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"I am driven by a clear vision and a sense of purpose to help cities decarbonise. My passion truly lies in making a positive impact. Given the ever-changing transport and legislative landscape, the ability to adjust strategies in response to advancements and external factors is crucial."
Dan initially founded AppyParking after experiencing first-hand the pain of parking caused by a fragmented and broken market when trying to park near the Royal Albert Hall for a concert. From this was born the AppyParking mobile app, but more questions quickly arose... What if we could digitise parking spaces? And not just spaces – but all of the UK’s kerbs? What opportunities would that unlock? How could a digitised, dynamic kerb not only meet the ever-growing demands of urban transport today – but shape that of tomorrow?From that lightbulb moment onwards, Dan was hooked and with AppyWay, he's leading the charge to help cities thrive, from the kerb up.
WB: Tell us about your background and how it contributes to your strengths as CEO.
DH: I started life as an advertising creative in London's top agencies. I had a successful 13-year career and the industry was extremely competitive. One idea out of ninety-nine would get made so learning to deal with rejection really helped to develop a thick skin and not take no for an answer.
WB: What drives you as a leader and entrepreneur?
DH: I am driven by a clear vision and a sense of purpose to help cities decarbonise. My passion truly lies in making a positive impact. Given the ever-changing transport and legislative landscape, the ability to adjust strategies in response to advancements and external factors is crucial. Reflecting on my own performance, being highly critical to improve empathy and communication, earns the trust of others and enables us to achieve the company's goals.
"AppyWay addresses these challenges head-on, offering innovative solutions that redefine how cities approach their parking and highway infrastructure. By integrating granular parking and loading maps, seamless cashless payments, and real-time occupancy data into a cohesive digital management and monitoring platform, AppyWay transforms what was once an analogue system into a powerful mobility-ready API."
WB: Tell us about your company.
DH: AppyWay is Europe's leading digital kerbside and smart parking platform that combines granular parking and loading maps, seamless cashless payments, and occupancy data and transforms this once analogue asset into a powerful mobility-ready API. AppyWay’s platform sits uniquely between the public and private sectors and enables city managers and all drivers to optimise their assets and operations and transition to net zero.
WB: What challenges does your company solve?
DH: Cities waste billions managing their local parking and highway networks inefficiently. The conventional systems in place often lead to significant economic repercussions, costing the UK economy a staggering £26 billion annually, primarily attributable to the inadequacies stemming from poor destination data. This financial strain is a result of outdated and manual approaches to parking and traffic management, which not only hinder the flow of vehicles but also contribute to environmental concerns, as unnecessary congestion leads to increased emissions.
AppyWay addresses these challenges head-on, offering innovative solutions that redefine how cities approach their parking and highway infrastructure. By integrating granular parking and loading maps, seamless cashless payments, and real-time occupancy data into a cohesive digital management and monitoring platform, AppyWay transforms what was once an analogue system into a powerful mobility-ready API.
WB: What about your company are you most proud of?
DH: I am most proud that the vision I had ten years ago is being executed today. Despite initial doubts, AppyWay is widely recognised as Europe's leading digital kerbside solution. We have been instrumental in educating a very outdated industry about the art of the possible. Leading by example is hard, but it's the only way.
WB: What economic factors are most challenging for your industry and vital to keep an eye on?
DH: In the UK, there are local authorities on the brink of bankruptcy because they are using outdated processes. They then go cap in hand to be saved, throwing good money after bad and resorting back to old habits. The way citizens live and move in cities is evolving, yet the same tax collection business model has been there since the first settlements. Serious consideration is needed, and serious business leaders should be hired to create new business models to work for everyone.
WB: What technologies do you expect will transform business in the coming decade?
DH: The electrification of vehicles is a huge undertaking and is essentially a digital transformation program on an epic scale. AppyWay is helping cities digitize their kerbside and speed up the rollout. We enable charge operators to roll out more charge points and help drivers plan, park, and pay or charge with ease. The ramp-up from 50,000 on-street charges to 300,000 by 2030 offers a significant opportunity. Within the next decade, the recently announced Autonomous Vehicles Bill and the frameworks set in place mean we’ll be acting as the operating system of the kerbside offering automatic compliance and kerbside access for rob-taxis.
WB: How do you ensure that ESG is not an afterthought for your company?
DH: Optimisation of the transport network and helping cities and vehicles transition to net zero is at the heart of everything we do. On the GovTech side, we are helping the cities with their sustainable kerbside strategies and providing all the software and insight to hit their targets. On the private sector side, we have the ability to connect 40 million UK vehicles to their end destination even before they set out and encourage journeymakers to take alternative transport methods.
"By combining individual lifestyle changes with community engagement and advocacy, a movement for sustainable and mindful personal car ownership can gain momentum. The key is to create a collective mindset shift toward more environmentally conscious transportation choices."
WB: If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?
DH: The world has a finite amount of resources, and the human race needs to consume less and be mindful of the consequences of their actions. Creating a movement to promote sustainable and mindful practices in personal car ownership involves a combination of individual actions, community engagement, and advocacy. By combining individual lifestyle changes with community engagement and advocacy, a movement for sustainable and mindful personal car ownership can gain momentum. The key is to create a collective mindset shift toward more environmentally conscious transportation choices.
AppyWay is the pioneering kerbside management and smart parking business that aims to transform how drivers and fleets find and pay for parking across the UK.
The Company provides kerbside navigation for parking and automated payments for connected vehicles, forming part of the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) market, £265billion/year within the Global Intelligent Mobility Market set to be worth £900billion/year by 2025.
AppyWay has created a highly sophisticated dataset for all relevant parking restrictions, tariffs and exemptions enabling any type of vehicle to be fully compliant at kerbside. Drivers and fleets are able to see the cheapest nearby free or paid parking space in real-time. This is an essential part of the infrastructure for a truly connected smart city and AppyParking already have the world’s first fully tested and proven digital parking platform that is quickly being adopted by Local Authorities as well as car manufacturers on a global scale.
Subscribers to their services have included amongst others, Ford, Jaguar, Renault Nissan, Land Rover, Volvo, BMW, Zipcar, TomTom, RAC, Hertz, Avis, John Lewis, British Gas and 340 Local Authorities throughout the UK. They have won numerous awards, have received significant institutional funding and have strategic partnerships in place with the UK Government, VISA, O2, Microsoft, Apple and Capita.
For more information, please visit: appyway.com
