Parking Access and Revenue Control

Did you know the iPhone 5, expected to be released at some point this year, is rumored to have Near Field Communications Technology (NFC) on it?  This has the potential to change your customer's mobile phone into an access control device and a payment method within your Parking Access and Revenue Control system.

Recently I was talking the manager of the company that cleans our office building about facility security to insure that they were following all appropriate security procedures in our space. During that discussion, he told me a story about one of their employees that had a very bad day. The cleaning company has a company-wide policy against propping open doors (even for just a minute). This policy exists to protect their clients as well as their employees. One of their employees didn't follow that policy one night. He had a bunch of boxes to carry out to the dumpster and wanted to do it as quickly as possible. With all of the best intentions, he propped open the door figuring that it would only be for a few minutes. Unfortunately for him, some "bad guys" saw him do that. While he was inside getting a load of boxes, they came in, beat him badly enough to subdue him, and then stole a bunch of computers from the office he was cleaning. Fortunately he fully recovered physically. Unfortunately, his company had to fire him that same day for violating security policies and causing the cleaning company’s client to be victimized because of that violation. Double ouch.

So what does that have to do with Parking, Parking System Software, and Parking Access and Revenue Control? It is all about balancing security with convenience and expediency. Lots of parking facilities accept credit cards. If you take credit cards, you’re subject to PCI compliance rules. Much like the unfortunate employee in the cleaning crew, if you take shortcuts that compromise security, your parking facility could face some rather severe consequences. A parking lot can't be beat up or fired, but your bank could take away your ability to accept credit cards, you could be subject to fines and even huge civil penalties resulting from a credit-card related security breach. When an important or valued customer asks you to "just keep their credit card on file" or emails you their credit card information, it is tempting (and often good customer service) to just do what they ask. Unfortunately, like our ill-fated cleaner, doing that can get you in a lot of trouble.

The key is finding a way to balance good service and following good security practices. Unfortunately, security and convenience are inversely related. It is a heck of a lot more convenient to leave your home unlocked rather than fumble with keys when you come home in the dark with your arms full of groceries, kids, or both, but most of us don’t do that. We lock our homes (and often arm alarm systems) because we want and need to take reasonable precautions to keep our homes safe.

T2 Systems has recently completed our PCI-DSS Assessment to become a Service Provider. As a result of that project, we have been listed on the Visa Global List of PCI DSS Validated Service Providers (http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/cisp-list-of-pcidss-compliant-service-providers.pdf). This is a long, complicated, expensive process, but it was well worth it for us and for our customers. By T2 being a PCI-DSS Service Provider, our Advanced Parking Solutions customers have a lot less PCI-related work ahead of them by using the integrated Parking Payment Systems within our products. Our customers still can’t keep credit card numbers on post-it notes, but they have a whole lot less computer system work to do. Regardless of whether or not you are a T2 Systems customer, diligence with credit cards is critical. Credit card breaches typically don’t result in physical beatings, but if you have to deal with a breach, you may almost envy the guy that was only beat up and fired.

We did it! We made it through another User Group conference. And what a User Group it was! We held it at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa in Phoenix, AZ which was an absolutely awesome location. Beautiful, serene mountains to look out on after a hard day of informative sessions.

Speaking of sessions, our instructors really knocked it out of the park this year. We covered T2 Flex, T2 Flex access and revenue control, handhelds and Crystal Reports to name a few. We also had a special "Customer Says" track where our customer presenters spoke on some of their solutions and how they are used in everyday situations. This track proved invaluable to the attendees and was a huge success.

We also had our vendor partners demonstrating everything from handheld ticket writers to access control gate arms. There was even a paystation in the "See it Live" area. Pretty impressive and the customers loved being able to check out the new options and speak with the representatives.

All in all, we had a fantastic time and can't wait till next year when we come home to Indy. No, it won't be as warm as Phoenix, but it will be a guaranteed great time since we are on our home turf!

See you all November 8-10, 2011!!

Ok, I don't consider myself a lazy person... I like to walk, bike ride, swim; I always choose the stairs over the elevator (unless we're talking about more than 5 floors of course), and I get peeved whenever I see the same person circling a parking lot or parking garage multiple times just so they can get the closest parking space available.  I just think that's ridiculous...by the time they find something, I'm already in the store getting my stuff done!

However, I must admit that there are definitely times when I sooo want to take advantage of the new "mommy" (or should I say "parent") parking spaces that many stores and other areas now provide - even when I don't have my kids with me!  How horrible is that??  Have you seen these spaces?  They usually are indicated by a drawing on the space that shows a parent with a car seat, stroller or other contraption for transporting your children.  And even though my kids aren't with me, the car seats in the back are clearly visible.  Would anyone really see me walk out of the car without the kids?  Is there an enforcement officer walking the grocery store parking lot with a handheld ticket writer making sure that you really do have your kids with you?  Would they really give me a parking ticket or citation?

Believe me, there have been days when I'm so tired and there are clearly no spaces that are close - so I've been tempted to snag one of the "parent" spaces, even without the kids.  For those of you who may watch "Desperate Housewives", there was an episode in which one of the wives (Gabby) mis-used her husband's handicapped parking hangtag - just so she could be close and not have to walk far in her high heels.  Does my tempatation put me in the same category as her?  I certainly hope not!

Let's face it - there are times when we all want to park our car as close to our destination as possible...there are days when we just don't want to walk it.  As one who works for a parking management solution provider, I understand the importance of parking rules.  That's what keeps me employed!  Businesses, cities/municipalities, colleges and universities all need rules, and ways to manage those rules and all of us that park.  Why else would there by the need for parking system software, parking permit management systems, access and revenue control systems, and a ton of other parking management solutions?

It's because at the end of the day, we're all selfish - willing to fight, drive around, waste valuable time - and break the rules, in order to snag that coveted close parking space!  We all just might as well admit it!

The IPI Tradeshow opened this morning and right from the start we were busy with demos of T2 Flex, PermitNow and our handheld ticket writers. This year we have two new tools to demonstrate as well. Of course, our new T2 Revenue Control hardware is creating quite a buzz on the tradeshow floor. T2 is also debuting a new integration with Genetec as well as an eTicketing solution where parking enforcement officers can write and issue parking tickets from a laptop computer.

It has been a big year for T2 Systems and we aren't even half way through...stay tuned for more from IPI.

There has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears around here, but we did it! T2 Flex v6.6 was released this week. You might be thinking "Big deal...what does that mean to me?" Well, what's sooooo cool about this release is a hosting feature. This is not just your ordinary parking permits and enforcement software hosting, though.

T2 Systems can now host your parking access and revenue control systems!

So, allow me to break this down for you. Not only can T2 Systems host your parking permit and enforcement management software, but as an industry first, we can now host the software for your gated parking facilities. This means customers no longer have to have an IT staff on payroll just to manage gates into and out of parking lots and parking garages, which translates into a HUGE cost savings for you.

We are very proud of this accomplishment. When others said it couldn't be done, we proved them wrong!

So take a look at T2 Systems. With T2 Flex, you can manage all of your parking permits, parking enforcement, parking access control and parking revenue control in one easy to use parking management solution - and we can host it ALL for you! 

I can't believe it's September already - Holy Cow!! That means T2 System's Powerhouse User Group conference is only 2 months away. For those of us in the marketing department, this means we are T minus 60 days from our most important event of the year and we are in high gear - that translates into flying 100 miles per hour with our hair on fire.

What is Powerhouse User Group you might ask? Well it is an opportunity for T2 customers to learn more about T2 Flex, their parking management software. It also gives our customers the opportunity to discover cool new features and hardware offerings. This year, as in years past, our customers will be able to demo the latest in handheld ticket writer options as well as experience a truly unified parking management system. We will even have parking access and revenue control hardware so our customers can see how T2 Flex raises and lowers gates for garages and parking lots.

The conference is not only about discovering new T2 solutions, it is also about networking with other parking professionals to explore new ways of managing parking operations.

I have to end my blog here - have to get some promotional material out for the conference.

See you in November!

Having worked for a banking technology company for nearly 19 years, I'm relatively new to the parking industry. Since Joining T2 Systems in 2007, my eyes have opened to the complexity and scale of modern parking. That said, one thing still baffles me. Why are there still so many facilities that don't accept credit cards? Don't get me wrong. I understand how hard it is to take credit cards when you're standing in a grass field that usually isn't used for parking. There are Parking Management Solutions for that (and T2 has one), but I'm not talking about grass fields. I'm talking about taking credit cards at parking facilities. Permanent lots or structures that already have gate arms and cashier booths.

A few years ago I got trapped (OK, so I wasn't trapped -- my car was) in an unattended garage because the paper currency acceptor was broken and I didn't have enough quarters in my pocket for an evening at an 80's video game arcade. I walked nearly a mile to get change. Not cool. More recently, I was parked in a downtown garage and found that I needed $20 in cash to exit. When parking is a buck or two for the day, I understand cash only, but $20 is a lot more then I spend on lunch and I always charge that.

Credit cards aren't the future. They're the present. Accepting credit cards doesn't have to be a pain. They can often be deployed as an extension to the Parking Permit Software and Garage Parking Solutions that you already have in place. T2 Flex has modules that handle credit cards as part of a total Parking Access and Revenue Control system. Accepting credit cards can lower costs for a facility, reduce involuntary profit sharing, and can make it parkers happier (or at least less frustrated).

As a part of the T2 Systems team, it isn't hard to guess that I have a bias for our solutions, but in writing this I'm also speaking as somebody that parks in these facilities. Nobody likes paying for parking (me included), but the less painful it is to pay, the better an experience parkers will have, and the more likely they are to come back to the same facility. I can assure you that's I know exactly which garage I got stuck in.

Happy parking.