Will parking enforcement workers be replaced by AI?
Updated
Parking enforcement workers score 30 out of 100 for AI exposure. 58% of their task time needs a person. AI can do 11% and helps with 31%.
- 11% AI can do it
- 31% AI helps
- 58% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Lower than 63% of the 923 jobs we scored.
Task by task
We graded 22 tasks, most exposed first. AI can do 2 of them, helps with 7 and leaves 13 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Prepare and maintain required records, including logs of parking enforcement activities, and records of contested citations. Logs and records are structured data AI can generate and maintain. | 70% AI can do it |
| Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers. Vehicle lookups and data entry are routine digital work. | 62% AI can do it |
| Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles. AI can draft citations from entered details; officer verifies violation. | 55% AI helps |
| Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately. AI can review citation records and draft contest determinations. | 55% AI helps |
| Provide information to the public regarding parking regulations and facilities, and the location of streets, buildings and points of interest. Chatbots can answer regulation and location questions; on-site help remains. | 50% AI helps |
| Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed. Plate and status checks are digital, but confirming vehicles is visual. | 30% AI helps |
| Locate lost, stolen, and counterfeit parking permits, and take necessary enforcement action. Permit database searches are digital, but locating vehicles is physical. | 30% AI helps |
| Train new or temporary staff. AI can draft training materials; in-person coaching stays with the trainer. | 25% AI helps |
| Assign and review the work of subordinates. Scheduling and work review tools help; managing people stays human. | 25% AI helps |
| Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints. Live radio dispatch exchanges need a person on the channel. | 15% Needs a person |
Show the other 12 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Observe and report hazardous conditions, such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted. Spotting hazards on site is physical; reporting is slightly assisted. | 15% Needs a person |
| Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles. Directing tow trucks to vehicles is physical coordination on site. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones. Real-time two-way radio and phone communication stays with the person. | 12% Needs a person |
| Mark tires of parked vehicles with chalk and record time of marking, and return at regular intervals to ensure that parking time limits are not exceeded. Physical tire chalking is hands-on, though timing records could be automated. | 10% Needs a person |
| Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance. Physical street patrol requires an officer on foot or in vehicle. | 8% Needs a person |
| Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations. Court appearance requires the officer in person and under oath. | 5% Needs a person |
| Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones. Handling physical equipment and supplies is hands-on work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Provide assistance to motorists needing help with problems, such as flat tires, keys locked in cars, or dead batteries. Roadside help with tires, keys, and batteries is hands-on work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Perform simple vehicle maintenance procedures, such as checking oil and gas, and report mechanical problems to supervisors. Checking oil and gas is hands-on physical vehicle work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Perform traffic control duties such as setting up barricades and temporary signs, placing bags on parking meters to limit their use, or directing traffic. Setting barricades and directing traffic is physical field work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Collect coins deposited in meters. Physically collecting coins from meters is manual work. | 2% Needs a person |
| Wind parking meter clocks. Winding mechanical meter clocks is a manual physical task. | 2% Needs a person |
How parking enforcement workers compare
All jobs (923)
Protective service (26)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $46,730 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 9,050 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -1.1% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Enter and retrieve vehicle records in Integrated Parking Solutions MApp
- Issue citations on FastTrack handheld citation computers
- Verify plates and vehicles visually before booting or towing
- Answer contested citation appeals with documented determinations in Microsoft Word
- Coordinate boot and tow decisions with dispatchers by radio
Safer roles nearby
5 related jobs with lower scores.
Questions about parking enforcement workers and AI
Will AI replace parking enforcement workers?
Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keeping enforcement logs and records and entering vehicle registration data on handheld computers. Patrolling streets, confirming vehicles by sight, handling roadside problems and directing traffic stay with people, since those tasks need a person in the field.
Which parking enforcement tasks is AI taking over?
Record keeping is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 70, because logs and records of enforcement activity are structured data that AI can generate and maintain. Vehicle lookups and data entry come next at 62, since plate and status checks are routine digital work that software handles well.
Which parking enforcement tasks stay with people?
Physical field work stays human, with exposure scores of 2 to 4. Collecting coins from meters, winding meter clocks, checking oil and gas, setting barricades and helping motorists with flat tires or locked keys all need hands in the field, and together they make up most of the job's task weight at 58 percent.
How can parking enforcement workers stay valuable as AI takes on records?
Focus on tasks that need a person on the street and a sign-off on the result. Confirm vehicles visually before any boot or tow, learn the contested citation review process in your agency's records system, and keep handheld citation work accurate in FastTrack and MApp so your records hold up on appeal.
Related jobs
Next steps for parking enforcement workers
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first.
Related topics
- Jobs AI can't replaceRoustabouts score lowest, at 6.
- Jobs most at risk from AIProofreaders score highest, at 76.
- High-paying jobs with low AI exposurePediatric surgeons earn a median $559,030 and score 29.
- Entry-level jobs with low AI exposureRoustabouts need little prior training and score 6.
- Jobs AI speeds up the mostAI helps with 98% of the task time for health informatics specialists.
- AI and jobs in Malta15 iGaming roles graded task by task.
- Skills that keep work humanThe skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.
- Jobs A to ZEvery job we score, by first letter.
- AI exposure by industryAverage scores for 22 job groups.
- Write a CV screening software can readHow applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.
- AI for businessesThe tasks to automate first in each team and industry.
- How we score AI exposureThe grading, the weights and every source.