Smart Parking Meter Program In Walkerville Proves To Be Expensive

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A pilot project involving the installation of smart parking meters that accept both coin and credit cards in a section of the Walkerville BIA has proven to cost more money than it made.

Fifty smart meters were installed in November of 2014 along Wyandotte Street East between Gladstone and Chilver. According to an City of Windsor administration report, from November 1st, 2014 to March 1st, 2016, there were approximately 3,200 credit card transactions made. The total revenues collected from credit card payments was $6,170.65 while expenses for licensing and processing fees totaled $7,269.95 resulting in a loss to the city of $1,099.30.

City administration says that given the cost of processing credit card payments, accepting payments in the present format is not viable economically, and is recommending the city put out a request for proposals for a pay-by-phone mobile system for parking at meters and in city owned lots.

The city says the mobile payment system places the onus of the processing fees to the third-party administrator of the mobile payment system and there would be no extra processing costs to the city.

The mobile payment system will also allow the city to offer increased parking services/functionality to the public such as expiration time notification) at minimal cost.

True costs of such a system would not be fully known until the proposals come into the city.