Parking Ticket Software

T2 is a thrilling place to work these days. Things are going quite well and the T2 team is growing even faster than we have historically--so fast in fact that our HQ is out of desk space. So, as our current lease expires and our presence in the Indianapolis community continues to deepen, we have a happy announcement to make: we're moving! 

By the begining of March, the T2 heaquarters will be relocated to Keystone at the Crossing on Indy's northside, where we'll enjoy close proximity to one of Indy's coolest areas and convenient access to amenities. Major office relocations can sometimes be a little tricky to pull off sussessfully, but in our case, everything is going well--and for good reason: 

• The new location is closer to a majority of our staff
• Our architect, real estate broker, and furniture company were a great team
• We gave window views to our staff whenever possible 
• We designed the space with our parking system software in mind
• We incorporated really cool features like a gaming area, reading nook, private glass offices, soda fountains, and a beer tap.

The office is currently halfway through construction, and everything is going as planned so far. We're not quite there yet, but soon enough we will be developing superior parking software solutions from this superior view! 



If you would like to learn more about our move, you can find me on twitter @ChrisPalmr.

This was a busy morning for my team. Mark was up a bit before midnight to do security updates in the PCI environment. Scot was up at 4:30 moving customers to newer, faster servers running the latest version of Oracle. I met Grant at the Hosting Facility at 6:30 to install a new server, decommission two older ones, and to meet the EMC engineer to install more drives in the SAN.

It was a busy morning, but we don't mind. That's what we do. We want our customers to be able to focus on managing their hosted PARCS solution and running their parking operations, not have their servers compete for attention. So if early mornings make our sophisticated parking software perform just a little bit better, if they make parking management just a little easier, it is all well worth it.

Happy parking.

Jim

Facilitating the Asset Management class at T2's User Group always proves to be a learning experience - even for the instructor. This year I was happy to see the turn out was as good as it was a few years ago when I taught the class.  In those few years, T2's Asset Management module, which is part of of the T2 Flex parking system software, has evolved quite a bit.  It now includes automatic assigned work order responsibilities and scheduling for reoccuring work orders.

We discussed ways to become more unified in how we use T2's advanced parking solution during the session.  Many customers also take advantage of T2's Parking Access and Revenue Control solution, Handheld Ticket Writers, and Event Parking Management solution.  With the Asset Management module, users can now track the hardware and other assets used for those solutions!

Tracking regular maintenance of parking garage equipment, handheld ticket writers, customer self service kiosks, even elevators and vehicles with T2 Flex's Asset Management makes our customers live's easier, and nothing feels better than that.  Asset Management in T2 Flex conveniently maintains the scheduling for an asset to be used with an event or scheduling regular maintenance or a repair as it prompts the user when a schedule conflict occurs.

Many of T2's customers were also excited about taking another approach at being unified in that they could use the T2 Flex Report Scheduler to send automatic notifcations to workers about assets they manage that require maintenance.  Even better is the fact that parking enforcement officers can enter, maintain, and close work orders (including attaching photos!) right on the handheld ticket writer!

Becoming unified means becoming more efficient with your parking system software. 

After 7 years of working in a major retailer's IT department, I decided I needed a change of pace. While I built up some great relationships with my coworkers, the work itself was monotonous.  I needed to work on something bigger and more creative.  So when I got a call from one my friends who worked at T2 Systems, I was curious. Two of my friends had left my current company to work there, so I'd heard a lot about the awesome T2 culture. But how would it benefit my career as an Application Developer? How complicated could software that lets you in and out of garages be? I mean, you drive up, press a button, and get a ticket, right? Turns out, there is a whole lot more involved than just that! This week has been eye-opening as I've learned about everything our main product, T2 Flex, does. It is a single unified parking solution covering everything from parking access and revenue control to parking permit management to even handheld ticket writers. It is all highly advanced and fascinating to learn about.

So how will this move benefit my career? T2 has taken pains to stay ahead of the curb--I mean curve--in the industry, and the technology that makes all of those things possible is innovative and interesting. I'm now able to develop and code with experts in the field using software and technology that is industry-leading, be challenged by my work, and have opportunities to be creative!

So now I'm shifting gears and looking forward to the future with T2!

 I made the choice to take a position at T2 for a variety of reasons; one of the biggest was the culture.  After one day at T2 I was impressed by what this organization has done to create such an exciting and refreshing atmosphere.  While many people have moved and changed jobs, moving into this company was like none other.  The transparency T2 provides shows great pride within the organization and it’s reflected in each associate.  In never having worked for a company that so conciously promotes culture, it has been a wild experience getting involved in T2.

I was also impressed by the industry.  At first I didn’t know what to think about access and revenue control, parking garage software and parking ticketing management, but getting more of an understanding of this 25 Billion dollar industry, I see nothing but more potential, growth and opportunity. T2 is an industry leader because of our products, and I am proud to be part of the excitement.  I never thought that working in advanced parking solutions, talking about access revenue control and permit management would be my next career move, but after getting learning more and meeting so many of our great customers at User Group, I see nothing but potential.  When the staff likes the company and the customers like the company, it creates a really special place of incredible promise.

It’s the people that make this company what it is.  It seems like in this economy, business is all about the bottom line.  While financials are important, the leadership here at T2 doesn’t forget about their roots and how vital each person is in the grand scheme of things.  I was excited to get to work today and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for me tomorrow!

If you had asked me 6 months ago what my ideal marketing career would include, I can tell you I would never have imagined responding by mentioning parking access and revenue control systems or parking enforcement software. It wasn't on my radar.

After just one day at T2 Systems, I can tell you my answer would include parking payment systems and parking permit software. Who knew the parking management industry and even moreso that a parking software company could be so awesome?! 

The culture at T2 Systems is one that will foster my creativity, and the people are great! After all, the whole is the sum of its parts.

You've heard the saying "product of your environment". Metaphorically, I believe our product is a "product of our environment". The flexible culture is the foundation of what has built FLEX. I believe it is our flexibility that sets us apart from competition, with our people and with our product.

When it comes to parking citation collections, New York City has a $16.7 million problem on their hands. Diplomats, it seems, do not like to park legally. New York City is home to 289 foreign missions and consulates, many of which have been issued multitudes of tickets for safety violations and blocked fire hydrants. Scofflaw diplomats, drawing on the power of their national treasuries, owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid parking tickets, and the leaderboard is impressive: 

1. Egypt: $1.9 million
2. Nigeria: $1 million
3. Indonesia: $725,000

With hundreds of diplomats swarming the city last week for the UN General Assembally, one congressionial spokesperson said, "We can only imagine how much is being racked up." 

The phenomenon has already been legislated against in Congress; current law states that 110% of total unpaid parking fines owed to NYC and D.C. are to be withheld from foreign aid and obligations. But New York remains diplomatically shorted--they never collect the missing millions.

Congress is not one of the most advanced parking solutions, and in a last-ditch effort to reign in the diplomat's debts, they are considering an alternative option: revoking diplomatic liscenses from nations with outstanding parking fines.

"If you get a ticket in NYC, you have to pay it. No exceptions," said a spokesperson. "New York City's budget is tight enough as it is, and foreign diplomats do not deserve a free pass at the expense of New York City taxpayers."

This issue calls Citation Collection Services (CCS) to mind, another T2 innovation that has helped our customers reclaim hundreds of thousands in lost revenue. Check out this free case study if you'd like to see just how significant collections can be for boosting and managing parking revenues.

Read more about New York's Parking problem here.

If your parking lot is full of ghosts, then you've got a problem. But you've got a bigger problem on your hands if your lot isn't full at all.

Luckily, T2 Flex has the hutzpah to deliver quality solutions for all your parking woes. From handheld ticket writers and access and revenue control systems to online payment systems, collections services, and parking permit software, the T2 Flex unified platform equips users with the power to fill their lots with real cars, not ghosts. And, thanks to the powerful reporting capabilities our data wharehouse enables, users can better understand their opperation, optimizing the resources they have and identifying oportunities for growth down the line.

So, if you have a friend with ghosts in their lot, don't tell them to call the ghostbusters. Tell them to Call T2 (317.524.5500).

It’s funny how normally polite and even-tempered people can become crazy when parking their cars. The same person that will hold the door for you and say a pleasant “Have a nice day!” when passing on the sidewalk will honk, scream, and make obscene gestures if he thinks you stole his parking place. There’s just something about being in a two-ton cage of metal that makes people crazy.

We have a good car and a beater. When I drive the good car, I’m a “Park away from the crowd” kind of guy. A couple of empty spaces around me is my preference, that or give me an end spot and I’ll edge as far away from the next car so they can’t door ding my car. When I’m driving the beater, anything goes, wherever the closest spot is. It’s kind of liberating to drive the beater, I say that I don’t care about it, until the day l I saw a truck scrape my bumper trying to get into a space that was way too small for him. Then you would have thought the car was my baby.   I never did get that scratch fixed.

When I was in college (way back in the 80s), I lived in an apartment complex that never had enough parking. I was definitely driving a beater at the time, as was my best friend. We pulled in to the lot to see a new Camaro parked straddling the line, taking up two spaces. After a quick assessment, we determined that we could squeeze our small cars in on each side of the Camaro, leaving about 3 inches of clearance on each side of it. We were careful to never touch the car, but we certainly didn’t leave him room to open his doors. Later on, we heard a bit of a commotion as the Camaro owner tried to leave. We watched him crawl through the rear hatch and wiggle into the driver’s seat to leave. The next day, the Camaro was parked properly, and about a week later we met the owner and all had a good laugh about it. Now I’d be afraid I’d get shot pulling a stunt like that! 

You used to be able to buy a pad of fake parking tickets from the back of Mad magazine. They looked official enough, starting off with an official looking violation code for taking two spaces or parking poorly. Then as a person read on they found that their punishment was that the fleas of a thousand camels should infest their armpits. I never bought one of these pads, but was tempted a few times, and I’m sure I would have used them had I owned a pad.

I’ve gotten a few stupid tickets in my day too. Parking facing the wrong way on the street. I don’t remember why I parked that way, just did, and left the car there for several days. Parking too far away from the curb. I was parked between two trucks at the curb, and my car was well inside their profiles, but apparently the parking authority had a ruler. My rear tire was beyond 12” from the curb. In Indianapolis about 10 years ago, that was a $20 fine.   When I was about 16 I got a warning for doing donuts in an iced-over parking lot. The officer was actually pretty cool about it, saying he knew nobody was in the lot, but I could have hit a light pole and that would have been a mess.

Now my oldest son is driving so I’m teaching him how to assess a parking lot, who to park next to and who to look out for and to make sure that he’s parked properly, between the lines. I hope he doesn’t do the stupid things I did, but I guess everyone has to grow up. And if he parks poorly, may the fleas of a thousand camels infest his armpits.

Jim Peters
Project Manager, T2 Systems, Inc.

I just passed my four-year mark working in parking. After nearly nineteen years in banking, it took me a while to really understand. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a long, long way from being prepared to sit for the CAPP test,  but I think I can honestly say "I get it" when taking about Parking Access and Revenue Control, Parking Garage Software, Handheld Ticket Writers, and a lot of what goes into managing them.

For me, all that complexity translates back to computing systems that talk to all of those advanced parking solutions that are out there in the world dealing with all of the parkers. Even in the summer when many of T2's customers that use our software as a campus parking solution are at a relatively low volume of parkers, we're seeing around 20,000 transactions a day amounting to around a million dollars and that's just for our customers that use our hosted parking system software. A similar number run their own computer systems running T2's parking software.

Each of those transactions generated has a "footprint" on the servers that we use to host. They translate to memory usage, CPU usage, and disk reads/writes. As a geek and a numbers guy, it is absolutely fascinating to watch the metrics as the complex transactions are processed and completed. The main reason we monitor everything that goes on in our Hosting Environment so that we can make sure there's enough hardware to support all of our customers efficiently and well, but I still think all of those metrics are just plain cool.

Happy Parking.

So I was one of those folks that stood in line to buy an iPad 2. I've never been one to do that kind of thing, but this thing just looked cool to me. It is cooler than I ever expected. It has changed the way I access the online world. That got me thinking...

How many of the consumers that are accessing the parker side of T2's enterprise parking management software are using mobile devices? We took a quick and informal look at our the logs from the parker portion of our parking enforcement system and saw that a whopping 17% of our activity was coming from mobile browsers like iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. That's a lot of people buying permits, paying parking citations, and generally doing business far, far away from a desk.

If parkers can pay citations before they even pull out of the parking space where they were cited, that's a lot less Parking Citation Collections to worry about. In some cases, it means that citations are going from Handheld Ticket Writers to completed payments in a matter of minutes.

I'm going to keep watching the logs. I want to see how this changes over time. Happy parking.

As you know T2 Systems develops parking solutions. We offer software like permit management and access control, we offer equipment like revenue control equipment and handheld ticket writers and we also offer parking ticket collection services through CCS. Who do we offer those products to? Glad you asked, last year at our annual User Group conference we put together a short video concentrating on our customer successes. We did this because we wouldn't be here without our customers and we wanted to highlight a few facts and figures from them. Feel free to watch the T2 Customer Success video:

You know, we Americans have it really pretty easy...parking included. Yeah, we complain about having to pay for parking and when we don't, we complain about having to pay that parking ticket. But really for the most part, we are pretty lucky. We have technology to help us find parking spaces, automatic access control and revenue control facilities to get us parked quicker and for the most part, we have paved lots and garages.

Recently, I was in Roatan, Honduras and snapped this photo of a parking lot. I tried to be the good T2 corporate citizen and sell them a new parking management system, but they weren't biting. Maybe next time... :)

Okay, so lately I have been spending a rather high percentage of my time at the amusement parks of central Florida. The weather has been beautiful and I just like to get out and about...people watch so to speak. What amazes me though, is the parking operations at the different parks. For example, the Disney parks use manned lots to control parking. You pay your $14 fee to gain entrance to the attendant and follow the cones until you get to the designated parking row where several additional parking attendants guide you into your space for the day - ones even on a Segway (which I think is really cool, but...I digress). The same work flow happens over at Universal Studios with one exception, you get to park in a parking garage instead of having the sun beat down on your car in a lot. Other than that, everything is the same - okay no Segway here but everything else is the same.

So I guess what I am getting at is, aren't they even the least bit worried about having that much cash exchange hands without some kind of control? I mean, yeah most times I go through the gates, the parking attendant rings up the money in the cash register so there is no question. But I am sure there are times when it is busy that the cashier doesn't ring up a transaction, for the sake of saving time.  I think this would be a perfect location to have a parking management system. Maybe something like T2's PermitNOW (shameless plug inserted here!) I mean, in order for the parking permits to be printed, a transaction has to take place. So whether the customer is paying by cash or credit card, the parking attendant runs it through the handheld ticket writer and out comes a parking permit for the day. The beauty of this is, since payment has to be made in order to generate a parking permit, everything is trackable through the parking management software on the back end.

Well, seeing as Disney has been in business for a few decades, I guess they probably have this parking thing down, but I say, there is always room for improvement:)

Working with Advanced Parking Solutions every day can change your perspective. I've been with T2 Systems for almost four years now and the time has just flown by. This week we were having a technical discussion about some possible enhancements to the features in the eBusiness (parker-facing) portion of T2's suite of Parking System Software and it reminded me of my first day at T2.

On my first day at T2, I got the first and only parking ticket of my life. Yeah, that's what I said. I'd never gotten a parking ticket before being hired at T2 and I haven't gotten one since. That's probably a combination of me being a conformist detail-oriented rule-follower, and living in the suburbs where there just isn't a lot of parking enforcement going on. There aren't exactly a lot of parking garages in my neighborhood.

For the record, I totally deserved the parking ticket. I parked in a two-hour zone and got stuck for a lot longer than I expected. I didn't make it back to my car for almost four hours. The parking ticket was a whopping $10. Thinking back on that now, I'm surprised how old-school the ticket was. It wasn't produced using an electronic handheld ticket writer. It was pen on two-part-carbonless paper. No parking ticket computer for them. Pure no-tech.

The really frustrating part was that the city parking solution was entirely manual. Not just the ticket writing. The whole darn thing. I had to pay $10 in cash ONLY and I had to pay it in person within 7 days. Oh, and the parking office was already closed for the day. If only they had given me a way to pay online, I'd have done it right then and there. I'd even have paid a few extra bucks to save the extra trip back to pay the fine.

At the end of the day, it just goes to show that there are a lot more places than need good parking enforcement systems and that following the rules works well for me.

I remember getting my first parking ticket - I knew it was coming long before it ever arrived on my windshield and it was gut wrenching knowing it would be there when I returned to my vehicle. 

Let's just say my keys went missing one night while enjoying a good time among friends in lovely downtown Boulder.  Thankfully I had a friend drive me home anyway, but when I went to go get my car the next morning I had no keys.  Although I desperately tried to return before the parking meter enforcement began, I wasn't able to coordinate a ride and a locksmith in time.  Reality sunk in that I'd be receiving my first ever parking ticket.

This is not a big deal, right? Now, you've forgotten where I said I was -  Boulder.  Parking tickets ARE a big deal! Ultimately I decided I should pay it and not make this a huge moment in history.  I wanted to pay online as I thought many city parking solutions allow for that.  Much to my disappointment an online payment option was not available, so I mailed in a check (on time, mind you).

Little did I know at the time it would be a foreshadow of my future career.  A year or two later I went to work for the city and was heavily involved in the implementation of a new parking ticket management system.  I worked very closely with our vendor, T2 Systems in making sure our new parking management system was successful - including offering online citation payments and appeals.  I loved working in T2 Flex and taking the trainings offered by T2 that not only increased my knowledge about Flex but also all the available reporting options.

Not a long time later I found myself working at T2!  I love sharing my personal experience working with a parking management system as a customer while introducing new concepts to our clients such as an online parking payment system (which Boulder now has - thanks to T2!).


 

Hello! I found this on a list serv and thought it was something one doesn't see too often...a poetic interpretation of language typically seen in parking enforcement.

Anyone in the Cambridge area, feel free to check it out!

Cambridge Artist-in-Residence Sees Poetry in Traffic Enforcement

 

The Cambridge Arts Council (CAC) and the Department of Traffic, Parking and Transportation (TPT) are jointly presenting a public art project from September 7 - November 17, 2010 by artist Daniel Peltz that offers a poetic interpretation of language typically used in parking enforcement.  
 

As artist-in-residence with the Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department for a week in January 2010, the artist shadowed TPT workers and interviewed employees in a variety of roles. As a result of this experience, Peltz was "struck by the complex humanity, warmth and humor" in the staff of the department, something missing from the world of the parking regulations they are charged with enforcing.  
 

Throughout the spring, Peltz developed his project, entitled Crossing Non-Signalized Locations, into a suite of four actions that bring wonder and curiosity to the language of parking regulations: (1) several new street signs designed by the artist and placed in unlikely locations around the City for the next few months to be discovered and pondered;

(2) a re-designed parking ticket envelope that introduces a series of yoga postures for giving and receiving parking citations, inviting us to imagine a more peaceful exchange between Parking Control Officers and car owners; (3) "10,000 Excuses", a large-scale wall drawing in the CAC Gallery (2nd floor of the City Hall Annex), composed from the archive of "excuses" residents have written and submitted in past parking disputes

-- City staff and the public may choose an anonymous "excuse" and re-write it on the wall, transforming the archive into a composite portrait of life in the city; (4) a fictional parking regulation authorizing "soft-booting," in which a stuffed fabric parking "boot" is fabricated in the atrium near the TPT offices. 
 

Cars and the spaces they use are a significant feature of our City, necessarily regulated to ensure the efficient flow of urban activity.
 

The relationship between municipal authority and the public around parking enforcement is rich with expressive language and emotion. In supporting the ability of artists to offer a new perspective on our lives, the Department of Traffic, Parking and Transportation and the Cambridge Arts Council invite all residents to experience and participate in this unique public art project, Crossing Non-Signalized Locations.  

A reception with the artist present will be held at the Cambridge Arts Council's CAC Gallery (344 Broadway) on Tuesday, September 7, from 6-8 p.m. For more information, call 617-349-4389 or visit:

www.cambridgema.gov/CAC/ <http://www.cambridgeartscouncil.org/> and click on the Of, By and For Link.

I normally wouldn't write about parking technology. I mean although I work for a parking software company, I am technologically challenged. However, I saw an article recently about Washington, DC testing parking occupancy sensors. A small disc is placed in the parking space that sends information telling officials whether the parking space is occupied or not.

As of now, Washington, DC is just using the sensors to track parking habits. However, in the future the information could be funneled to a smartphone or computer telling customers where to find empty parking spaces. Now, that would be awesome!

So, you are a parking organization that is stuck in the 1960's handwriting parking tickets. There's no budget for handheld ticket writers for all of your parking enforcement officers, so some of them use the old ticket book to write up parking violations. Well, as you and I both know, there are often challenges with writing those parking citations; it can be difficult reading the officers' handwriting (especially if it is like mine) and the time and effort required to locate and manually input the data into the parking management system can be significant.

T2's new eTicketBook software eliminates the hassles associated with the handwritten tickets by enabling officers to issue parking citations from their in-vehicle computers and automatically upload the citation data into the T2 Flex parking management system.

Cool alert!! The new eTicketBook software also integrates with AutoVu a mobile license plate recognition (LPR) system developed by Genetec.

Wow...I have no idea what Bob Dylan was trying to say with those words of wisdom(it's a little before my time). However, I think it is pretty cool that someone like Bob Dylan would even reference a parking meter in a song. That being said, let's get to the meat of this blog...

HAPPY 75th BIRTHDAY PARKING METER! Yes, three quarters of a century ago, on July 16, 1935, the parking meter was born in Oklahoma-as was an entire industry. You see, shortly after the first meter was installed, parking tickets came around and of course parking enforcement officers were right there too-only back then, people referred to them as "meter maids".

As seen in some of my previous blogs, joining the parking industry isn't normally your first thought upon earning that college degree, but why not? We have enforcement officers. We work with governments, universities, the private sector and even hospitals. The parking industry is international-just about every country has some sort of parking controls in place. The technology behind parking is constantly being upgraded and tested including things like parking management software, handheld ticket writers, parking pay-by-phone, parking apps for smart phones and of course the new multispace parking meters.

I am pretty sure when Carl Magee developed and installed that first meter, he had no idea he was igniting this industry and in essence changing the world-some think for the better! So, thanks Carl. It is because of you I have a job. And when I tell people I work for a software company that develops parking software, I get that strange look which is always fun.