Inside 43215: Downtown Lifestyles
YOUR METER IS RUNNING away
tick tICK TICK… only moments remain on the parking meters. Yes, time is running out to give the parking meters on Gay Street a whirl. What’s the big deal?
You may have heard that the meters on the stretch between Pearl and Third are accepting credit cards. It’s part of a trial of some very special technology that makes street parking uncommonly convenient.
The fleet of thirty-five meters has a solar powered system that can complete secure transactions with plastic cards. AND, for those who prefer to fumble around for change, the new-fangled meters will take coins as well. AND, these meters electronically notify the city when they’re malfunctioning (unlike the awful ones that steal your quarters).
It’s about as easy as using the card at the grocery store.
But these babies are here on a trial basis only. At the beginning of August, they head back to their manufacturer, IPS Group in California. The city can then officially complete its assessment of their performance.
Let us know your verdict!
Tags: columbus, Downtown Columbus, Parking
July 28th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I love em! I normally bus down to the Gay Street area during the day, but when I absolutely have to drive, the last thing I want to do is dig around for change at home before I leave the house. So much easier to swipe the credit card and be done with it. I hope they passed their trial run and we’re able to get more of them!
July 28th, 2009 at 8:29 am
These meters are fantastic. My only disappointment is that they will be going away for a while – but hopefully not for long. I’d advocate seeing them all over downtown.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:59 am
As a merchant on Gay St. (Sign A Rama), I will be making more change again while these are out. It took a while to educate the public about the availability of the CC option. Most people were completely oblivious to the fact it took cards, then others were really cautious about how they worked – as in where exactly did my info go?
I’m personally a big fan – it was difficult to account for expensing spare change as a cost of business – trust me, it really adds up. Putting that on the card was a big help. When (not if) this concept goes citywide, it will have to be accompanied with a massive public education campaign. They look too much like a traditional meter for most folks to consider them a point-of-sale for a credit card transaction.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I also have found them incredibly convenient, and wish that they could replace all
downtown parking meters.