Parking meter meet your cousin the red light camera

Photo Violation Technologies Corp. ("PVT"), a developer of innovative parking meter solutions, has announced the launch of its patented PhotoViolationMeter ("PVM"). According to PVT, "This self-enforcing parking meter is easy to use, fair, and permits municipalities to keep parking rates low by increasing revenue through compliance." Gee, just when you thought you made it safely past that ominous red light camera staring at you, now you have to worry about cameras where you park.

Anyway, this new meter uses a combination of sensors, photography, and wireless technology to make it the only parking meter that enforces itself while giving municipalities more than five times the revenue of current on-street meters. They've partnered with industry leaders such as IBM, PVT's robust back-end server provides municipalities with secure and reliable implementation. With product trials scheduled for January 2006, the PVM is positioned to forever change the way the world pays for on-street parking.

The PVM makes parking fair for all users by providing every way to pay. Drivers have the "convenient" option of paying by coin (multiple-currency accepted), phone, debit, credit card, or smart card, right at their vehicle. User-friendly features include a No-Fine option, Grace Periods and Instant Notifications (all patent pending). The No-Fine feature gives drivers the option to simply swipe a credit card and the PVM incrementally adds time to the meter, billing the credit card as time passes, and stops billing the minute the vehicle pulls away. The Grace Period feature is available to drivers who are running late, allowing payment at the meter for expired time, rather than receiving a violation.

If they cannot return within the Grace Period, they have the option to pay for violations at the meter for a discounted fine. Additionally, the Instant Notification feature notifies the driver of, and prevents payment for, rush hour and no-parking conditions, preventing user vehicles from being towed. The option to add time remotely by phone, eliminating any third party provider fees, is already integrated into the PVM, and surpasses stand-alone pay-by-phone systems. Features such as these ensure drivers pay for the time they use, no more, no less.

Then even have a portable handheld device called the PhotoViolationHHU (Hand Held Unit - seen to the right). PVT stated, "Municipal governments will greatly benefit from this revolutionary system as it delivers more than five times the revenue compared to the current coin meters or on-street multi-space pay-and-display units. Patented technology makes the PVM the only meter in the industry which can enforce itself by issuing photo violations automatically."

When a vehicle parks and moves away without payment, the camera takes a picture of the offending vehicle's license plate and sends it to the central processing center. They claim that the PVM will drastically cut down on violation disputes and court time by providing a picture of the offending license plate to prove the vehicle was in violation. This self-monitoring meter allows municipal parking personnel to maximize their time and eliminate inefficiencies.

Accordig to them, "The PVM increases compliance to pay parking meter charges and will help keep municipalities' parking rates low. Ensuring everyone pays for parking, the PVM provides multiple ways to pay for those who do comply, and issues violations for those who do not. Added benefits of the system include minimized public frustration by giving users every way to pay and a safer working environment for enforcement officers."

PVM is supported by IBM, who will supply the PVM with a robust back-end server, hosting and maintenance services, minimizing municipalities' worry about downtime, protection of data and server back-ups. John Roberts, a partner at IBM Business Consulting Services, commented, "IBM is pleased to be assisting PVT in the development of their innovative solutions, and we look forward to contributing to PVT's success by providing consulting, integration and support services to their customers in municipal government."

According to PVT this approach minimizes effort and costs for municipalities, which enables rapid implementation of the complete system. Access to all functionalities will be available from anywhere, anytime, using a web browser on any Internet enabled computer.

Photo Violation Technologies product trials are scheduled for January 2006, with the anticipation that the first units will be available to install in a location near you by early 2006. Gee thanks. I can't wait.