Mobility

In this four-part Parkonomics series for Urban Land, Kevin Bopp, Bernard Lee, and Andrew Sachs, CAPP, examine how parking facilities must evolve to remain viable in a rapidly changing mobility landscape

The European Parking Association (EPA) hosted its EPA Parking Day at Intertraffic Amsterdam on March 10–11, 2026, bringing together industry leaders, city representatives and mobility experts to discuss key developments shaping the future of urban mobility and parking. The program included three themed sessions at the Intertraffic Summit, two European Women in Parking (E-WiP) events, a members’ networking lunch and an EPA Board meeting with representatives from close to 20 national parking associations (EPA Full Members).

It’s a busy Saturday lunchtime, and your city parking lot is filling up fast. EV chargers are occupied, rideshare drop-offs are backing up, and drivers are stuck in line at the ticket machine, wondering why they can’t just pay by phone. Your decade-old parking system isn’t broken. It’s doing exactly what it was designed to do. The trouble is that consumer expectations have changed.

Atlanta, GA - Arrive, a leading global mobility platform, announced the intention to acquire Passport, unifying enforcement technology, paid parking and payment infrastructure for autonomous-ready mobility into one platform.

Climate risk, particularly severe weather, is becoming an increasingly important factor in how parking and mobility infrastructure is designed and how vehicles are insured and protected. Hail is one of the costliest and most disruptive weather threats facing vehicle-centric infrastructure in the United States. As vehicles with panoramic glass roofs, advanced sensors, and EV components become increasingly technologically complex and expensive to repair, the financial impact of hail damage continues to grow. At the same time, insurers are responding with higher premiums, stricter underwriting, and more stringent requirements for proactive mitigation.

San Francisco, CA — Streetline, a leader in intelligent transportation systems, announced the deployment of its advanced Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS) and ParkerTruck mobile application in cooperation with the Washington State Department of Transportation along Interstate 5 in the state of Washington, one of the nation’s busiest freight arteries.

As communities across the country work to deliver improved and integrated transportation systems, pedestrian infrastructure remains a challenge to develop at a level which allows the overall transportation network to operate optimally. For public transportation, areas with higher densities and interconnected pedestrian facilities provide a network to allow people to move around more easily without relying on a vehicle. These robust pedestrian facilities not only allow promote more use of non-vehicle modes of mobility, but make the entire transportation system safer and more efficient thereby reducing conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. For those of us who drive, walk, bicycle or use scooters, we know first-hand the different perspective you have when peering out the car windshield compared to walking or biking near and around vehicular traffic. Well-designed pedestrian facilities reinforce that walking and biking are viable options that can get you where you want to go with the hassle of dealing with driving, congestion and parking. Unfortunately, pedestrian facilities still lag behind in many communities where lack of priority and funding hampers their development. Since there can be various governmental jurisdictions involved with streets and right-of-way, it’s imperative for localities to have a structure in place to ensure pedestrian facilities can be planned and executed in a coordinated manner.  By championing best practices involving a multi-modal complete streets design approach, progress can be made to greatly enhance a community’s overall transportation system. Mark Hairr, PTMP, is an Executive Director for Wave Transit. Mark can be reached at mhairr@wavetransit.com.

Join the IPMI PDC Committee as we challenge the assumptions and myths shaping parking programs around the world.

Arrive’s, 2026 Urban Mobility Compass’ is a collection of insights from experts and leaders across the industry. This report maps out the key trends across major sectors of the mobility landscape, highlighting the expanding role of data in creating connected, smarter services that will help define the future of urban mobility. The 2026 Urban Mobility Compass covers key industry areas including parking, public transport, the digital in-car experience, as well as areas which impact multiple sectors including payments, AI and data-driven insights. The compass includes insights from Arrive CEO, Cameron Clayton, and leaders for the company’s business units including Parking, Automotive & Data, Transport, Payments, Data & AI, Insights and Security & Cyber Resilience. Key trends covered in the Urban Mobility Compass 2026 include: The increasing use of AI across the mobility industry brings opportunities to ease friction Drive for a more cohesive in-car experience for both private and fleet drivers The integration of parking management systems, creating an easier to navigate landscape for cities How growing digitization in public transport ticketing and insights gathering for cities is unlocking easier multi-modal journeys and a better understanding of transport patterns The rise of the open market for Mobile Parking Payment apps as cities move away from the current tender based procurement model to provide better consumer choice For the full overview of what to expect in urban mobility in 2026, you can find the full 2026 Urban Mobility Compass, here. Press Contact: Contact us at: mediarelations@arrive.com Follow Arrive in our newsroom: https://news.cision.com/arrive About Arrive Arrive is a leading global mobility platform with the mission to ease movement in cities. Through its family of brands, including EasyPark, Flowbird, RingGo, ParkMobile and Parkopedia, the company is present in more than 20,000 cities across 90 countries, helping people and decision-makers make smarter choices about urban travel. Arrive makes cities more livable through delivering core competencies from smart payments and optimizing parking solutions, to data-driven traffic reduction measures and refining public transport networks. For more information and news, visit arrive.com.

If the past several years revealed anything about urban mobility, it’s that the curb has quietly become one of the most politically charged, economically valuable, and publicly visible pieces of city infrastructure. Leaders from Austin, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. participated in IPMI’s Building Blocks webinar, where they shared how curb space has transformed from simple parking real estate into a multi-use frontline for transportation, commerce, and public life in their cities. In the not-so-distant past, the curb was a brief pause. A moment between where we were and where we were going. We parallel parked the car, checked for signs, maybe paid a meter, then went on to our destination. Much has changed. The once quiet edge of the street is now a full-blown stage for rideshare zones, sidewalk cafes, e-commerce deliveries, bike lanes, EV charging, micromobility, and bus priority projects. As Ken Hustings noted, curb space has become so valuable that a meter rate increase in Los Angeles was not only acceptable; it helped the city preserve staff positions during a fiscal crisis. The public’s relationship with the curb shifted in a very real way during the pandemic. As downtowns emptied and front doors became loading docks, people noticed just how much work the curb was doing behind the scenes. Take-out, package deliveries, and temporary restaurant patios all depended on it, and when it wasn’t managed well, the impacts were hard to ignore. David Lipscomb, Washington, D.C.’s curbside manager, recalled that this moment was eye-opening for residents. A minor inconvenience had quickly become a safety and access issue as delivery vehicles stacked up, cafe tables spilled onto sidewalks, and curb space was pushed to its limits. The public began paying attention to what mobility professionals had long understood: unmanaged curb space creates chaos. Awareness is just the first step. Turning that awareness into better outcomes requires updated policies and a different kind of leadership. Today’s parking and mobility professionals aren’t just managing assets; they’re also storytellers, educators, and coalition builders. Joseph Al-Hajeri, Austin’s Park Enterprise Manager, described his role as “getting the public to nerd out” about curb management using data, pilots, and transparent communication so that complex policy becomes shared understanding. In today’s rapidly evolving mobility landscape, the curb has become the new City Hall: a high-stakes, high-visibility arena where decisions play out block by block. And those who manage the curb are emerging as some of the most influential communicators shaping urban policy and public understanding. Maria Irshad, PTMP, MPA, is the Deputy Director for The City of Houston (ParkHouston). Maria can be reached at Maria.Irshad@houstontx.gov.

Santa Cruz, CA & Los Angeles, CA – Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, announced a partnership with Metropolis Technologies, Inc., a leader in applied AI for the real world, to develop 25 vertiports across the United States utilizing Metropolis’ extensive network of parking locations. The partnership will incorporate Metropolis’ AI-based recognition technology, as well the company’s extensive footprint across aviation and baggage services. Following its $1.5 billion acquisition of SP+, and $1.6 billion Series D financing, Metropolis is the largest parking network and operator in North America, operating more than 4,200 parking locations, as well as aviation services in over 350 locations. The planned vertiports will be strategically selected across Metropolis’ portfolio in early electric air taxi markets and use Metropolis’ computer vision technology; the companies will be evaluating both new and existing facilities for the integration of vertiports. “For air taxis to deliver on their promise of seamless urban travel, they must connect directly with the existing ground transportation ecosystem,” said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO and founder of Joby. “By leveraging existing parking infrastructure to create mobility hubs, we can deliver on our vision of seamless connectivity for our customers and also maximize the value of those sites without needing to build infrastructure from scratch.” The companies plan to leverage Metropolis’ world-class technology, including biometrics, broader computer vision and services like baggage handling, to accelerate Joby’s efforts to integrate its air taxi service directly into existing ground transportation hubs and deploy compact, high-throughput vertiport designs that satisfy safety and regulatory standards. Under its Bags Inc. subsidiary, Metropolis will initially bring its Bags VIP service to Joby’s Blade Urban Air Mobility, which provides flights between Manhattan and JFK or Newark airports in five minutes, bypassing up to two hours of traffic and eliminating common airport pain points. By providing baggage handling to Blade passengers in the New York City area, this partnership will remove friction and allow more people to take advantage of Blade’s service without needing to worry about luggage requirements. Metropolis already operates parking, advanced luggage logistics, remote check-in and in-terminal guest services that streamline the traveler experience across more than 350 airports in North America. Metropolis CEO, Alex Israel, commented on the partnership, “The real world is the next frontier for AI, and our partnership with Joby marks a critical first step in expanding the Metropolis platform into true mobility hubs to deliver remarkable value for Members and partners alike. This transformational partnership is the very definition of Applied AI in the physical world. We are taking the data and recognition capabilities we've built in our network and extending it to air travel, creating the seamless, personalized, and magical experience that is the foundation of the Recognition Economy.” About Joby Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi. Joby intends to both operate its fast, quiet, and convenient air taxi service in cities around the world and sell its aircraft to other operators and partners. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com. About Metropolis Metropolis is an artificial intelligence company for the real world. Its Computer Vision platform eliminates friction from daily life, powers checkout-free payments and unlocks seamless, predictive and personalized experiences everywhere consumers transact. Metropolis is pioneering the Recognition Economy, transforming physical spaces into responsive environments with an Intelligence Layer that understands presence, anticipates needs and personalizes moments. Leveraging AI, Metropolis’ platform understands, adapts and responds to Members in real time. Adding more than 1 million Members each month, it is one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the United States and envisions a future where transacting in the real world is even easier than online. Following its take-private acquisition of SP+, Metropolis is now the largest parking network in the United States, with 4,200+ locations and operations in 40 countries worldwide. Its proprietary AI technology touches 50 million customers and processes over $5 billion in payments annually. To learn more, please visit www.metropolis.io. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; plans for, and potential benefits of, our strategic partnerships, including our partnership with Metropolis, our plan to develop 25 vertiports across the US and the planned partnership between our Blade Urban Air Mobility subsidiary and Bags VIP; and our current expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our air taxi service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2025, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 8, 2025 and August 7, 2025, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. Contacts: Metropolis Media Contact Lizzy Levitan Metropolis@hunt-gather.com Joby Media Contact Charles Stewart press@jobyaviation.com Joby Investor Contact investors@jobyaviation.com

Is the curb for parking, deliveries, valet, ride-share, taxis, horse and buggy, or buses?   If I had been asked this question over 20 years ago, I would have said it was for parking and generating revenue to help pay for infrastructure improvements to drive economic growth. But today, the answer is all above! Our industry has changed so much over the decades due to many different needs. But what I do know is that the curb is at capacity! So, the big question becomes, how do we manage it? Today’s technology plays a major role in helping us manage the curb.   I remember what a big deal it was to put solar pay stations on the street that allowed me to remove 12- 14 single space mechanical meters.  But looking at the technology today, you can place a sign with a QR code and that will lead the customer to platform to pay for parking by using the phone.   You do not really need anything else!  Nashville has been spending the past year working on a technology platform that manages the curb - all uses of the curb! This program is called Connect Downtown.  From the study, we set goals for a safe and comfortable downtown, one that’s connected and convenient, focuses on equitable and accessible, meets sustainable and resilient needs, is vibrant and inviting but balanced and reliable.   Wow, that is a lot to deliver to the community.  We are accomplishing this with five (5) big moves.   The first big move is managing congestion.   We are upgrading our signals to real time to manage special events, people and safety of all modes.  The next one is improved safety.  Being a vision zero county, we are making our roadway network safer for people.  Move three (3) is prioritizing our transit for better service and reliability throughout the region.  Building complete street networks with connected walking paths, bikeways, and micro mobility options for first and last miles is the fourth big move.  And the last big move, maximizing the curb by flexing the use based on needs, creating passenger loading or service unloading zones for deliveries, rideshares, taxis and AVs. Do not forget to include local businesses’ needs, venues and their modes of transporting people.  But mostly, make sure you address everything for your residents.  They are the foundation of everything that’s planned.   In the last year, we have added over one hundred and forty-five (145) bike and scooter corrals.  We’ve piloted a transit lane designed for special events that’s allowed for improving the time of exiting from the downtown Hub by over 50%.   We’ve established additional unloading zones that are flexed at 4 PM to 4 AM for ridesharing, taxi, etc and did a ridezone pilot that improved the traffic flow.  We’ve also organized the parking system for the curb, so that we have technology providing turns for businesses.  And now we are working closely with the community on the technology platform for managing the curb, similar to parking.  Technology is allowing us to advance and optimize how the city manages the curb, and we’re transforming how our downtown operates — making life easier for residents and business owners Diana W. Alarcon, PTMP, is the Director for Nashville Department of Transportation & Multimodal Infrastructure. Diana can be reached at diana.alarcon@nashville.gov.