Flint Downtown Development Authority in Michigan, US, has deployed 30 Digital Payment Technologies (DPT) LUKE II License-Plate-Enabled parking pay stations.

LUKE II technology is solar powered and will operate in a pay-by-license (PBL) plate mode to generate additional revenue for the city and improve parking turnover. Alan Menezes, Digital Payment Technologies vice president of product management and marketing, said the city of Flint is on the cutting edge of parking technologies with the PBL deployment.

"This new parking system will help Flint to generate much-needed revenues while optimising user convenience, thanks to the user-friendly design," Menezes added.

The parking system uses license plate recognition (LPR) technology from the manufacturer of mobile and fixed parking enforcement system, Tannery Creek Systems, to enforce parking.

PBL technology allows the drivers to enter their license plate number at the pay station and pay, instead of entering a space number or going back to the vehicle to place the receipt for the pay and display mode.

LUKE II pay stations accept credit cards and coins for payment and utilise a Wi-Fi network infrastructure to perform authorisation of credit cards. The technology also accesses DPT’s backend enterprise management system (EMS) to provide real-time insight into the operational status of the pay stations and generate a detailed revenue report.

Gerard Burnash, Flint Downtown Development Authority executive director, said the authority has already received positive feedback regarding the new pay and go capability, with local retailers happy to see parking turnover encouraged, to open up spaces for their patrons.

"We are excited about the convenience and efficiency that the new parking meters bring to our citizens and parking enforcement operations," Burnash added.