In-CarMeters come toMiami Beach


P


AYING FOR METERED parking with the push of a button – from inside your car – is now a reality in Miami Beach. Just before


the Thanksgiving holiday, and without any fanfare, the City ofMiami Beach unveiled its hassle-free approach to paying for pub- lic parking – the iPark device. Over the holiday weekend,Miami Beach motorists had their first opportunity to “park and pay” using the brand new, in-vehicle pay- ment devices at city-operated metered lots and on city streets. The initial reactions to the “test drives” have been very positive.


With this device,Miami Beach has joined the The in-car device displays the amount of time remaining in the parking session.


vanguard of progressive city governments now offering drivers the ease, convenience, and security of paying for parking with the push of a button – before they even leave their cars. The smart, stored-value device is lightweight and easily fits in the palm of your hand – it’s about the size of the popular pre-paid toll transponders, such as EZ Pass® and Sun- Pass®.And like those in-vehicle payment devices, the iPark device operates from within the car. The City ofMiami Beach is currently selling the replenishable iPark devices for $20. Propelled only by local news stories and word of mouth,


early sales of the devices at the parking department offices have been brisk, with the majority of motorists purchasing multiple units – for familymembers and as a clever stocking stuffer idea. “The way municipalities – of all sizes – look at parking


is changing, and changing fast,” said Mayor Matti H. Bower. “The costs associated with traditional parking meters contin- ue to rise and, the fact is, the old parking meters are outdated and outmoded. Director Saul Frances and his staff in the Department of


Parking have done their homework, analyzing all the different parking payment options available today, including the pay-by- phone systemrecently instituted by our neighbors in theCity of Miami. “We are confident,”Mayor Bower concluded, “that we have chosen the wave of the future – parking payments made frominside your car, not out on the street.” “Think of it as SunPass for parking,” added ParkingDirec-


tor Saul Frances, who sees the device as an alternative, and viable successor, to the city’s stored-value parking cards and the Pay and Display stations (which have already replaced many individual parking meters). “The parking meter is not only moving from the curb into the car, but it’s gotten smart in the process.”


PT MARCH 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 47


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