The world of transportation fueling is undergoing an earth-shaking paradigm shift. Not only are we moving away from gas powered vehicles to electric vehicles, but the way we fuel our vehicles is changing just as dramatically. After more than a century of en-route fueling where drivers have been required to stop in the middle of a trip to gas up, we are transitioning to a world of at-destination fueling where drivers recharge their vehicles once they arrive and park at their destination, saving time and providing a higher level of convenience to the driver.
For parking owners, the implications of this shift are immense. Unlike with gasoline refueling, where gas is provided at standalone stations, EV charging is typically combined with existing processes at destinations. Put simply, parking areas are no longer just for parking; they are also refueling destinations for EVs.
The change isn’t just happening—it’s happening fast! So far this year nearly one in every ten new vehicles sold has been an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid. Each year, 1.5 million new EVs and plug-in hybrids are sold, and those vehicles are being charged in parking facilities.
As the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) accelerates across the globe, an increasing number of property owners, municipalities, and private locations are recognizing the necessity of offering EV charging services. However, there remains a perplexing disconnect between the availability of integrated parking control and access systems and the decision-making processes of these stakeholders.
Rather than exploring integrated solutions that seamlessly connect EV chargers to existing parking control or building access systems, many property managers and municipalities issue requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposals (RFPs) for EV charging solutions as standalone services. This fragmented approach overlooks the significant benefits that an integrated system could offer, including improved user experience, simplified billing, and operational efficiencies. This white paper seeks to explore why property owners, municipalities, and private locations are not actively pursuing these integrated EV charging solutions and how this oversight can be addressed.
The Current Disconnect: A Fragmented Approach to EV Charging Solutions
One of the key issues in the deployment of EV chargers is that stakeholders often see these chargers as independent units rather than part of a holistic infrastructure system. As a result, property owners and municipalities typically seek out EV charger providers through separate RFIs and RFPs, without considering how these chargers might be integrated into their existing ecosystems.
While EV charging presents relatively new challenges, the solutions to these challenges may already be readily available. Some parking control and access (PARCS) providers already offer integrated solutions that enable property managers to link EV chargers with parking or external access credentials. These integrated systems allow for streamlined user experiences, such as enabling users to activate a charger using a parking ticket, license plate, member or building access credential. The billing for the charging session can then be consolidated with parking fees or handled through an account-based system.
Yet, despite these capabilities, many stakeholders appear unaware of such solutions and the considerable advantages they offer to both parking owners and the EV drivers they serve. Being able to integrate EV charging and parking management is a relatively new capability, and many stakeholders just don’t know about it yet. This leads to a fragmented approach where EV chargers are treated as separate entities, creating inefficiencies, redundancies, and missed opportunities for optimization.
Exploring the Root Causes: Why Aren’t Stakeholders Pursuing Integrated Solutions?
1. Lack of Awareness and Education
One of the primary reasons for the disconnect between property owners and parking control providers may be a lack of awareness. Many decision-makers may not be aware that their current parking control or access vendors offer integrated EV charging solutions. Parking management systems have traditionally focused on controlling access, collecting parking fees, and ensuring compliance. The introduction of EV charging is a new and better approach, one that integrates charging stations into the broader infrastructure of parking and access control.
In many cases, the decision-makers responsible for parking control may not fully understand the technical possibilities or the available integrations that would allow EV chargers to be seamlessly connected to existing systems. The vendors themselves may not be communicating these capabilities effectively, or the stakeholders may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of EV-specific solutions flooding the market.
2. Proliferation of Closed Solutions
Another contributing factor to the disconnect is the increasing number of closed EV charging solutions available on the market. Many of these systems offer revenue-sharing models or require site owners to rent space for EV chargers rather than integrating the systems into their existing infrastructure and allowing the location to brand the customer experience and control the revenue.
These closed solutions often come with their own proprietary software and hardware, making it difficult or impossible to integrate them with existing parking or access systems. This creates silos, where EV chargers operate independently, requiring separate payment methods and user accounts, further complicating the process for users.
The appeal of closed solutions may lie in their simplicity: they offer a quick, turnkey setup that allows property owners to add EV chargers to their facilities without much technical involvement. However, these closed solutions often lack the flexibility and customization that an integrated system would provide, which could limit future scalability and result in higher operational costs over time. Owners who implement closed systems also find themselves trapped by providers with reliability and service limitations. This is a serious challenge plaguing the EV industry right now, and it has major implications for owners who find themselves unable to get service for faulty equipment. Many find themselves faced with the choice of having to wait weeks—or even months—to get their equipment repaired or replacing it at considerable cost.
Closed systems may appeal to organizations that are more focused on finding a fast EV solution rather than the right EV solution. Rapid adoption of electric vehicles and pressure by government bodies to implement EV strategies can cause make organizations feel pressured to quickly deploy EV charging infrastructure. As a result, organizations often focus on rapid deployment over long-term efficiency, immediate cost savings over long-term value, and meeting current demand without considering future scalability.
3. Perceived Complexity of Integration
Even when stakeholders are aware of the possibility of integrating EV chargers into their parking or access control systems, they may perceive the process as overly complex or resource intensive. This perception can deter property owners and municipalities from pursuing integrated solutions, especially if they lack the internal technical expertise to oversee such a project.
While integration may require an upfront investment in time and resources, the long-term benefits of a unified system—including improved user experience, streamlined operations, and better data management—generally outweigh the initial costs. Unfortunately, these long-term benefits may not be immediately clear to decision-makers focused on quick solutions or facing immediate budget constraints.
This challenge is compounded by the fact that organizations often have separate departments handling parking, facility management, and sustainability initiatives. This is a common issue that leads to a lack of cross-departmental communication, missed opportunities for synergies, and inefficient decision-making processes that impact all facility operations. This operational siloing can also impede the coordination of EV charging services and parking.
4. Vendor Misalignment and Fragmentation
In some cases, the vendors themselves may contribute to the disconnect. Parking control and access providers may not have prioritized developing or marketing integrated EV charging solutions, and as a result, their clients may be unaware that such capabilities exist. In other instances, clients may be working with a mix of vendors for parking, building access, and EV charging, creating a fragmented landscape that makes integration seem more difficult than it actually is.
Furthermore, the surge in EV charger-specific vendors may be saturating the market with standalone solutions, drawing the attention of property owners and municipalities away from the possibility of integrated systems. Many of these standalone vendors focus heavily on their EV-specific capabilities, sidelining the discussion of broader integration opportunities.
The Benefits of an Integrated Approach: Why Stakeholders Should Rethink Their Strategy
The decision to treat EV chargers as separate from parking and building access systems is a missed opportunity for property owners, municipalities, and private locations to create a seamless, user-friendly experience while also improving operational efficiencies.
An integrated EV charging solution allows users to activate and pay for charging services using existing credentials such as parking tickets, license plates, or building access credentials. This not only simplifies the process for users but also consolidates billing into a single transaction, making it easier for property owners to manage revenue streams.
For municipalities, integrating EV chargers into existing parking systems can streamline traffic management and data collection, allowing for better insights into usage patterns and peak demand. For property owners, integration reduces operational complexity by enabling a single system to manage both parking and charging, reducing the need for multiple software platforms or vendors.
Furthermore, integrated systems provide the flexibility to implement advanced pricing strategies such as time-of-use billing, surge pricing, and user-type-specific rates, creating new opportunities for revenue generation and cost optimization.
Conclusion: Bridging the Gap Between Stakeholders and Integrated EV Solutions
The current disconnects between property owners, municipalities, and parking control providers when it comes to integrated EV charging solutions can be attributed to a combination of factors, including a lack of awareness, the proliferation of closed solutions, and the perceived complexity of integration. However, by prioritizing education, communication, and the long-term benefits of an integrated system, stakeholders can unlock the full potential of EV charging as part of their existing infrastructure.
Parking control and access vendors must play an active role in bridging this gap, ensuring that their clients understand the value and feasibility of integrated EV charging solutions. At the same time, property owners and municipalities should take a closer look at the broader ecosystem of EV charging solutions, considering the advantages of an integrated approach rather than defaulting to standalone systems.
By fostering collaboration and a more integrated mindset, property owners, municipalities, and private locations can not only enhance the user experience but also improve their bottom line while contributing to the ongoing growth of EV infrastructure.