Predictions for the New Year

By Erik Nelson, PCIP The original blog post can be found here on the International Parking & Mobility Institute website. It is a rare opportunity to write a blog post in January. Members of the IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force often discuss forward-looking topics that are of importance to parking and mobility professionals. What better time to look forward than the start of a new year? Here are some predictions for 2022:

1. Returning to in-person office work will continue at a very slow pace but will certainly not get back to 2019 levels.
2. Public transit usage will continue to be low for those who have other options, including single-occupancy vehicles or simply working remotely.
3. Electric vehicles will continue to attract headlines and increased sales but won’t top 5 percent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. despite a significant increase in public charging stations.
4. Business-related air travel will continue to slowly inch upward, but leisure air travel demand will continue to be high especially in the summer months.

If you noticed that three of these predictions are related to COVID-19, pat yourself on the back. This continues to be the era of the Coronavirus and it doesn’t show signs of going away. Although this environment remains challenging, we can take comfort in the fact that we are all working together in the same boat, and that leads to my last prediction: The parking and mobility industry will continue to support itself through the passion, skill, creativity, and experience of its practitioners. May your 2022 be healthy, happy, and prosperous! Erik Nelson, PCIP, is director of operations and technology consulting with Walker Consultants and a member of IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force.