There’s something electric about the first day of IPMI Conference & Expo, every year, like the feeling that the most advanced conversations in the parking and mobility industry are unfolding in real time. On June 9 in Louisville, KY, I sat in on one of these conversations: the panel titled "Anatomy of a great pilot: Parking’s Innovation Playground," with City of Greenville, South Carolina, FAAC Parking Solutions, TIBA VAR Carolina Time Equipment Company, and technology integration partners ParkSwift and SpecifAI.
The panelists pulled back the curtain on the anatomy of an exemplary pilot project, unpacking its design and phase 1 rollout. Here following what I learnt by listening to them!
Kicking off the session, Liz Young, VP of Solution Engineering at FAAC Parking Solutions, framed the panel’s goal: to dissect a pilot project that exemplifies what can happen when the right technology meets the right collaboration.
The story began with City of Greenville’s 5-year-old parking technology. Recognizing an opportunity to elevate both the operator and citizen experience, the team - including Clint Joy from Carolina Time and Brent Van Loggerenberg of ParkSwift - aligned around a common goal: to improve visibility, automation, and control of the city’s parking environment.
Enter SpecifAI. Their platform became the nerve center of the initiative, aggregating data into a unified portal to track and analyze behavior: who comes and goes, when, and how. The aim? To make smarter decisions about operations, future investments, and potentially even policy (on-street paid parking, anyone?).
From green light to go live
What surprised me most was the fast pace: the project went live in just seven months! Anyone who has ever worked on complex integrations knows that timelines like this are rare, and they do not come for free. The speakers did not sugarcoat the situation: internal frictions, legacy processes (yes, even paper ones from the Y2K era), and compressed schedules tested every team's flexibility.
Clint Joy candidly reflected on the internal debate about launching a pilot with one of Carolina Time’s largest clients - the risk was real. But with decades of partnership and shared trust, they leaned into it. As he put it, understanding the IT infrastructure was just as vital as the theory of operations and technology layers.
What makes a great pilot?
Each speaker had a distinctive take:
- Carolina Time: Total buy-in from partners, manufacturers, and city departments, because without alignment, nothing moves.
- City of Greenville: Specific, measurable goals and - crucially - a hyper-detailed budget. Internal salesmanship was key, too, to get the stakeholders’ buy in.
- FAAC Parking Solutions: Agility. Liz emphasized that every assumption must be revisited often, with clear leadership and adaptability driving momentum.
- ParkSwift: Make people feel the value. When money flows are involved, ears perk up; but real adoption requires demystifying change for the end user.
Brent said it best: “No one likes doing things differently. Change always means work for someone.” The magic lies in making that change feel seamless.
A pilot project is a lesson that keeps on teaching, especially on the importance of persistence and flexibility. The collaboration did not end at go-live: phase 1 was just the beginning. SpecifAI plans biweekly trainings, deep dives into data interpretation, and evolving KPIs. As Liz noted, it’s not enough to launch: true success comes from standing by the client, iterating, and scaling smart.
And when things got messy? Communication saved the day! Weekly syncs kept teams aligned, even when tensions ran high. As one panelist joked, “We didn’t kill each other!” The emotional honesty was refreshing, especially in an industry where passion runs high.
Why this matters to us at HUB Parking
Even though HUB Parking was not involved in the pilot project at all, the mission of its Business Unit FAAC Parking Solutions resonated as clear and applicable. When innovating parking technology and integrating with these varied staleholders, we are not just selling tech: we are part of a wider movement (allow me to say: a fast-paced industry) that helps cities evolve and meet their residents' expectations. This pilot demonstrated what’s possible when everyone, from product engineers to finance departments, comes to the table and stays there.
At its heart, this story wasn’t about APIs or dashboards (though there were plenty). It was about trust, shared goals, and the ability to learn and act fast. It was about educating not just the client, but also the citizens (end users) ensuring that they see the value in the new experience.
And last, a final reflection. When asked what they were most proud of, the answers were as diverse as the panelists:
- SpecifAI: Robust reporting and data insight.
- Greenville: Unbreakable communication lines and true teamwork.
- Carolina Time: Passion sustained until the very end.
- ParkSwift: Orchestrating the many moving pieces.
- FAAC Parking Solutions: Turning a traditional vendor-client model into something more, like a partnership of equals.
That’s the sandbox we all want to play in!
