Parking MetersWhat do you do when you don’t have enough change?

Rodney BlytheCS410

The Problem

• People find themselves without quarters to use in parking meters.

• Parking patrons must continue to go back to parking meters to deposit more quarters.

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How this problem affects us• Just in the past week, 4 people have

asked me for change for a dollar to use in a parking meter.

• I too only carry a credit card and some spare paper money.

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The results of the problem

• Half of the people I spoke with were forced to park elsewhere

• The other half decided to drive to other establishments without parking meters

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The problem on a larger scale• Even if a person carries pocket change,

on average a U.S. citizen carries no more than 5 coins at any given time.1

• Of those 5 coins, on average only 1 or 2 will be usable in a parking meter.

1 www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TVG-4G05H4R-3

5

Who could benefit from a solution?• Cities or counties regulating and

profiting from the use of meters

• Private firms overseeing parking meters in cities and localities.

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What are the profit margins?• In Portland (Oregon), meters

accumulate an estimated $21,528,000 a year.2

• Larger cities, such as Chicago and New York, experience even higher gross profit margins from meters.

2www.taphilo.com/tom/parkingmeters.shtml

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What is a potential solution?

• Credit Card readers on parking meters

• Simplified interface with a relatively low cost to build each parking meter

• Internet powered checkout system using industry standard e-commerce security

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How it could work

CentralServer

Credit CardReader

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The Competition

Credit Card payment stations• Require patrons to walk all the way to a

payment station• In busy metro areas patrons must wait

in a line in order to use the payment station

• Some payment stations require patrons to walk all the way back to their cars to place a parking pass on their windshield

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The Competition

Smart Meters• Require that patrons purchase smart

cards from the city or county• Those patrons visiting without smart

cards still must use coins• Smart meters have been hacked by

fake smart cards and other similar methods.3

3www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/07/parking-meters/11

A potential problem

The cost of the credit card reader• Credit card “swipe” readers sell online

for as little as 25 to 30 dollars (US)4

• At wholesale and “bulk” prices, the swipe readers would be much cheaper

• Many meters would pay for themselves within 25 or less uses depending on the parking fee for each meter per time unit

4 http://www.google.com/products?q=credit%20card%20swipe12

References

1 www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TVG-4G05H4R-32www.taphilo.com/tom/parkingmeters.shtml3www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/07/parking-meters/4 http://www.google.com/products?q=credit%20card%20swipe

Any Questions?