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Parking Meter Passport Payment OptionMasterpiece on the Mississippi / dee?),7--- Dubuque AI-America CIF 1111 IF 2012 TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Installation of Parking Meters in the Historic Millwork District DATE: April 30, 2013 Parking System Supervisor Tim Horsfield is recommending the first phase of meter installation in the Historic Dubuque Millwork District. Should the City Council approve the pay by cell phone meter option that is on the May 6 City Council agenda, I will authorize this installation of meters that you previously approved. Michael . Van Milligen MCVM:jh Attachment cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager THE CITY OF Dui Dubuque All America City r Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2012 April 8, 2013 To: Michael C. Van Milligen City Manager From: Tim Horsfield Parking Division Manager Parking Division 830 Bluff Street Dubuque, IA 52001 563 - 589.4267 www.cityofdubuque.org /parking Subject: Installation of Parking Meters in the Millwork District As you may recall, the City Council approved the amendment to the downtown meter district by adding several streets in the Dubuque Millwork District. Basically, they are from 8th Street to 11th Street and from White Street to Elm Street. When the Council approved this ordinance, they requested that the meters be placed basically as needed rather than a blanket approach of installation. In the recent months, many of the rental units have become available and also many rented. We have installed a surface parking lot with gate control /access control equipment that monitors the usage of the lot. In the near future, we will be experiencing an increased parking need with the anticipated opening of some of the retail shopping in the area. In addition, I would anticipate the need for parking by employees of the shops and also there will be a substantial amount of construction workers in the area with the construction of the Intermodal Transit Center. With these pieces of information in mind, I am recommending an initial placement of parking meters in the district. I am recommending that meters be places on 9th St. from White Street to Elm, 10th St. from White Street to Elm. I am also recommending placement of meters on Washington from 9th Street to 11th Street and Jackson from 9th to 11th Street. believe that this will provide sufficient turn -over of parking so that the businesses operating in the area will have parking for their customers /clientele. We have checked on the current inventory for parking in these areas as marked in the original layout of the street and we are indicating the need to place 162 meters in this initial area; total for the area will be approximately 231 when all are installed. 1 _} Phase I Meter Implementation Areas to be metered Historic Millwork District Boundary DijtYE o Mis,is44ri ,„• Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Parking Meter Payment Option DATE: April 30, 2013 Dubuque kital All- America City II 111! 2012 Parking Division Manager Tim Horsfield is recommending implementation of a new parking meter payment option provided by Passport Parking that has the ability to interact with the City's current enforcement software. With the new option, the City is able to keep all of its current meters; meter cash card payment option and provide everyone with the option of paying for the meter by cell phone either by text, voice or an application provided for each customer by Passport Parking. There is no cost to the City of Dubuque for this new option. The only fee is that Passport Parking charges 25¢ for each transaction, and is part of the agreement between Passport and the customer; so, it is purely an option and convenience to the parking customer. The way the new system works, is that anyone wishing to use this option establishes an account with Passport Parking. They can do this over the phone or via the internet. They provide the company with a credit card to use for the purchase of time on a meter. When the person calls to initially place time or add time, they will code in the account number assigned to them or use the application, put in the meter number and then the amount of time desired. Each meter is assigned a time, 2,4,10 hours within the Passport System and only the maximum time can be given to that parking space. The system will not allow anyone to add time over that maximum time limit of the meter either. For example, should someone initially place 1 hour of time on a 2 hour meter and then need to add more time, they can only add up to an additional 1 hour for a total of 2 hours. They actually have to move to a different meter number to add time. We have the flexibility to adjust that policy and allow them 1 additional maximum time if we should choose. The money collected is transferred to a predetermined bank account on a set time schedule. This system interacts with the enforcement side of the meters, however, the meter will not indicate the initial time or additional time on the face. It will show expired. However, when you load time using Passport, the interface with the enforcement system provider, AIMS, recognizes the purchase of time and when the meter number is entered into the enforcement handheld, it will indicate that the meter time has been paid by way of the pay by phone option. Staff is researching the option of placing a bar code or quick response (QR code) on each meter which identifies the number. The customer then can scan the code identifying the meter they want to place or add time to and the enforcement office does the same to identify whether the meter is paid or issue a ticket. There is also the option of License Plate Recognition (LPR) for the enforcement office and also when the customer sets up their account, if they enter a plate number, they will also be able to add time by license plate number in case they forget the meter number. Passport will provide all the signage both street signage and individual meter signage for the entire meter district. As a customer sets up their account initially, they are offered the option of receiving a notification by way of text or e-mail so many minutes prior to the meter expiring. They can select the amount of time before the meter expires and also the method of notification. One of the things that sets this company apart from others is the fact that you can Pre - Load your account. By way of credit card, a customer can pre -pay their account, for example, with $100.00, and only be charged a one -time credit card fee of 25¢. This operates very much like the City's cash card without the $12.00 dollar fee that is charged for the card. In addition, businesses can set up an account so that they can provide their customers with a validation number that provides a pre- determined amount of time payment for the meter they are parked at. Some of the key advantages to the system should the City go forward: • There is no up -front capital cost for the City (Current Duncan Meters will be used) • Parking meters will continue to accept City cash card along with coin. • Passport Parking service center handles all complaints regarding their system • The system seems very easy to use • All signage provided • Validation Program for Businesses • No continued additional operating cost for the City. Dubuque Main Street is supportive of this meter installation. I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. MCVM:jh Attachment Michael C. Van Milligen 2 cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager Tim Horsfield, Parking Division Manager 3 Masterpiece on the Mississippi Dubuque AII- Ameriea City 1 2012 April 30, 2013 To: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager From: Tim Horsfield, Parking Division Manager Subject: Parking Meter Payment Option Parking Division 830 Bluff Street Dubuque, IA 52001 563 - 589.4267 www.cityofdubuque.org /parking Introduction This past spring, I attended the National Parking Industry Exhibit in Chicago. The conference always has a great exhibitor showing and also several small group sessions that provide some great information. This year, I was able to spend a substantial amount of time with one of our current vendors, AIMS Enforcement Software, and a company that they are partnering with, Passport Parking, to enhance enforcement efforts and provide an additional method of payment for parking meters along with the added convenience. As know, we have researched the purchase of all new parking meters that would allow people to use credit cards at each meter. We have always struggled with a couple of things with these meters. After evaluating, I really did not think that we had the volume of usage at all of our meters nor are our rates high enough to support the initial cost of $495.00 per meter, the monthly fees ($5.75 /meter), credit card transaction fee ($.13 per transaction) and then the processing fee of the credit card company of about 3.5 %. At our rates of $.50 per hour, we would face a substantial reduction in net meter fees over the course of a year. The investment for the meters alone would be just over $1 million dollars to completely convert our system. One of the things that kept us from truly researching other options such as pay by phone is the inability of payment companies to interact with the enforcement software companies. Finally, this has happened within the last year between Passport Parking and our current enforcement provider. It is out in the field, well tested and proven to work extremely well. The software for the pay by phone is in several cities across the country interacting with other enforcement companies as well. One of the cities is Asheville, North Carolina. I have attached an e-mail from their Parking Division Manager along with an update from him to the City Manager and City Council of Asheville. 1 With the new option, we are able to keep all of our current meters; meter cash card payment option and provide everyone with the option of paying for the meter by cell phone either by text, voice or an application provided for each customer by Passport Parking. There is absolutely no cost to the City of Dubuque for this new option. The only fee is that Passport Parking charges $.25 for each transaction and is part of the agreement between Passport and the customer; so, it is purely an option and convenience to the parking customer. The way the new system works, is that anyone wishing to use this option establishes an account with Passport Parking. They can do this over the phone or via the Internet. They provide the company with a credit card to use for the purchase of time on a meter. When the person calls to initially place time or add time, they will code in the account number assigned to them or use the application, put in the meter number and then the amount of time desired. Now, each meter is assigned a time, 2,4,10 hours within the Passport System and only the maximum time can be given to that parking space. The system will not allow anyone to add time over that maximum time limit of the meter either. For example, should someone initially place 1 hour of time on a 2 hour meter and then need to add more time, they can only add up to an additional 1 hour for a total of 2 hours. They actually have to move to a different meter number to add time. We have the flexibility to adjust that policy and allow them to add for example 15 minutes if the meeting runs long if we should choose but no more time than that to generate the turnover. The money collected is transferred to a predetermined bank account on a set time schedule. Now the way this system interacts with the enforcement side of the meters, is that the meter will not indicate the initial time or additional time on the face. It will show expired. However, when you load time using Passport, the interface with our enforcement provider, AIMS, recognized the purchase of time and when the meter number is entered into the enforcement handheld, it will indicate that the meter time has been paid by way of the pay by phone option. We are researching the option of placing a bar code or quick response (QR code) on each meter which identifies the number. The customer then can scan the code identifying the meter they want to place or add time to and the enforcement office does the same to identify whether the meter is paid or issue a ticket. There is also the option of License Plate Recognition (LPR) for the enforcement office and also when the customer sets up their account, if they enter a plate number, they will also be able to add time by license plate number in case they forget what meter they are parked. Per an agreement with Passport if approved, they will provide all the signage both street signage and individual meter signage for the entire meter district. As a customer sets up their account initially, they are offered the option of receiving a notification by way of text or e-mail so many minutes prior to the meter expiring. They can select the amount of time before the meter expires and also the method of notification. One of the things that sets this company apart from others is the fact that you can Pre -Load your account. So, by way of credit card, you can pre -pay your account let's say with $100.00 and only be charged a onetime credit card fee of $.25. This operates very much like our cash card without the $12.00 dollar fee that we charge for the card. In addition, businesses can set up an account so that they can provide their customers with a validation # that provides a pre- determined amount of time payment for the meter they are parked at. 2 Some of the key advantages to the system should we go forward: • There is no up -front capital cost for the City (Our Duncan Meters are fine) • Our meters will continue to accept our cash card along with coin. • Passport Parking service center handles all complaints regarding their system • The system seems very easy to use • All signage provided • Validation Program for Businesses • No continued additional operating cost for the City. The company currently operates so that the City can cancel the agreement with 30 days notice at any time without any sort of penalty or guarantee. I have had City Attorney Barry Lindahl and Assistant City Attorney Maureen Quann review the agreement and they have no issues. I have also informed Passport that they would be required to meet all of the City's insurance coverage requirements and that once the cost of the coverage was determined, we would possibly consider some reimbursement of those costs. On Wednesday, April 24, 2013, I met with the Board of Dubuque Main Street to discuss this option as an added convenience for parking. After the presentation, the Board voted to recommend this option and asked that the City work with them on a possible polity allowing customers to put additional time on the meter over the original time limit. They are open to just the original time causing turnover, but may like to discuss adding an additional 15 minutes or some limited additional time. Under this proposal, we of course continue to have the capital expense of purchasing all of the meters for the Historic Millwork District. However there will be a reduction in the cost of each meter under this proposal as we will continue to use the Duncan meters. I have attached information on the Passport Parking and also the letter or recommendation from Asheville. Considering all of this information, I respectfully request your approval and recommendation of Passport Parking for approval of the City Council. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at your convenience. Cc: Jennifer Larson, Budget Director Dave Heiar, Economic Development Director 3 1111:•E_ Passport limumm r A Superior Mobile Payment Platform The information contained in this proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose except for internal use. If, however, a contract is awarded to PassportParking as a result of or in connection with the submission of this data, the Client will have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent consistent with standard procurement processes. MOBILE PAY SOLUTION 1 FULLY INTEGRATED MOBILE PAYMENT SUITE 1 PAYMENT METHODS 1 PARKER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT 2 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT CONSOLE 3 REAL -TIME REPORTING 3 GEO- LOCATION MAPPING 4 REAL -TIME FIELD TRACKING 5 SYSTEM SECURITY 5 SYSTEM BENEFITS 5 VALUE -ADDED SERVICES 7 ELECTRONIC VALIDATION SYSTEM 7 MARKETING & LAUNCH 8 PAY FOR PARKING WITH CREDIT /DEBIT 0 Download PassportParking 0 App Srore OR CaII GET IT ON G LEn*Y 704 -271 -1189 Mobile Pay Solution PassportParking is pleased to present our services for the City. We view all of our client relationships as long -term and have never lost a single customer. The benefits of our proprietary integrated platform on are currently unattainable by others in the industry. Through our Parking as a Service enterprise platform, we provide software to empower parking operators in making operations more efficient. Our services are currently rolled out throughout the country with municipalities, universities and private operators. Our team will be focused on ensuring the City's installation and transition to PassportParking is a success. Fully Integrated Mobile Payment Suite PassportParking will provide the City of Dubuque, IA with a complete pay -by -phone payment system that includes the following: 1. Mobile Payment options (App, SMS, IVR) for motorists to pay for parking on the desired spaces highlighted in the proposal 2. Account management tools for Parkers to access account information and transaction details 3. Monitoring tools that will interface with the Client's existing ticketing application (AIMS) 4. System management tools that will allow the Client to manage their facilities Payment Methods Passport Parking Party. P. un vour Way. We have completely integrated a voice prompt and SMS system that yields incredible value. The reason for this is twofold: • We provide accessibility to those parkers who do not own a Smartphone or access to the web so they are not precluded from parking at your facilities by phone; • Users can access, begin or make changes to existing paring transactions using our SMS and voice systems ZONE 100 All three of our payment systems are entirely interchangeable, meaning that a parker may start a transaction via one method and make changes with another (e.g. start via voice and extend via text). PassportParking I 1 Collectively, the systems aforementioned above are completely cloud -based which means our system architecture is built on a network of servers with 99.9% uptime making our system extremely resilient. This also means the Client can access the systems from any device with an Internet connection. With respect to this proposal, PassportParking will provide the City with all signage and stickers for on and off - street parking. The parking rate and valid times for each location can be controlled by the City but will be initially set per the City's requirements. Parker Account Management • p.m ak ra en. wan •m.m Gen am+.. Rae (G w. , O $ er warm to la.ae.x..0 et0uun an.ne0 q • n„ .... Ovum Aux. 1+ AHa a wat 0nst Passport PARK. PAY. Yes, That Easy! Create an account Part of the crew? 519nuP login How It Works a y nr.h. FA - w.. 111 ar —ran, 00110.. x Bw. 01 • m $. 0001 An. ■0.N.00 Setungs n eeent uu0 you 0000 00..a LP.nber 28,012. 0•■•a.n0eau P arting lelat ry vnm K J w 2017 J 0Annts0 41 pp A •00 00a 5000 011 'AN Fahnq re• 51.15 °' '171b *) 011 Parkers are automatically given access their own personalized Account Management website upon completing our phone verification security process during their first parking stay. Parkers may also elect to create an account via the web in advance of their first parking session. Through secure online access, users may access and save PDF versions of monthly parking histories and associated parking & convenience fees. Rene Ire ra we. Henn ems ton. 00,00nt nee b rata ._ r ea t end an 10 10.1112 ws anu u.e 000080 4 3 SettirAs Wit Nan. entall _ 611 t. Ld wen away emanates tan, wren, , o ea' . red m to 10.2 »2 an unarm Gateau et i • ••••••••• Caskneani 0 Gee. P arting xanlMe., PertingllecelPta • Additionally, users will have the ability to manage and make changes to account information including payment card details, address information and vehicles on file as well as toggle text reminders and settings such as receipt retrieval. Parkers may also elect to manage parking transactions via the web. PassportParking I 2 Operations Management Console The Client will be given access to our Operations Management Console, which allows for complete fiscal and operational visibility and control. This tool will provide the Client with the ability to monitor associated facilities in real -time, analyze utilization and turnover; manage rates and view parking sessions and respective expiration times. Employees may access to this tool securely from anywhere with an Internet connection, as the application is entirely web - based. ✓Flissa11Va11U3g © '..d $ .A i_ t Pa-klnq 1.1gm Operator 7onr' - City of Arre. LlSt Cr d Map Downtown AS — Active Space 2 3 4 5 6 19 20 21 35 36 37 38 39 40 53 69 AS 70 71 77 66 B7 103 AS 104 101 NE 106 10/ 22 23 54 55 88 89 56 73 90 57 74 91 108 NL — Near Lxplratlo 7 24 41 58 75 92 109 25 42X!5, 59 76 93 110 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 26 2/ 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 43 44 45 46 47 48 I 49 50 51 60 61 62 6.40-.; 64 65 66 G7 68 77 76 79 80 81 87 83 84 85 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 AS 101 102 Real -time Reporting The Client will have the ability to view all transactions that flow through the pay -by -phone system in real -time, as our cloud -based tool is accessible at all times. Additionally, the Client can easily export transaction reports to Microsoft Excel for additional analysis and internal reporting requirements. • Daily Total Revenue • Space Usage Report • Summary by Zone • Customer History Report Daily Revenue Report Grass Parking Revenue 15408.23 1 Validation Revenue. 30.02 I Fee 3752.00 1 Net Revenue. 34664.25 1 Tr3713ac110n Count. 3008 It Dally Tdal Revenue PassportParking 13 Summary by Zone Gross Parking Revenue Page Size: 5414.33 Validation Revenue- $0.02 Fee $752.75 Net Revenue $4669.60 1 Transaction Count 3011 Zone Number Parking Revenue Validation Revenue Fee Total Net Revenue Transactions Count 48 41 46 45 43 42 5356.75 51,831.48 5511.55 5469.40 51,111.35 5453.35 5651.35 50.00 (544.50) 5312.75 50.02 (5261.00) 51,571.50 50.00 (576.50) 5435.55 50.00 (564.50) 5405.65 50.00 (5148.75) 5963.10 50.00 (562.75) 5391.10 50.00 (594.75) 5556.85 178 1044 306 258 595 251 379 • • 1 -7 of 7 O It is our mission to continue to provide tools for our clients to gain operational efficiencies through clarity and transparency into all parking transactions. Client feedback is our priority and we strive to create reports that are beneficial to fiscal and operational analysis. Currently, our reporting tool will allow the Client to drill down into specific customer transactions and even determine utilization by space number over time in order to make relevant pricing decisions. PassportParking will support all customer service calls and requests related to the pay -by -phone service and general inquiries about your facilities that may be routed to our call center whether intentional or otherwise. Our call center has native support for both English and Spanish speakers. Additionally, PassportParking will provide on -going support and training to the Client. The training will be both on -site in preparation for the launch as well as remote support for the term of the contract. Geo- location Mapping On GPS enabled phones, our system will automatically identify the parking zone. Furthermore, when the City utilizes our Space Mapping tool, GPS enabled phones will also identify the nearest space number and can assist parkers in returning to their respective vehicle. •PmyorlPAiring ell A r t Zone Select Address. Space Mapping PassportParking 14 Real -time Field Tracking The system is able to track in real -time the whereabouts and activity of all the parking enforcement officials that are currently out in the field. A history of the tracking is also available for the last 6 hours of monitoring or being on duty for any official. System Security We are PCI -DSS compliant and maintain our certification through quarterly audits and scans • PCI Validation #: IPMT42236941000991360612 • Valid thru: 10TH DAY OF JUNE 2013 We host our service on Amazon servers. Here are the standards covered by our hosting provider: PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 1 /SSAE 16 /ISAE 3402, SOC 2, FISMA, DIACAP, and FedRAMP, International Traffic In Arms Compliance, FIPS 140 -2, CSA, and MPAA. Please see Tab IV, question #4 for an overview of our Tokenization process. A copy of the SAS 70 is attached as an Addendum to the RFP. System Benefits 1. Ease of Use — Quickest Pay by Phone in Market We developed our pay -by -phone from the ground up making the process from start to finish as simple and intuitive as possible. As a result, we were able to develop the quickest pay -by -phone parking process in the market. 2. Value Added Services — Electronic Validation Our systems allow for the Client to accept validation from neighboring businesses, and are the only provider to successfully integrate this option. We have a web -based electronic validation system that allows business to create custom validations, which would integrate into the pay - by -phone payment options. 3. Operator Functionality PassportParking allows the Client to have full control of their respective facilities without having to call or wait for PassportParking to change them. The functions available include creating and PassportParking 15 updating daily rates, adding temporary event parking rates, generating real -time reports, and setting up users with varying access levels to access the system. 4. Superior Quality & State -of -the -art Technology We have the latest state -of- the -art technology in cell phone payment options. PassportParking has developed a complete suite of mobile payment solutions, which includes: a mobile application, pay -by -text (SMS) and pay -by- voice- prompt (IVR) options. 5. Integrated Platform All of our parking software and hardware architecture is open enabling seamless interfaces due to being 'API' based. This enables the PassportParking platform to be integrated into any existing infrastructure 6. Superior Customer Service We hold ourselves to a high customer satisfaction standards and requirements. We make sure every call from an inbound call or request is addressed within 3 minutes. Our customer service representatives are available to address calls in both English and Spanish. Also, the Client will have direct access to the PassportParking management team at all times. 7. US Based Company with Brand Name Recognition (Industry Expertise) PassportParking was founded in the U.S. steered by a proven and experienced management team with direct industry experience. 8. Increased Revenue and Operational Efficiencies PassportParking clients all experience an increase in parking revenue from remaining status quo. Additionally, most customers have improvements in operation efficiency through real -time monitoring and reduced expenses associated with maintenance (such as coin collection, service, vandalism, and theft). 9. Extremely Scalable and Secure Our platform is completely cloud -based which means our system architecture is built on a network of servers with 99.9% uptime making our system very resilient. The PassportParking solution is PCI DSS compliant and SSL -256 encrypted across the board. 10. Best - Practice Operating Methodology We have built one of the most reliable mobile payment solutions in the industry. Experienced industry experts developed PassportParking's technology and architecture. The Company is steered by a strong management team that will be 100% focused on ensuring the Client's installation and transition to pay -by -phone is a success. PassportParking I 6 Value -Added Services Electronic Validation System In conjunction with the requested pay -by- phone service, we can offer an integrated electronic validation system to neighboring businesses at no cost to taxpayers. As the only provider with a validation system integrated into its pay -by -phone parking solution, our system will allow local merchants the ability to offer discounts to customers for visiting their business — increasing occupancy and turnover of motorists. The parking fee would then be directly transferred from the validating business's secure account into the pay -by -phone merchant processing account chosen by the Client. Parks at facility Parking Operator receives $3.00 from business and $2.00 from parker DEFINI ELYPARIQNG HERE AGAIN! ae cP • bes .0os` • • Parking Fee: $5.00 Discount: $3.00 Final Fee: $2.00 DEFINITELY V15ITW� THIS STORE AGAIN! n Merchant provides parking discount of $3.00 by issuing validation code Visits storefront PassportParking 17 Marketing & Launch Our partner, Smith Phillips Strategic Communications ( "PR Firm"), is the leading public relations firms for many of the industry's leading companies, and has represented both the National Parking Association and the Canadian Parking Association. The firm's principal, Bill Smith, is the marketing columnist for Parking Professional magazine and the marketing blogger for the IPI's Parking Matters site, and he has presented at symposia sponsored by the International Parking Institute and the National Parking Association. Proper communication is crucial to the success of any "pay -by -phone parking" program. Our PR Firm will ensure that local and national media outlets and industry publications are aware of the upcoming Mobile Payment launch. It, along with our internal marketing team, will strive to ensure that citizens have been notified of the benefits of the new system through both inbound and outbound marketing strategies. Social Media will ensure the word continues to spread both organically and quickly while traditional outlets such as television or radio will also convey the message. The Chamber of Commerce and local businesses and merchants in the community will also have the system benefits explained in detail as they will likely play a crucial role in the success of the program. Our mobile payment system comes with Passport's patented Electronic Validation system which will allow local businesses the opportunity to subsidize parking fees partially or entirely, by providing a validation code generated through our web -based Validation System. Flyers may also be distributed to the community by our street team during launch week. Our incentives are aligned: we will also strive to secure high adoption rates and have been successful doing so on all client installs to -date. The adoption rate objective the City has defined are reasonable and exciting to our team as we have achieved similar adoption rates in a more compressed timeline than described in this RFP —we look forward to exceeding your expectations. The correct blend of system simplicity, our patent - pending social validation system and a healthy marketing mix will secure high adoption rates for the program. PassportParking I 8 Memorandum Date: March 8, 2013 To: Mayor and City Council Members Via: Gary Jackson, City Manager From: Ken Putnam, PE, Transportation Department Director Re: Passport Parking The purpose of this memorandum is to update City Council on the Passport Parking test project that City staff implemented during September 2012. Passport Parking is defined as a pay -by -phone with validation system that enables customers to use credit /debit cards in addition to cash to pay for their on- street metered parking experiences in downtown Asheville. Customers simply access the system through their cell telephones by using voice, text, or a mobile "app" (with a smart phone). Individual accounts are secured with the specific telephone number and a unique PIN number (similar to using an ATM machine). The system works with our existing parking meters without any needed changes or "add - ons"; therefore, there was no initial capital outlay. The existing parking meters continue to accept coins (the system simply provides other options for payment). City Council authorized City staff to charge a convenience fee of $0.25 per transaction on August 14, 2012 (Ord # 4105) and to this date, no complaints regarding the convenience fee have been received. During the initial test period (September, October, and November 2012), very few technical complaints were received and the vendor immediately addressed them and furnished the "fix" within 48 hours. A consistent customer call received by the call center (which is staffed by the vendor) was "Why can't I use the system at all of the parking meters ?" The system is now available on all of the parking meters in downtown Asheville with an effective date of February 6, 2013. With the expanded coverage area, City staff will be able to determine how well the enforcement side actually works and working closely with the vendor, we will be able to make the appropriate adjustments. As of the end of February, 2,740 transactions have been processed resulting in total net revenue of $4,105 which equates to a 3.2% increase in parking meter revenue. In conclusion, City staff is very pleased with the Passport Parking project. Please let me know if additional information is needed. KJ P/