When control turned into customer experience

From the police's responsibility to municipal enforcement

Before 1970, parking enforcement in Finland was entirely the police's responsibility, and illegal parking led to a criminal process and a fine. A law on municipal parking enforcement that took effect in 1971 changed the situation: the first parking wardens started work in Helsinki and Tampere, and soon after in Turku, Lahti, and Oulu as well.

The rise of car ownership in cities and the birth of enforcement

In the 1970s, the rapid rise of car ownership in cities brought parking problems that people wanted to manage through enforcement. Starting enforcement wasn't a given — it required separate municipal decisions and permission from the Ministry of the Interior.

In the early stages, parking wardens were hired especially among women, who were thought to handle situations more gently. This is also how the nickname “lappuliisa” (“ticket Liisa”) came about. Before parking meters, enforcement was even based on chalk marks made on tires.

Paid parking and the first steps in technology

In the 1980s, city centers became denser and paid parking spaces became more common. Expensive coin meters were replaced by parking ticket machines, and at the same time the first parking garages were built in Helsinki and Tampere.

In the 1990s, barriers, magnetic-stripe cards, and payment machines enabled accurate tracking of parking time and a shift toward self-service.

Parking becomes a professional business

In the 1990s and 2000s, the first major parking operators arrived in Finland. Parking became a professional business, and during the Nokia years Finland became a pioneer in mobile payments. SMS and phone payments, as well as the first app-based services, entered the market.

The arc of development from the 1970s to the 2000s was largely a time of tightening control: the parking operator's central task was to maximize parking revenue.

The turning point: from control to customer experience

What changed to shift the focus from control and punishment to developing the customer experience?

Hundreds of conversations with real estate professionals revealed that the current parking model didn't serve properties' actual needs. We had more than 20 years of experience developing parking technology, and out of these conversations came a clear new strategic direction.

One thing was clear to everyone: punishing parkers wasn't what properties wanted.

Parking as part of the property's customer experience

Parking was seen as an important part of a property's customer-experience journey — often the first and last point of contact. Instead of access cards, people wanted automatic license-plate recognition and smooth entry.

The quality of customer service also became a central focus. Slow or nonexistent customer service was frustrating, and people wanted fast answers. That's why the promise was set that every customer message would be answered by the following business day at the latest.

Transparency and data for the property's use

Many real estate professionals felt completely in the dark about how their parking was being used. A lump-sum monthly settlement didn't reveal who parked, when, or how the garage was used.

The solution was openness: access to all data and analytics, audit logs of every action, and a real-time health indicator for the system, showing whether the parking system is working as it should.

Parking as an appeal factor in a changing market

COVID and the rise of remote work changed the office market. Parking garages that used to be full became half-empty, yet spaces were still allocated according to old models. At the same time, new tenants wanted more parking rights.

The solution was found in data: real utilization rates enabled more flexible allocation, so that a few extra parking rights could tip the scale for a new tenant's choice.

Enforcement without punishment

Real estate professionals were nearly unanimous: private-law enforcement fees cause complaints, annoy tenants, and don't benefit the property.

Even though issuing fines would have been financially profitable, we chose a different path — a model where parking is monitored, but no one is punished. For unpaid parking, an invoice is sent, revenue goes to the property, and the customer experience stays good.

Invisible, continuous control

The visible, human-based control of the 1970s still exists, but it has become invisible and round-the-clock. Instead of punishment, the job of parking is now to make sure the property receives the revenue it's owed.