This article is a continuation of our Parking Intro article. We recommend reading that first to get a general overview of parking possibilities and to better understand the concepts discussed here.
What is a Parking Permit?
A Permit is a controlled form of parking access used when availability needs to be managed more carefully than simple reservations. Unlike instant bookings, permits typically involve an approval process, eligibility verification, or a waitlist before a user can receive parking access.
Permits vs. Products
It’s important to understand the difference between Permits and Products in the parking system.
A Product is designed for speed and convenience. Users can instantly book or purchase parking through the app without any approval process.
A Permit, on the other hand, is designed for controlled access. Users may need to submit a request that is reviewed by an admin, join a waitlist, or meet specific eligibility criteria before receiving parking privileges.
In short:
- Products enable instant booking.
- Permits manage long-term access with approvals or restrictions.
Current Availability
At the moment, Permits are configured by the CommuteHub support. If your organization requires a permit setup, our team can assist with the configuration.
However, for some use cases, organizations currently use Products to manage reservations, capacity, and pricing because they can be created and managed directly from the Management Dashboard.
Example Use Cases
Some organizations use permits for specialized parking programs.
These are some general use cases:
- Monthly Parking Permit Grants a user recurring parking access for one month. Ideal for employees who park regularly and need a predictable, hassle-free arrangement without booking day by day.
- Annual Parking Permit Works the same way as a monthly permit but covers a full year. Well suited for permanent staff who require long-term, uninterrupted parking access.
- Vendor Parking Permit Provides temporary or recurring parking access for external vendors visiting your facilities. Keeps vendor parking organized and separate from general employee allocations.
- EV Charging Permit Reserves access to EV charging spots for eligible users. Ensures that charging infrastructure is used by the right people and prevents general parking in designated charging bays.
Our solutions are designed to adapt seamlessly across various industries, providing tailored support for unique operational needs. Here are two examples from the healthcare sector:
- Patient Parking Applies when a staff member visits their own workplace as a patient for medical care. The permit provides complimentary parking, privacy protection so the parking location stays hidden, and a simplified workflow that may not require facility linkage.
- Guaranteed Daily Parking Ensures that certain staff members — such as emergency physicians or on-call personnel — always have a parking space available, even when general capacity is full. When the permit holder badges in, a reservation is created automatically. No manual booking required.
What’s Coming Next
We are currently working on self-service permit configuration, which will allow managers to create and manage their own permits directly in the Management Dashboard.
This future update will include tools for:
- approval and rejection workflows
- waitlists
- pricing tiers
- different validity periods (monthly, custom,..)
- eligibility rules
- integrations with parking access systems such as gates or badge readers
If you would like to be notified when this feature becomes available, make sure to subscribe to the Product Update Newsletter to receive updates whenever new capabilities are released.