Case Study # Parking Meters
In this case study, you will investigate the parking meter program in a particular city. A parking meter program normally regulates the parking space on commercial streets with a limited parking time window. The conventional approach in the US is installing a meter along the curb to control one or two parking spaces. In the past two to three decades, many regulation/technical innovations have adopted
in the US and worldwide, such as Muni meters that control 10-15 spaces, ground sensor, visual plate recognition, etc. Your investigation should include the following information:
1. General picture of the system in that city: # of spaces, revenue per year, operated by local
government or contracted out to a third party, etc. A map would be great but not required.
2. How does the system detect that the parking space is occupied? By which vehicle? For how long?
3. How are parking fees are paid? Cash/credit card? From a payment machine, a cell phone, or other devices?
4. What is the fee structure? For example, does it vary by time, neighborhood, car type, etc.? Is pricing dynamic? Is fee incremental by time duration?
5. How are violations detected and enforced (ticket issued)? Automatically or in person? If in person, how many people are working as enforcement officers?
You can certainly look into a US city but international examples are welcome given that’s where many of the innovations originate.
PS: could you send me a text message after you decided on the city?
