Milan's mobility transformation: An Open Market success story
The municipality of Milan is championing projects that combine digital and social innovation. It wants to empower Milanese residents so they can work toward the common objective of a more inclusive and digitally advanced city. One way the municipality is facilitating the digital transformation of Milan while improving equity and inclusion is through an Open Market for parking.
Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM Milano), the parking operator 100% owned by the municipality of Milan, introduced three parking apps in 2015. This innovative step reflected its mission: ‘to become a promoter of the change and revival of Milan’ and make it ‘a more livable, sustainable, secure, and smart city’.
The Open Market allows multiple parking apps to compete against each other, so drivers can choose the one that best suits their needs – quality of service, user experience, unique features, value, and in the future, additional services like EV charging.
This pioneering parking model also aligns with the municipality’s approach of employing data analytics to achieve digital inclusion and a sustainable local economy by:
- Supporting the city’s urban mobility goals
- Empowering drivers to move to digitalization
- Providing rich data, enabling more informed decisions about parking infrastructure, traffic management, and urban development
Milan was one of the first cities in Italy to adopt the Open Market model in 2015. Its success demonstrates the benefits of digitalization and serves as a model for other cities.
Milan was one of the first cities in Italy to adopt the Open Market model in 2015. Its success demonstrates the benefits of digitization and serves as a model for other cities.
Benefits of the Open Market in Milan
For the municipality
- Provide more choice for drivers: increased satisfaction and fewer complaints
- Save money through greater cashless adoption: reduce costs on credit card commissions and cash handling, and streamline processes
- Create a level playing field with lower barriers to entry for new providers
- Reduce capital expenditure through the reduction of pay and display machines
- Remove complex and costly procurement processes for the municipality
- Increase resilience and flexibility by having three suppliers to rely on
- Enhance data analytics for more effective urban planning and resource allocation
For drivers
- No need to download multiple apps – can use same app and services in the Milan region and across Italy
- Improved customer experience as additional services like EV charging are offered
- Save time: it takes just 10 seconds for existing users, and 50 seconds if they need to register
- Reduced stress: drivers can pay more efficiently, reducing the stress of searching for a pay and display machine
For parking apps
- Increased competition leads to investment in better apps and innovative new services
- Work with simpler, more sustainable business models
- Easier for new apps to enter the market in Milan
Arrive reinvests revenue in services that offer a more convenient, modern, and efficient urban experience. It has already funded infrastructure improvements, with more planned in the future.
How Milan has embraced digital parking
In recent years, Milan has expanded its onstreet parking payment options, complementing traditional methods with new digital technologies. This evolution has made it possible to offer drivers more flexible and user-friendly solutions, improving access to the service and simplifying the overall management of urban parking. Prior to May 2019, drivers could also use scratch-off parking tickets, which were costly and inefficient and did not align with the city’s ambitious sustainability commitments.
Since the introduction of the Open Market and cashless parking, demand in Milan has surged, reflecting the growing appeal for digital parking. Over this period, there has been a significant increase in parking compliance as app use has increased. This has been facilitated by improved efficiency in enforcement through digitalization. In the majority of cases, parking enforcement officers no longer need to check displayed tickets but can scan license plates and receive real-time payment status updates for parked vehicles.
Over the last three years, EasyPark’s growth trajectory has remained strong. Currently, 33% of all parking sessions in Milan are managed through EasyPark, and 49% of payments are across all three apps. (51% are via pay and display machines and credit cards.) There is a free cashless payment option using SMS, but it isn’t popular. Drivers are increasingly willing to pay a premium – in the form of a service fee (see next page) – for additional services that enhance convenience, improve their overall experience, or add value beyond the standard offering.
This data illustrates the continuous growth of EasyPark in the Milan region, which benefits the municipality because it boosts digital adoption.
How Milan unlocked value by adopting the service fee
Before 2022, the municipality paid parking apps a percentage of transactions, effectively charging all citizens for parking through taxes. Since then, the municipality has allowed apps to operate with various business models, including charging users a service fee, also known as an end user fee (EUF).
Allowing EasyPark and other parking apps to set EUFs or introduce other non-commission-based business models in Milan is essential for fostering a competitive market between the apps and allows drivers to make more informed decisions. It ensures continuous innovation, facilitates investments in new digital services, and enhances the overall urban experience without imposing additional costs on the community.
The shift from a commission-based pricing model to an EUF:
- Gives drivers more freedom to select the solution that best fits their needs and budget
- Ensures that parking fees are transparent and only paid by those who use the service
Due to the uncertainty surrounding this new commercial model, the city initially hesitated to adopt the EUF. However, EasyPark's extensive coverage, user-friendly interface, and other benefits ultimately led to its implementation. The introduction of the EUF has not deterred drivers from using parking apps in and around Milan. Even apps that are more expensive have experienced an uptick in usage and expanded their customer base over this period.
Drivers are increasingly willing to pay a premium – in the form of a service fee – for additional services that enhance convenience, improve their overall experience, or add value beyond the standard offering.
Strategic growth initiatives drove Milan’s parking potential to new heights
Arrive has utilized the following strategic growth initiatives to help the municipality of Milan achieve its policy strategies:
Relationship building
Establishing strong partnerships with key personnel at ATM Milano through AIPARK, the Italian Association of Parking and Mobility Operators.
Amplifying key messaging
Acting as a powerful communication platform for Milan's digitalization efforts. During the phasing out of scratch-off parking tickets, Arrive led on marketing communications with an out-of-home (OOH) and digital campaign to strengthen the city's transition toward digital payments.
Operational support
Ongoing guidance from the Partner Success Manager team and Account Managers at Arrive so the municipality offers a smart and secure service that meets the needs of drivers and enhances their overall experience.
Innovation and digitalization in Italy
Italy is currently undergoing a significant digital transformation, and digital payments are gradually becoming part of daily life. A previously cumbersome task, such as parking – where drivers used to need cash – has now evolved into a seamless and convenient digital experience.
Since launching in Italy in 2014, EasyPark has become the leading parking app and is currently available in more than 900 municipalities, from small towns to major cities. As the public has embraced digital technology, there has been a steady and substantial increase in the adoption of parking apps, particularly in major urban centers like Milan, where over half of drivers prefer using apps over traditional payment methods.
Arrive’s mission extends beyond simplifying parking in Italy; it involves a close partnership with cities and parking operators to foster effective mobility policies. Leveraging extensive industry expertise, Arrive provides an array of advanced services, including a dashboard†, visualization tools, and comprehensive data and maps. These resources empower policymakers with a holistic view of the parking environment, facilitating optimized planning and enhanced urban mobility.
The dashboard is the central hub that connects and organizes all the tools offered by Arrive (insights, enforcement, etc.). It serves as the core interface, allowing users to access, monitor, and manage various KPIs in one place.
The Open Market for parking
The Open Market for parking is a standard model embraced across much of Europe. It allows multiple parking apps to compete against each other, so drivers can choose the one that best suits their needs – quality of service, user experience, unique features, value, and in the future, additional services like EV charging.
Historically, cities and parking operators have relied on tender-based procurement processes to choose a single cashless parking app. However, the development of new technology removes the need for protracted and lengthy procurement or complex legal arrangements.
It’s a big shift in mobility that unleashes competition and drives innovation. Cities and parking operators benefit from lower implementation and operating costs, creating an EU-wide infrastructure for parking payments that benefits drivers no matter where they park.
How does an Open Market work?
The transition from a tender-based procurement process to the Open Market model is supported by a ‘smart parking hub’. This is a simple and secure technology that allows parking apps to ‘plug in’ and access all available parking inventory. Drivers can then choose their preferred app, increasing digital uptake and giving cities and parking operators a more comprehensive overview about how drivers use available parking spaces.
