Michigan State installs smart parking meters on campus
03 July, 2015
category: Mobile
One of the latest trends in campus parking seems to be smart meters that allow parkers to top up their parking spot remotely, as well as receive notifications when their fare is running low. Now, Michigan State University is the latest university to install the kiosks, which are capable of sending text alerts and receiving remote payments.
According to a report from the Lansing State Journal, the new meters cover 150 spaces on the ground and subterranean levels of an on-campus parking garage. The new pay-by-plate kiosks charge parkers $1.80 per hour with cash or credit card.
Those paying by credit, however, are the ones who are afforded the extra benefits of receiving text alerts and renewing their meters via their smartphones. As with other similar parking kiosk systems, there are no meters for individual spots. Drivers instead input their license plate numbers at one of the kiosks.
According to the report, Michigan State police issued some 97,000 parking violations in 2013 alone. The university has, however, been renovating its parking operations for some time, beginning with the installation of solar-powered meters for outdoor spaces as far back as 2013.
The solar powered meters weren’t an option for underground spaces of the parking garage, so the new smart meters were installed instead at an estimated cost between $6,000 and $9,000 each.
