PAY-ON-FOOT : A PARKING EVOLUTION

Pay on Foot parking collection machines offer numerous advantages. Early versions, starting in the mid-1980s had their drawbacks, such as not accepting credit cards and giving awkward change. Into the early 1990s, there were still problems with their reliability. The systems began to make a comeback in the late 90s and now there is a sufficient number of machine manufacturers with sufficient experience to make them worthwhile investments. Parking operators resisted the machines out of fear their customers would feel they were getting less service if a machine accepted their money, but the prevalence of other automated payment machines has lessened that impact. Credit card acceptance has been growing so quickly that some operators are finding their transactions are 90 percent credit card, prompting them to switch to all-charge operations to reduce risks and costs of cash handling. Key is adequate signage to show customers that they have to pay on foot and how to operate the machines and obtain tickets for validation.