Merge

American business process and document management company Xerox has launched Merge, a system that helps municipalities manage parking operations with a central management solution.

According to Xerox, Merge is the first system to fully integrate and offer analytics on all aspects of metered and off-street programmes.

Merge PDF file integrates hardware and software in order to deliver real-time information about coin collections, meter maintenance, enforcement, and occupancy with the application of real-time data to solve parking issues.

Xerox Transportation parking and justice solutions senior vice president David Cummins said, "Now municipalities can make data-driven decisions on everything from meter collections to rate structures – improving performance and creating additional revenues."

"Now municipalities can make data-driven decisions on everything from meter collections to rate structures – improving performance and creating additional revenues."

The system is built on an open architecture platform that allows cities to ‘plug and play’ any field technology or software system that manages parking operations, including parking space sensors, meters, handheld devices as well as the Internet, smart phones, and dynamic message signs.

It processes instant information for on-street and off-street parking spaces and offers system occupancy, maintenance, payment and collection status, as well as customer service response data.

Merge also features Xerox’s proprietary dynamic pricing engine that can be used to recommend parking rates based on previous data as well as adjust parking prices by forecasting demand using data from current conditions.

The system is already installed in Los Angeles as part of the city’s LA Express Park programme, where Xerox’s algorithm-driven pricing model sets parking prices based on supply and demand, in return helping improve parking turnover and space availability.

Xerox processes more than 16 million tickets annually and supports over 150,000 meters worldwide for clients.

Image: Merge is the first system to fully integrate and offer analytics on all aspects of metered and off-street programmes. Photo courtesy of Xerox Corporation.