interaction between vehicles and digital services worldwide. Website: www.survisiongroup.com Press Contact: Sofia Kuhn sku@survisiongroup.com About Capital Export Capital Export is a French private equity firm dedicated to financing and supporting the international growth of small and mid-sized companies. By combining long-term capital investment with operational expertise, Capital Export helps entrepreneurs accelerate their development abroad while maintaining strategic and operational independence. More information: https://www.capital-export.fr/en

To build or not to build a parking deck? Or is the real question, do perspectives need to shift? It’s easy to say, “Build a deck! This will solve all of our parking problems!” and many times, this is the solution that frustrated students give. The question of building a parking deck has come up at our university many times over the years. I have a stack of plans that never came to fruition that I inherited. The last attempt to build a deck was in the spring of 2020. We were in the process of awarding the bid when campus closed due to COVID-19. Financial concerns and enrollment uncertainty scraped those plans, but the question of whether we will build a parking deck continues to come up. We recently received this question from our student senate in a transportation advisory committee meeting. Our university is a suburban campus with a robust public transportation option as well as ample parking on the perimeter of campus and in remote lots. We have plenty of parking spaces for everyone; we just don’t have everyone’s ideal parking area. Parking in these areas requires people to take another method of transportation, whether it’s biking, walking or taking public transportation to reach their destination. This requires a shift in perspective for many people that are not familiar with public transportation or are used to parking close to where they need to be. We explained to the student senate the costs associated with parking decks and how that would directly impact permit prices. We also explained that there is ample parking, so justifying the cost of building a deck and in turn raising permit prices is counterproductive and not fiscally responsible.

For decades, cities have relied on parking fines as static tools—anchored in tradition more than purpose. Yet as transportation networks grow more complex and streets become riskier, this status-quo approach is failing both residents and policymakers. It’s time to rethink how fines are structured so they not only influence behavior, but do so fairly and strategically. Today, fine schedules often apply harsh penalties to low-risk administrative violations while underpricing high-risk behaviors—like blocking fire hydrants—that endanger the public. This mismatch erodes trust, especially when lower-income residents face disproportionate financial hardship for infractions with minimal social impact. When penalties feel arbitrary, they are perceived less as tools for safety and more as regressive taxes. Data shows that deterrence hinges not just on penalty dollar value, but on its relevance—how well it aligns with risk, compliance value, and community context. Cities that recalibrate fines to reflect both severity and neighborhood realities can improve equity and collections while encouraging safer streets. Prioritizing smarter fine design, proportionality, and targeted enforcement could allow cities to shift away from blanket forgiveness programs—which require administrative lift without addressing root causes. Tools like dynamic pricing, location-based fines, and income-sensitive penalties can help cities strike the balance between fairness and impact. Some jurisdictions have already begun to reform fine structures: New York and Los Angeles are exploring income-based and data-driven fine optimization, respectively, while Chicago recently capped penalties for administrative violations. These efforts signal a growing recognition that fines should reinforce social value, not perpetuate inequity. By grounding enforcement in community impact, equity, and measurable outcomes, cities can treat fines as meaningful policy levers—not punishment. Matt Darst is the Head of Professional Services for Trellint, a Modaxo Company. Matt can be reached at matt.darst@trellint.com.

Milwaukee, WI – Park Loyalty, a leading provider of omnichannel enforcement and violations management solutions, announced the close of its Series A funding round led by Elephant. The investment marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth journey and will accelerate the expansion of its product portfolio, services, and implementation teams to meet growing market demand. Elephant is a venture capital firm focused on high-growth software, internet, and technology companies. With a proven track record and understanding of the parking and mobility market, Elephant stood out as a uniquely aligned partner for Park Loyalty’s long-term vision. The partnership supports Park Loyalty’s commitment to helping parking agencies modernize enforcement and move toward data-driven, transparent, and community-oriented approaches that encourage compliance and improve mobility outcomes. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of Park Loyalty’s Pro Solutions suite including Enforce Pro, Process Pro, Permit Pro, and newest addition, Rewards Pro, and to expand implementation capacity and customer support operations. “This investment validates the hard work of our entire team,” said Sriram Somanchi, Founder and CTO of Park Loyalty. “It energizes us to continue driving innovation that aligns with customer objectives.” Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Park Loyalty has rapidly become a trusted name in parking management software solutions. Over the past year, the company has expanded to 33 US states and Canada, surpassed 1,000 enforcement subscriptions and now serves more than 100 customers across municipalities, private operators, transit authorities and universities. Its platform supports the processing of over four million citations annually. Earlier this year, Park Loyalty also introduced its automated enforcement solution, marking a major step in supporting off-street and frictionless enforcement capabilities. Marc Lucey, CEO of Park Loyalty, said: “The funding is more than capital, it’s a testament to the trust our customers and investors have placed in our vision. We’re building something that makes a real impact, and this partnership will help us move even faster.”   About Park Loyalty Park Loyalty makes parking software simple. Its Pro Solutions platform delivers enforcement, processing, permitting, and rewards solutions for any type of parking agency. Park Loyalty is a leader in omnichannel enforcement, supporting operations through on-street patrolling officers, mobile LPR integration, and automated, frictionless parking facilities with citations issued as ticket-by-mail or e-citations, all seamlessly managed within the same platform. With proven rapid deployment, a growing network of integration partners, and deep industry expertise, Park Loyalty ensures that no matter how agencies manage their parking, the platform can support them. By connecting frontline enforcement with back-office processing, permit management, and customer engagement, Park Loyalty helps agencies increase efficiency, strengthen compliance, and deliver measurable results for their communities. Visit parkloyalty.com or follow Park Loyalty on LinkedIn. About Elephant Elephant is a venture capital firm focused on high-growth software, internet, and technology companies. Elephant partners with visionary entrepreneurs to help them scale and build market-leading solutions. Visit elephantvc.com.