Benefits of Moving from Free to Paid Parking

Composited PhotoLUKE II On-StreetVancouver, BC

 

Flexible parking management strategies are important for any municipality – and it goes beyond meters, parking spaces, and citations. Successful programs can ease the transition from free to paid parking, increase asset utilization, and spur economic growth, which means more tax revenue and more vibrant businesses.   T2 Luke® Multi-Space Pay Stations are designed specifically for on-street parking in communities and cities – big and small. When combined with a Pay-by-License Plate parking model – where consumers simply go to the pay station, enter their license plate number, and purchase time – Luke Pay Stations offer advanced features that leave visitors and residents happy while increasing your bottom line.

Generate Revenue with Little Overhead

Municipalities often face challenges to cover the costs of providing services and the ongoing maintenance of important city assets for residents and tourists to use and enjoy. Multi-space pay stations can help generate funds to cover these costs and rebuild and improve downtown areas as a destination for the local community. Some operational benefits include a reduction in piggybacking, parking rate structure flexibility, and less downtime with maintenance alerts. In addition, multi-space pay stations provide rich data to look at your parking operation holistically and help with business decisions. Multi-space pay stations are relatively inexpensive to implement and typically provide a return on their investment after just seven to nine months. With programs such as municipal leasing, the pay stations require little overhead and are self-funded from additional revenues generated.

Improve Parking Availability in Core Areas

Local businesses often suffer when customers can’t find a place to park because the most convenient parking spaces are taken by people that live or work nearby. When individuals leave their car on the street for days or weeks at a time, they’re chasing customers away from the businesses nearby. Charging for parking with multi-space pay stations creates turnover of parking spaces, which in turn improves the utilization of parking resources, drives more customers to local businesses, and spurs new development in your downtown area. Further, to ease the transition from free to paid parking, the ability to offer limited parking (such as one hour for free) is an important feature to look for. It encourages short stay parking, making spaces available for more customers. This is an easier solution compared to free time tokens or credits, and it provides cities with flexible parking options more in line with their needs.

Increase Compliance

Posted time limits for parking are frequently ignored by patrons, but at the same time difficult to enforce. An enforcement officer needs to see a car at least twice to know that it has been there longer than the limit, so lots of violators slip through. However, with paid parking, officers only need to see a car once – after the expiry time – to know that it has parked for too long. As a city’s enforcement efficiency increases, residents will take notice and be more compliant, as it is much more difficult to game the system. Plus, people are generally more likely to respect the expiry time on their ticket than a limit posted on a sign nearby.

Offer Preferred Parking Options

Offering parking discounts to residents is an effective way to win their support for paid curbside parking. With Pay-by-License Plate parking using Luke Pay Stations, you can implement this ground-breaking public policy and give registered residents a discount based on the license plate number they enter at the pay station.

Improve Service to Consumers

Multi-space parking pay stations offer many unique features that benefit consumers. Some municipalities use pay stations to sell beach or park passes in addition to parking. Local merchants can also offer consumers coupons for free or reduced-rate parking to encourage loyalty.   With more than 1,600 customers from Alaska to Florida, California to Maine, and virtually everywhere in between, T2 is one of North America’s largest and leading parking technology providers. The T2 Parking Management solution is known for legendary quality, attentive service, easy maintenance, and interoperability with over 50 third-party systems. Interested in utilizing T2’s industry leading solutions to move your city from free to paid parking? If you are already a T2 customer, you can reach out to your Account Manager for more information. If you’re not yet a part of the T2 Community, contact us here and get started.

 

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Posted on

June 9, 2020