Parking Tokens: A Viable Alternative to Cash from Page 26
Municipalities can purchase tokens and then re-sell them to
downtown merchants who provide them to customers as an incentive to shop downtown. One municipality which has taken part in such a programfor years is the City of Boulder, CO. Parking tokens with a face value of $1.25 – the cost to park
in a downtown or University Hill spot for an hour – are sold to merchants for just $
1.Mer- chants can sell these to cus- tomers, but most provide them to customers free of charge as an incentive to shop downtown. In fact, when the city transitioned from parking meters to kiosk pay stations, the one aspect of the Boulder parking programwhich did not changewas the use of tokens. “The Downtown Merchants Association provides their
members with window stickers that clearly identify them as par- ticipants in the ‘We Validate Parking’ program” said Parking Services FinancialManager/Supervisor Donna Jobert. Compa- nies that participate “do very well with the program” she said. Patrons visit a store to shop or dine, and when leaving,
they’ll be given a token to pay for an hoursworth of
parking.The token, which can be used for this trip or the next one, is typically keptwith pocket change – and serves as a reminder to plan anoth- er trip to Boulder. In addition to the valuable service that the parking token pro-
vides – free downtown parking – the tokens also have other bene- fits for customers using them.A single token is easier to insert into the pay station kiosk than the five quarters that it replaces. This can speed the process – especially important during cold
Boulderwinters.The single token is also lighter and easier to car- ry than five quarters.
If patrons opt to use the
A single token is easier to insert into the pay station kiosk than the five quarters that it replaces.
token to pay for parking on a future sojourn to Boulder, then they have a tangible reminder each time they see the parking token with their pocket change. That brand- ing opportunity is one rea- son why parking adminis-
trators from Boulder opted to have tokens minted with the Boul- der logo on them rather than standard “free parking” tokens which are also available fromvendors like
Tokensdirect.com. Those companies which offer the free parking tokens are
well pleased with the results. Naturally, the customers who use the tokens appreciate the gesture
too.And keeping patrons visit- ing downtown Boulder is always a plus for city managers and officials. Clearly those are more than token benefits for all par- ties involved.
Jim Wahl is CEO of Wahl Marketing Communications. He can be reached at
jim@wahlmarketing.com
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28
OCTOBER 2009 • PARKING TODAY •
www.parkingtoday.com
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