But They Said I Could Park Here!

As a Canadian working in Indianapolis at T2 I have discovered that in the office I represent "the Canadian perspective" whenever there's something International happening.  This is the case for serious things (like a war in Afghanistan), for sporty things like the Olympics, and even funny things like comedians.  Being a fish-out-of-water provides a different perspective, and it's the best of two worlds.

So I'm wondering - is the business of parking the same in Canada as it is in the USA?  There are definitely local flavors - er, flavours.

When it comes to parking as an industry Canada straddles two worlds - America and Europe - and is able to pick the best of both.

Geographically speaking Canada is more like the USA:  it's a collection of far-flung high-density areas (better known as "cities") separated by plenty of empty space.  We are a car-dependent society and, for the most part, prefer not to take public transit.  As such we share most of the same types of parking problems as American parking operations.

With respect to culture, we Candians are a little more European in nature - conservative, heavily taxed, officially multi-lingual, and even leaning just a little toward socialist.  (Okay, maybe more than a little socialist, but it's socialism in a good way.)  And we never quite severed those ties to Britain like the US did, so we still call back home from-time-to-time.

What advantage does this offer to the business of Canadian parking operations?  It's the best of both worlds, eh?  Canadians are good at importing parking technology from Europe - such as pay-by-cell, multi-space meters, and smart cards - and then applying these technologies in a distinctly North American way.

That's not to say that America doesn't do the same thing too - our neighbors (neighbours) to the South know very well how to be innovative and adapt also - especially when it comes to technology.  And often they use Canada as their testing ground for such innovations before expanding into Europe.  In that regard Canada really does get the best of both worlds!