Industry News
February, 2015
The City of Tucson, AZ, has released GoTucson, a service that will allow users both to pay for on-street parking and purchase transit fares through a mobile application. Developed in partnership with Charlotte, NC-based Passport Inc., the service is designed to provide a simple, unified and intuitive tool to dramatically improve the experience of visiting and exploring Tucson. “We are excited to be the first city in the world to offer an app for both parking and transit,” said Carlos de Leon, the city’s Deputy Director of Transportation. “Whether you’re driving or riding, mobile payments make traveling around Tucson more convenient.”
Skidata Inc. has added three new value added resellers to its expanding network. Consolidated Parking Equipment of Miami has joined as a distributor in South Florida. Harvey Electronic Controls of Detroit, which has been serving southeast Michigan since 1970, also has signed on. And VDV Communications of Honolulu has joined the team in the Hawaii market.
Brian Bartholomew has joined Walker Parking Consultants as Senior Parking Consultant in its New York office. A nationally known authority on parking planning and operations with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, he will oversee a range of projects, including parking master plans, financial feasibility and bonding studies, traffic impact and parking demand studies, management and operational audits for municipalities, and product specification and bidding assistance.
YourParkingSpace.co.uk, the UK’s fastest-growing carparking marketplace, has teamed up with Parkhound, its No. 1 counterpart in Australia. The partnership involves the sharing of knowledge and technological resources. The deal follows “hot on the heels” of YourParkingSpace’s UK partnership with NCP.
OmniPark Inc. has begun deployment of its license plate inventory (LPI) system at Orlando International Airport, said Sales Executive Karla Baig. It has partnered with Skidata on this venture. The industry leader in fully-integrated parking solutions comprises a hosted desktop application and “cloud” technology, plus mobile enforcement, pay-by-phone services, electronic pay-boxes, notice payment capabilities, and more. OmniPark also has recently deployed the LPI system at Dayton (OH) International Airport.
Parking Panda, a free mobile app and desktop website that lets drivers find, compare options, reserve and redeem parking in real-time or in advance, has officially launched in Austin, TX. It will now be easier for residents and visitors to find parking, for example, on Sixth Street, the historic entertainment district that’s home to a variety of events, as well as parking within walking distance to many other downtown venues, including the state capitol, the convention center, and ACL Live at The Moody Theater. In other news, Amtrak is partnering with Parking Panda to enable customers to reserve parking at select stations. Passengers are able to compare available parking options and prices, and then purchase a guaranteed spot in advance of their trip. More than 30 stations are now part of the program.
MobileNow! a leader in mobile payment solutions, has fully expanded mobile payments throughout the Borough of Fort Lee, NJ, a community heavily traveled by commuters going to and from New York City. Initially implemented in three off-street locations, the app is now available in all on- and off-street parking locations managed by the Fort Lee Parking Authority. The expansion has nearly tripled the availability of mobile payment in Fort Lee.
In Evanston, IL, 28 new Cale WebTerminal paystations, covering about 600 parking spaces, were installed in May 2014 in the city’s off-street and commuter lots by Cale America distributor Total Parking Solutions. Mike Rivera of Parking Services reported last month that city objectives for the system upgrade, including increased revenues, improved customer satisfaction and reduced operating expenses, have all been realized.
Sentry Control Systems has expanded its business development team with the recent hire of Andrew Smigel as Director of Business Development, Southwest Region. He has 18-plus years of parking industry experience in both the public and private sectors. In other news, the University of British Columbia (Canada) has partnered with Sentry to control/enforce timed parking spaces at its campus hospital in Vancouver. The Frogparking pilot consists of 20 solar-powered occupancy sensors along with an enforcement app, which is accessible via a “cloud-based” management system, said Brian Jones, UBC Director of Parking & Access Services.
Shane Andrie, Information Security Analyst at Amano McGann, has completed a course in PCI-compliance with the PCI Security Standards Council. For the company, he assesses, plans and implements security measures, with a key focus on staying current on the latest compliance and security best-practices.
Ireland’s leading mobile parking operator, parkbytext, has rolled out its cashless service to 16 more parking lots in Downtown Houston, bringing the total number of its U.S. locations to 35. The Dublin-based company has partnered with Laz Parking in the U.S. to provide the convenience of cashless parking payments to Houston customers.
With the acquisition of Digital Payment Technologies (DPT) by T2 Systems last year, the two organizations have been working closely to create a combined enterprise that will continue delivering new technology solutions and enhanced service to our customers. Effective Jan. 1, 2015, DPT will change its name to and conduct business as T2 Systems Canada. The Digital product line “remains the same, as a pillar of the T2 unified parking management platform,” said Chris Chettle, EVP, Digital Business Unit.
Private-label ParkVictoria, the City of Victoria (Canada) parking management program, powered by Passport, had its most successful first week in company history, executives said. Mayor Lisa Helps said the system is good for the city. Ismo Husu, city Parking Services Manager, said the “new system will attract even more people to the technological side of things. I’m really expecting, once this has been around for six months, for us to see about 30% of the transactions on pay-by-phone” [up from about 10%], he told the local Times Colonist newspaper.
ParkWhiz, the website and mobile app that “introduced the world to the now burgeoning eParking industry,” has entered into a partnership with Ticketech, a leading provider of integrated revenue control and data management for attendant-assisted parking facilities. With seamless integration and maximum compatibility with third-party parking applications, its Ultra Suite will give operators who have implemented the app an all-in-one flexible software program for rapid remote support, enabling management to track incoming online bookings, and drivers to redeem their pre-paid parking passes.
“Apple was thinking of the big picture with the timing of Apple Pay,” said Bob Carr, Chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems. “Merchants who want to accept [its new “mobile wallet”] will need to have NFC [near-field communication] readers. If upgrading to NFC, they should also upgrade to EMV to meet the October 2015 deadline, when liability shifts for counterfeit transactions from banks to merchants,” Carr said. “Heartland supports Apple Pay because it aligns with our mission – to provide a secure method for transaction acceptance.”
Skidata Inc. has added three new value added resellers to its expanding network. Consolidated Parking Equipment of Miami has joined as a distributor in South Florida. Harvey Electronic Controls of Detroit, which has been serving southeast Michigan since 1970, also has signed on. And VDV Communications of Honolulu has joined the team in the Hawaii market.
Brian Bartholomew has joined Walker Parking Consultants as Senior Parking Consultant in its New York office. A nationally known authority on parking planning and operations with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, he will oversee a range of projects, including parking master plans, financial feasibility and bonding studies, traffic impact and parking demand studies, management and operational audits for municipalities, and product specification and bidding assistance.
YourParkingSpace.co.uk, the UK’s fastest-growing carparking marketplace, has teamed up with Parkhound, its No. 1 counterpart in Australia. The partnership involves the sharing of knowledge and technological resources. The deal follows “hot on the heels” of YourParkingSpace’s UK partnership with NCP.
OmniPark Inc. has begun deployment of its license plate inventory (LPI) system at Orlando International Airport, said Sales Executive Karla Baig. It has partnered with Skidata on this venture. The industry leader in fully-integrated parking solutions comprises a hosted desktop application and “cloud” technology, plus mobile enforcement, pay-by-phone services, electronic pay-boxes, notice payment capabilities, and more. OmniPark also has recently deployed the LPI system at Dayton (OH) International Airport.
Parking Panda, a free mobile app and desktop website that lets drivers find, compare options, reserve and redeem parking in real-time or in advance, has officially launched in Austin, TX. It will now be easier for residents and visitors to find parking, for example, on Sixth Street, the historic entertainment district that’s home to a variety of events, as well as parking within walking distance to many other downtown venues, including the state capitol, the convention center, and ACL Live at The Moody Theater. In other news, Amtrak is partnering with Parking Panda to enable customers to reserve parking at select stations. Passengers are able to compare available parking options and prices, and then purchase a guaranteed spot in advance of their trip. More than 30 stations are now part of the program.
MobileNow! a leader in mobile payment solutions, has fully expanded mobile payments throughout the Borough of Fort Lee, NJ, a community heavily traveled by commuters going to and from New York City. Initially implemented in three off-street locations, the app is now available in all on- and off-street parking locations managed by the Fort Lee Parking Authority. The expansion has nearly tripled the availability of mobile payment in Fort Lee.
In Evanston, IL, 28 new Cale WebTerminal paystations, covering about 600 parking spaces, were installed in May 2014 in the city’s off-street and commuter lots by Cale America distributor Total Parking Solutions. Mike Rivera of Parking Services reported last month that city objectives for the system upgrade, including increased revenues, improved customer satisfaction and reduced operating expenses, have all been realized.
Sentry Control Systems has expanded its business development team with the recent hire of Andrew Smigel as Director of Business Development, Southwest Region. He has 18-plus years of parking industry experience in both the public and private sectors. In other news, the University of British Columbia (Canada) has partnered with Sentry to control/enforce timed parking spaces at its campus hospital in Vancouver. The Frogparking pilot consists of 20 solar-powered occupancy sensors along with an enforcement app, which is accessible via a “cloud-based” management system, said Brian Jones, UBC Director of Parking & Access Services.
Shane Andrie, Information Security Analyst at Amano McGann, has completed a course in PCI-compliance with the PCI Security Standards Council. For the company, he assesses, plans and implements security measures, with a key focus on staying current on the latest compliance and security best-practices.
Ireland’s leading mobile parking operator, parkbytext, has rolled out its cashless service to 16 more parking lots in Downtown Houston, bringing the total number of its U.S. locations to 35. The Dublin-based company has partnered with Laz Parking in the U.S. to provide the convenience of cashless parking payments to Houston customers.
With the acquisition of Digital Payment Technologies (DPT) by T2 Systems last year, the two organizations have been working closely to create a combined enterprise that will continue delivering new technology solutions and enhanced service to our customers. Effective Jan. 1, 2015, DPT will change its name to and conduct business as T2 Systems Canada. The Digital product line “remains the same, as a pillar of the T2 unified parking management platform,” said Chris Chettle, EVP, Digital Business Unit.
Private-label ParkVictoria, the City of Victoria (Canada) parking management program, powered by Passport, had its most successful first week in company history, executives said. Mayor Lisa Helps said the system is good for the city. Ismo Husu, city Parking Services Manager, said the “new system will attract even more people to the technological side of things. I’m really expecting, once this has been around for six months, for us to see about 30% of the transactions on pay-by-phone” [up from about 10%], he told the local Times Colonist newspaper.
ParkWhiz, the website and mobile app that “introduced the world to the now burgeoning eParking industry,” has entered into a partnership with Ticketech, a leading provider of integrated revenue control and data management for attendant-assisted parking facilities. With seamless integration and maximum compatibility with third-party parking applications, its Ultra Suite will give operators who have implemented the app an all-in-one flexible software program for rapid remote support, enabling management to track incoming online bookings, and drivers to redeem their pre-paid parking passes.
“Apple was thinking of the big picture with the timing of Apple Pay,” said Bob Carr, Chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems. “Merchants who want to accept [its new “mobile wallet”] will need to have NFC [near-field communication] readers. If upgrading to NFC, they should also upgrade to EMV to meet the October 2015 deadline, when liability shifts for counterfeit transactions from banks to merchants,” Carr said. “Heartland supports Apple Pay because it aligns with our mission – to provide a secure method for transaction acceptance.”
