Case Study

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT Transforms Its Campus Parking Program with Data-Driven Insights

Who’s Involved

Larry Brutti | Manager of MIT’s Parking & Transportation Office

Customer Takeaways

It’s an excellent tool to manage inventory. As we issue permits, we keep an eye on occupancy. With [JustPark’s] Smarking BI, I can see that, say, MIT is at 85 percent capacity, and then I can look at individual parking areas so I can figure out where that capacity is. It helps me better balance the inventory and better move people around to lots that work best for everyone.

Larry Brutti, Manager of MIT’s Parking & Transportation Office

Summary

With over 11,000 students and growing enrollment, MIT needed more student housing. The administration planned to convert parking lots into new dormitories to meet the need. Construction was expected to reduce parking inventory by 20%. MIT worked with JustPark to understand demand in different locations on campus and reduce parking demand in the least utilized areas. The goal was to ready these areas for development, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate congestion.

The Challenge

Reduce parking inventory by 20% over a two-year period.

Measure the effectiveness of efforts to reduce parking demand.

The Solution

Data-Driven Decisions

The MIT Parking and Transportation Office used JustPark’s Smarking BI platform to understand demand patterns and gain insight into the parking behavior at the user group level: admin staff, faculty, and students. The parking management team at MIT used this information to discern how parking reduction initiatives affected the behavior of each user group, helping to inform future policy decisions.

Incentive Program Launched

To reduce demand, MIT restructured the campus parking program known as AccessMIT. The program’s major changes included:

• Transitioning from annual permits to daily permits

• Providing free universal bus and subway transit passes

• Increasing the commuter rail monthly pass subsidy

• Subsidizing parking at transit stations outside of campus

• Creating an online commuter dashboard with incentives and gamification

• Integration with existing programs, including carpool and bike benefits

The Results

Optimized Demand

With JustPark’s Smarking BI dashboard, MIT parking management assessed the effectiveness of the AccessMIT incentive program. The dashboard gave the MIT team instant insights into real-time revenue, occupancy, and duration statistics for all of their parking assets. The campus saw a reduction in transactions by 19% in January 2017 vs January 2016 after the new program.

In Conclusion

MIT collaborated with JustPark to implement a data-driven approach that transformed its campus parking program. By leveraging JustPark’s Smarking BI platform and introducing AccessMIT incentives, the institution balanced parking demand, supported new campus development, and achieved a significant reduction in transactions.

Learn More

With integrated payments, devices, and business intelligence, JustPark is paving the road to a brighter digital future. On that road, JustPark customers are driving away from cash, quickly and seamlessly.

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