Like many of my generation, I rarely have coins with me. While this isn’t often a cause for concern, it means that parking in a downtown area that only has coin-fed meters is a hassle. With the increasing installation of smart meters in many popular areas, however, I have been finding myself with a variety of payment options from which to choose.
Cities are beginning to recognize the potential of integrating smart meters into their parking plan. Not only do they help with payment options, but there are a host of ways that the meters can help make your parking management more efficient and profitable. Simultaneously increasing revenue, improving customer experience, and providing much needed analytics to allow for optimization strategies, the M5 Single-Space Smart Parking Meter from IPS Group is a significant advance for parking technology.
The M5 was designed with a key goal in mind: make the switch to smart meter technology a seamless transition for both IPS customers and their patrons. The meters retrofit into current on-street parking meter housings, lowering replacement costs which would otherwise hinder upgrades. In addition, they offer payment options beyond the standard coin system: credit cards, smart card distribution, tokens, pay-by-phone technology, and even contactless payment. These attributes make the M5 Smart Meter a simple system that will improve the experience for all involved.
Perhaps most beneficial to municipalities and parking managers is the state-of-the-art Data Management System which collects and compiles data to help configure parking plans toward profitability and user-friendliness. Customers can set the perfect price-point and time limits, ensuring efficient use of the spaces. This data is even collected in real-time since every meter is wirelessly connected to the network.
The meters from IPS Group can prevent meter-feeding, allowing the spaces to be used by visitors who want to stop by and enjoy the area rather than those who work there all day and have parking provided elsewhere. In these scenarios sensors within the meter detect whether a car has left or not when payment is added for more time. Using these sensors to increase space turnover will also result in less tickets being written, which is often an issue municipalities cite as being one of the biggest problems they face with downtown parking.
All this is achieved using solar power and a rechargeable battery pack, making the M5 Smart Meters unparalleled in the industry for energy efficiency. With this power solution, the ease of payment, and instant analytics for better parking system planning, there’s a lot to love about these meters.
To learn more about IPS Groups’ parking solutions or to see their other products, visit IPSGROUPINC.COM today!