Driving in the city can be a headache, especially when you’re stuck in traffic or circling around looking for a parking spot.
Did you know that searching for parking can cause up to 40% of city traffic? This not only wastes time but also harms the environment by increasing pollution.
To tackle this problem, Argonne National Laboratory, the Civic Infrastructure Collaborative (CINCO), and Millennium Parking Garages in Chicago tried something new.
They thought, what if we could make it easier for people to park their cars and zip around the city on e-scooters?
In August 2022, they started a test project at Millennium Garages, a huge parking area in downtown Chicago.
They introduced eight e-scooters that people could rent after parking their car. Unlike the e-scooters you might see around the city that you can pick up and drop off anywhere, these scooters were meant to be used for the whole day.
You could take one to your office, go out for lunch with it, and then ride it back to the garage when you’re done.
The idea was simple: make it easier for people to get around without their car, reducing the need to find multiple parking spots and cutting down on traffic.
The test showed that people really liked this option. In just five months, 225 people took 546 trips on the e-scooters, showing that there’s a big interest in combining parking with scooter rental.
By 2023, the excitement grew so much that almost 10,000 people signed up to use the scooters, leading the team to double the number of scooters available.
This setup not only helped people move around more freely but also helped the environment by reducing carbon emissions. Plus, it made people happy to have a fun and easy way to get around, which was a big plus for the parking garage staff and owners.
Seeing the success of this project, Millennium Parking Garages decided to keep the e-scooter program running and even take care of the scooters themselves. This shows other parking facilities that offering more than just a parking spot can really make a difference in making cities a better place to live and work.
This project is part of a bigger effort to find smart ways to use technology and partnerships to improve city life, making it healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.
