Pay by phone parking - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pay-by-phone parking is a technological innovation which allows any driver parking in a fare required space the option to divert the expense to a credit card

Credit card

A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...

via the use of a mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

, mobile application or computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

, opposed to inserting change

Change

Change may refer to:- The process of becoming different:* Social change* Biological metamorphosis* Change , the mathematical study of change* Percentage change, in statistics* Fold change, in statistics...

or dollar bills into a parking meter

Parking meter

A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...

or pay and display

Pay and display

Pay and display machines are a subset of ticket machines used for regulating parking in urban areas or in car parks. It relies on a customer purchasing a ticket from a machine and displaying the ticket on the dashboard, or windscreen or passenger window of the vehicle...

machine.

Evolution of parking payment

Since the 1930s, payment for parking has heavily relied on strictly cash based systems such as parking meters and pay and display machines. Due to inflation and rising parking costs, cash payment has become more inconvenient for the customer and cash collection has become more costly for the parking provider. Credit card swipe systems have been implemented in some areas to combat this issue; however, these systems are still prone to vandalism and technological malfunctions. With this issue and flourishing mobile phone trends in mind, pay-by-phone parking was created to lower costs for the parking provider along with increasing convenience for the customer.

How it works

Pay-by-phone parking technology can be used in multiple ways: “start stop” and “start duration.” “Start stop” parking requires the driver to contact the pay-by-phone provider first when the driver initiates the parking session and then again when the driver wishes to terminate the session. Alternatively, “start duration” requires the driver to only contact the pay-by-phone provider when the parking session is to be initiated in which the driver dictates the amount of time the session will last. The driver can also add on addition time or extend the parking session if needed.

Most pay-by-phone solutions require pre-registration, including the need to provide either a credit card for parking charges or the use of a credit card to pre-load a prepaid account. There are some exceptions. For example, one provider allows new customers a one-time free parking opportunity without pre-registering, and then contacts the new customer by SMS (text) to invite him or her to register
The typical information required upon registration is data such as the mobile phone number(s) that the driver wishes to use to engage/disengage the parking session, license plate information of the vehicle(s) that the driver wishes to utilize and credit card information (one-time entry only).

Once registered, the driver is ready to use pay-by-phone parking. To activate a parking session, the driver must first arrive to a designated pay-by-phone parking area. In order for the service to be available, the operator of the parking space, whether a city or a private owner, must have contracted with the pay-by-phone service provider. So depending on where you are in the country, your local parking operator may have service available—but in the very next town it may not yet be there. It's a good idea to check in advance if you expect to park and pay by phone so that you have coins available if they are needed. But if the service is available it will be clearly marked on the street, meter, sign or space. Then the driver can either call the pay-by-phone service provider (via a toll free number) or use their mobile application (if available). For “start stop” parking, the driver must input the zone number in which they are parked to begin a transaction. This number can be found on signs in and/or around the parking space. For “start duration” parking, the driver must input the zone number as well as the desired duration of the parking session. Once this interaction is finished, the transaction is complete for the “start duration” customer.

For the “start stop” customer to complete a transaction, the driver must call the pay-by-phone service provider again or use their mobile application upon departure to stop their parking transaction. The provider should quickly recognize that the user has an active parking session and with the customer’s discretion the session will be closed immediately.

Pay-by-phone parking from the customer’s perspective

From a customer’s standpoint, pay-by-phone parking is more convenient and timely than standard methods of parking payment. One of the reasons supporting this is that there is no need to have coins or any other type of currency readily available. Also, data collection allows for customers to track their parking expenses. Generally, pay-by-phone service providers will provide records for each account detailing the time and location for each parking session as well as the accumulated expenses. In addition, any driver within the vicinity of a pay-by-phone parking area may witness less road congestion. Studies show that 28 to 45% of traffic congestion in urban areas is due to drivers looking for a place to park. Pay-by-phone parking provides accurate data for parking providers such as peak times and most popular zones. With this insight providers are able to manage their spaces more efficiently and have the potential to provide solutions to adjust for times with high demand.

Pay-by-phone parking from the provider’s perspective

From the parking provider’s point of view, pay-by-phone parking offers an opportunity for reduced costs and increased revenue. The costs are reduced because there is no need for expenses such as meter or machine maintenance, cash collection, and accounting. The opportunity for increased revenues takes place because pay-by-phone parking prevents people from “feeding the meter.” This is when drivers exceed the posted parking time restrictions and do not get caught because they continually keep their space paid for. When people follow the time constraints there are more spaces open for other drivers who wish to park. Also, accurate data management provides additional resources for the parking provider. Since transactions are submitted digitally, providers have access to information regarding each customer’s parking sessions. With this data, legal challenges and complaints can be significantly reduced and enforcement can be handled more accurately and efficiently.

Enforcement

Since pay-by-phone parking has been put into operation, several new ways of enforcing parking violations have been created:

use of an internet browser

The parking provider is given access to a web page which contains a list that includes all of the active pay-by-phone sessions, each vehicle’s license plate information and the amount of time that each session has been active. There are options for a smart phone’s internet browser or software for the in-vehicle computers. Pro: simple setup, easy ramp-on. Con: complex operations, failure prone.

handheld computer

These computers have the capability of scanning individual license plates in a similar fashion to which a barcode is read. Pro: convenient. Con: expensive.

drive-by scanners

These scanners are mounted to an enforcement vehicle and use License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology which automatically scans each parked vehicle’s license plate and identifies the vehicles parking status. Pro: labor efficient. Con: expensive, unreliable.

automatic notification

The parking system detects violations and dispatches a nearby officer to process it. The dispatch can occur through the existing communication channels in use by officers. Pro: inexpensive, labor efficient. Con: requires sensors. (The later is told to be completely gotten rid off by means of special off-site software .)

External links

Artificial intelligence in vehicle parking- RSS
ParkNOW!- http://www.nowinnovations.com/10363
MyRingGo- www.myringgo.co.uk
International Parking Institute- www.parking.org
Parkmobile- www.parkmobile.com
Donald Shoup- http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/
PayByPhone- http://paybyphone.co.uk