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Solar-powered, credit card parking meters installed for pilot project
- Vancouver is the first city in Canada to offer single-space parking meters that accept credit cards.
- Crews are installing 300 new meters around the City as part of a pilot project. (There are approximately 9,000 single-space meters in the City of Vancouver.)
- The units provide another payment option for motorists. The meters now have pay-by-phone, coin and credit card options.
- The new single-spaced meters are being placed in entertainment areas where people want longer time limits in order to park until 10 pm, locations where parking rates are higher and other locations around the city where we want more information on parking patterns.
- The new meters are completely compliant with current banking and credit card security requirements. There is no credit card information stored in the meter; it’s encrypted and sent electronically to the payment centre. This is just like swiping a credit card transaction with a merchant.
- New units cost about $15 more than current coin models (+/- $500). They provide much more detailed information on meter use which is invaluable to our long-term parking analysis.
- The meters are solar powered and can notify the City parking office when they have malfunctioned or been vandalized. Maximum parking hours at meters can also be adjusted remotely to accommodate evening entertainment parking.
