The alternative is to keep the technology as simple as possible to address the commercial needs of a bigger opportunity. An example of this can be seen in the largest revenue generating mobile phone application/brand in the UK. It's not packed with fancy technology and although the logo is embossed in public locations all over the country, you may not have really noticed it. You may or may not have used the application, but you're pretty likely to have used the service it takes its revenue from - pay and display car parking.
Paying for parking via a mobile phone is not a new application, having been around in the UK for over four years. Although there are different systems from various providers, Basingstoke based RingGo is now used by over 32 local authorities and railway companies as well as car park operators. As a result the application is available in over a thousand car parks, and has close to a million parking users. It should come as no surprise that this is the biggest mobile payment application system in the UK.
In the case of RingGo, the ‘pay' is via the mobile phone and the ‘display' is via a database of valid cars that can be checked visually by a warden with a simple mobile phone, or more automatically using cameras. Unusually for a mobile application, it works on all phones because the user interaction is voice and IVR (interactive voice response). The company has explored both downloadable applications and SMS-based systems, but found the simplicity of a voice call is currently sufficient, and both bespoke mobile applications and SMS would create more technical complexity. (DSC greater than CMO).
Payment is via credit card, registered to the user and their car, or cars. Once the details have been submitted by an initial call, they can be subsequently triggered by a short call when parking, using the unique code for each car park. The parking information is stored in a database for checking parking validity. Parking operators can decide how to handle overstay or no payment in the usual way - paper tickets - or electronically, or show mercy perhaps if the driver's parking history warrants it. But that is a commercial policy decision not restricted by the technology.
The simple and ubiquitous front end is a demonstration of how to achieve flexible support for multiple deployment models as the backend can then offer different payment tariffs. The parking and vehicle information can also be captured and subsequently used for more sophisticated applications. Richmond Council for example announced plans to roll out ‘carbon' based parking tariffs - higher emission vehicles pay more. However the intelligence could also be used to the advantage of drivers by offering alternative parking places when regularly used car parks are full, loyalty and cross promotional marketing - such as parking here free if you shop/eat out etc - and other carrots rather than sticks.
All in all, this application could be much more complex, and perhaps with advances in mobile devices, a more sophisticated system will at some time be warranted, but in the meantime this seems like a mobile application that hits all the right notes. Keep it simple for the mobile user, offer something of specific mobile value and make the impact minimal and cost clear to stimulate use.
Technology can only generate large changes in behaviour if it fulfils a need or eliminates something we would rather not have to do, and so delivers a convertible market opportunity. Such a shame that too many mobile application developers build in too much deliverable solution complexity by thinking technology is more important than meeting customer needs.
