Elias Bou Maroun

What is your assessment on the overall availability of managed parking spaces in Qatar and Mawaqif Qatar’s position in the market?

The challenge is on-street parking, which remains free and uncontrolled. There has been a plan by the authorities to implement on-street parking controls and enforcement, which will motivate customers to park off streets. QDVP participated in this project, with its head company, QDVC, and a key investor, and we are awaiting the next step in this project. Without on-street controls, the cycle will not be complete. In terms of paid parking spaces capacity, we are the leader in the market, with more than 22,000 parking spaces and 1.5 million customer transactions as of 2021. We are also the leader in digital solutions, where we can centralize parking systems, manage them remotely, and connect them to our apps and platforms, all of which have been proven in Qatar.

What has been the role of Mawaqif Qatar’s mobile app in improving your B2C operations, and what has been the response from end users?

Mawaqif Qatar app is a breakthrough in the market, especially following the pandemic, where customers do not want to handle parking tickets or pay stations. With the Mawaqif Qatar App, customers can register their profile, their license plate numbers, and their credit card information and access any of our projects. Payment is later, not on the spot. This enables customers to save commission fees from each transaction. When the amount is considerable, the payment will be due. We have had almost 1,000 downloads so far. Our app will be also part of other key players loyalty programs in the long run. Moreover, our app can be integrated with a project app, where landlords prefer to have one app for their customers, rather than having them download several apps. QDVP will continue with its digital evolution, prepare for more electric charging stations, develop more its ticketless solutions, and strive for more park-and-ride services, car sharing, and sustainability initiatives.