Changes in the mobility landscape have increased competition for curbside parking in urban areas. Curbs are becoming used for more than simply parking, delivery, and transportation. Bicycle lanes, ride-hailing, same-day delivery, dockless cars, and other innovations have made the more conventional uses of transportation obsolete. Therefore, towns and investors are starting to value curb space management software.

Automotus, a firm that has been around for four years and is working to automate the administration of curbs, has just secured a $9 million seed investment. It claims that their technology can improve parking income for cities by over500%, decrease congestion by10%, and minimise double-parking dangers by 64%.

According to Automotus, the company collaborates with cities like Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Omaha, and Bethlehem to implement automated payments for vehicle unloading and parking, monitor curb violations, and oversee preferred loading zones and discounted rates for commercial electric vehicles.

For cities to gain a fuller picture of how the public right of way is being utilised and by which modes for planning, policy, and pricing activities, “we also interface with other mobility services providers,” Automotus CEO Jordan Justus told TechCrunch.

Automotus first secured $1.2 million in startup finance in March2021, and the firm has since amassed $7.8 million in additional capital. City Rock Ventures, Quake Capital, Bridge Investments, Unbridled Ventures, Keiki Capital, NY Angels, Irish Angles, SUM Ventures, and the Cleantech Incubator Impact Fund in Los Angeles were the most recent fund leaders.

A minimum of 15 additional locations are expected to go live in 2023, and “the bulk of the funds will be utilised to execute and support deployments in those cities,” as stated by Justus. We have a busy year of launches planned and are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality services while expanding on the success of our pilot programmes.

While Automotus’ main offering is a SaaS solution, having the proper hardware in place is crucial for data collection. The business rolls out cameras with cellular data connections and Automotus’ own computer vision technology in cities that have partnered with it. The cameras are installed on traffic signals and street lamps in low-emissions delivery zones and other places where loading and unloading may be common.

The technology from Automotus eliminates the requirement for mobile app downloads and parking metres. The cameras take pictures of licence plates and then use that information to track drivers, charge for parking, or issue tickets to those who break local ordinances. To protect the anonymity of pedestrians and other street users, the system obscures faces and anonymizes data.