The parking app is reshaping how urban spaces function by using real-time data and connected infrastructure. Parket, a parking payment app, is evolving into a digital infrastructure provider at the heart of urban innovation. By combining physical expansion with real-time data systems, the startup is positioning itself as a key enabler of smart cities.
“Because we’re a turnkey digital system, Parket falls into the Internet of Things category,” Parket founder and CTO Joshua Raphael told Gadget. “We know the exact occupancy, the total amount of bays, and the volumes. It’s really insightful data that offices and landlords have already made use of to make educated decisions around their parking.”
Earlier this year, Parket was implemented at Riverlands, a mixed-use development by Zenprop in Cape Town. The site presented a particularly complex parking challenge, with four interconnected lots shared between residents and commercial tenants – many of whom had more staff than allocated bays.
To address this, Parket deployed a dynamic bay pool model that automatically begins billing tenants for hourly sessions once their pool is exceeded. The parking demand is cyclical – residential use dominates at night, while tenants require access during the day. To manage this, Parket incentivises turnover by billing tenant vehicles that remain after 7pm, ensuring more efficient use of space across the day-night cycle.
“This is smart within the property, but then it becomes smart from a smart city point of view, because a lot of these parking lots have public parking. Using the app, you can book monthly, daily, or just find the location to drive in hourly.
“This model is quite big at Parket. If people want to come to town for three days a week, while working remotely for the other two, they can book those three days in the app. Then they can drive in and out of that parking lot for those days on their license plate.
“So that real-time information is essentially what makes things smart, providing that information to the end user.”
Raphael said Parket is in discussions with potential clients that could lead to onboarding several open parking areas, making its booking feature especially useful for visitors. He said the team is exploring early concepts for a possible street parking solution, which would align with broader smart city goals by combining real-time information and digital payments.
Security and privacy
Parket’s approach to safety extends beyond regulatory compliance, with a focus on maintaining control over its infrastructure and safeguarding user trust. Rather than outsourcing responsibility or seeking aggressive data monetisation strategies, the company has opted for a more privacy-conscious model rooted in long-term sustainability.
“We have stringent security standards at Parket, and we are POPIA compliant. We are privately funded, and not venture capital-funded, so it’s not as if there’s other corporates that have part owners in the business. We don’t monetise data, and I don’t think we ever will. We keep that in our terms and conditions – where one’s data is kept safe.”
While parking lots are considered private property and license plates are publicly visible, often captured by existing CCTV systems, Parket maintains that this does not diminish its responsibility to protect user data. Raphael said the company’s policy is to respect and uphold individual privacy while maintaining strict security standards across all operations.
User experience
Catering to a wide range of users has been a key focus in Parket’s development. One of its deployments was at a Pam Golding parking lot situated next to a retirement village, where roughly 30% of users were around 70 years old.
“One of the challenges for our product is the stakeholders are literally everyone. This includes tenants in the building, visitors of the tenants, visitors of retail, the residents in the building – everyone is a potential user, and everyone has their own user journey. The system can’t run just for a particular audience.”
However, he said introducing a new system often leads to initial confusion, as people are accustomed to long-standing habits – like taking a parking ticket – similar to how Woolworths shoppers had to adjust to bringing their own bags when plastic ones were phased out.
“Once it’s learned, people understand that this is how the system works. We’ve taken on the onus of disrupting the industry. And the onus is on us to change the user behaviour. This comes with being a pioneer in any field.”
Raphael said the team pushed to fast-track the kiosk launch and managed to get it out quickly. While there’s always uncertainty about how a product will be received, he said it was a powerful moment to watch users intuitively navigate the system – entering their license plates, tapping their cards, and driving out without assistance. Although the interface needed some refinement in the months that followed, that initial rollout showed the concept worked.
“The user interface needed a bit of work, and we went through several iterations – over the months, it’s improved drastically. But seeing that first take was really enough for us – this is probably the final piece of the pie. I watched a moment where two 75-year-olds figured it out by themselves, tapped their card, and then went on their way.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jason Bannier
Quelle/Source: Gadget, 30.05.2025
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