More competition, greater transparency, and frictionless access are shifting how drivers find, compare, and pay for parking.

Today, drivers can order food, buy tickets, and navigate anywhere in North America without having to think about which app they need. But when it comes to parking, the experience remains fragmented. Drivers often need a different parking app from one city to the next and, in some cases, even from one block to another.

It’s not that parking has failed to go digital; mobile payments, parking apps, and online permit systems are now widely used across most cities. Instead, these systems have evolved under different procurement and operating models, making consistency across regions harder to achieve.

As urban mobility becomes more connected, cities are beginning to explore whether parking can be made more flexible and consistent for drivers without sacrificing the structure and control that makes their current systems work. This is where Open Market parking is beginning to emerge as one approach.

A different approach to competition

Traditional parking procurement is typically built around competition for the market. Cities run a procurement process, select a single provider, and enter into a multi-year agreement that defines how parking services are delivered and managed.

Open Market parking shifts that structure in the following ways:

  • Instead of selecting one provider, cities establish a shared framework that allows multiple qualified apps to operate within the same environment.

  • The city defines the rules of participation, including standards for security, compliance, enforcement integration, data sharing, and service quality.

  • Within those boundaries, drivers are free to choose the service they prefer when they park.


Competition then shifts into the market itself. Providers are not only competing for contracts but also for drivers, earning continued use through the quality of the experience they deliver. This can include ease of use, pricing transparency, reliability, and continued product improvements.

For cities, the governance model stays the same. Cities set the standards, oversee performance, and ensure accountability, while enabling multiple providers to operate within the same ecosystem.

Why some cities are taking a closer look

Interest in Open Market parking is part of a broader shift in how cities are thinking about mobility and digital services. As people increasingly expect smooth, reliable digital experiences, cities are exploring ways to improve how drivers access and pay for parking.

By allowing multiple providers to operate within a clear set of rules, cities can potentially create conditions that encourage ongoing improvements in user experience, payments, and integration with other mobility services, while still maintaining control over standards, policy, and outcomes.

For some cities, there is also a longer-term strategic opportunity in the data generated through parking activity. Because parking marks the beginning and end of most trips, it can provide valuable insights into how people move through a city. When combined across providers, that information can help support planning, infrastructure, and investment decisions over time.

What this looks like in practice will vary from city to city. Local priorities, resources, and policy goals will continue to shape how Open Market approaches are adopted and applied.

Open Market is a journey, not a destination

Open Market parking is best understood as an emerging model rather than a fixed endpoint. Every city operates within its own set of constraints and priorities, and those differences matter. 

  • Many will continue to rely on single-provider systems that deliver strong performance and straightforward operations. In those environments, there is often no immediate need to change what already works.

  • Other cities are beginning to explore whether more flexibility or interoperability could support their long-term mobility goals. For them, Open Market approaches may offer a different path, either as a full framework or as an incremental evolution alongside existing systems.


Over time, cities are unlikely to converge on a single model. Instead, different approaches will coexist, with each city adapting its parking strategy as its needs, technology, and mobility patterns evolve.

What this means for drivers

For drivers, parking is experienced in moments rather than systems, making it the first interaction when arriving at a destination and often the last before departure.

One of the most common points of friction today is the need to download new apps when moving between different locations. As mobility becomes more connected, expectations are shifting toward continuity, where familiar tools work across more places without requiring a reset each time.

Open Market parking supports this shift by allowing drivers to use services they already know across multiple cities, where available. While implementation will always vary locally, the objective is to reduce unnecessary friction and make parking feel more integrated into the overall journey.

Additionally, the open market encourages providers to focus on delivering the best possible service, driving continuous innovation and regular improvements that create a more seamless parking experience for drivers.

Looking ahead

Parking is not always the most visible part of a city, but it plays an important role in how people experience it. As cities continue to modernize mobility systems, there will not be a single path forward. Some will continue to build on established single-provider models, while others introduce more open frameworks where greater flexibility and choice can add value. Many will evolve gradually, adapting their approach as needs, technology, and expectations change over time.

Open Market parking sits within that evolution as one of several possible approaches. It is not a replacement for what works today, but an additional model cities can consider as they look to improve how parking fits into a broader mobility experience.

What matters most is not the structure itself, but what it enables: a parking experience that feels more consistent for drivers, and a modern procurement process that gives cities more flexibility to respond to how mobility is actually changing on the ground.