What is license plate recognition technology?

License plate recognition parking enforcement technology, also known as LPR parking technology, allows operators to quickly and accurately read vehicle license plates. First, the data is collected using special license plate recognition cameras. Then, when connected to a cloud-based parking enforcement system, this data is processed immediately. The technology can identify whether a parked car has made a payment via digital meter or app or if the driver is a permit holder. License plate recognition (LPR) parking enforcement systems allow officers to scan hundreds of vehicle license plates in a short amount of time. This removes the need for officers to manually input license plate numbers into their devices. LPR digital enforcement can result in significant savings in both time and costs.

Who can use license plate recognition parking enforcement technology?

All parking operators can benefit from license plate recognition technology (LPR) and a digital parking enforcement solution. Municipalities can use LPR to enforce in on-street or off-street environments. Universities and college campuses can use LPR technology to check for digital parking permits in lots or garages. This technology can also be used by private operators, hospitals, corporate campuses and airports. In any environment, a cloud-based, LPR parking enforcement solution can help operators identify non-compliant vehicles, perform digital chalking and more.

The benefits of license plate recognition systems

What are the benefits of license plate recognition parking enforcement systems? 

• LPR streamlines your operations. You can access your parking data anywhere with a cloud-based system.
• Real-time transfer of data: receive constant updates on time-limits, permit or scofflaw violations, between the enforcement vehicle, back office and violator payment portal
• Reliability and transparency: gain extra layers of evidence with digital chalking, photos, time stamps and geo-locations
• Cover 4x more ground: turn the once manual process of chalking cars and issuing citations into a fully digital operation allowing you to enforce more ground than before

How license plate recognition (LPR) parking enforcement works:

Here’s a breakdown of how the LPR system works: 

1. Two highly accurate cameras mount to the top of the enforcement vehicle to scan parked vehicles
2. Computer system processes images and passes through the Passport system
3. The officer monitors various zones and reads license plates through a tablet that houses Passport’s LPR software
4. Violations are pushed through Passport’s handheld enforcement application for issuance
5. The officer can add notes, add photographic evidence, and print and issue the citations
6. All data is transmitted in real time to Passport’s back office where parking administrators can access reports, manage their operations and help their customers 

How the LPR parking system works for officers:

As an officer completes his or her enforcement rounds, data collected syncs into Passport’s back-end system. The back-office admin can review reports for mobile pay parking, digital permits, enforcement, etc. Violation details can be easily accessed by inputting a citation number, license plate, or name.

From there, the admin can access data including offender information, location, appeals, scofflaw, evidence and more. In addition, the solution allows access to unpaid or paid citation reports, chalking reports, resolved appeals, ticket density and much more.

How the LPR parking system works for violators:

When a parker receives a violation, they can self-serve and pay the ticket online. The customer portal connects to the back office, customizable by the city or university identity with colors and logos. Violators can search for the ticket by citation or license plate number. Then, they can pay the citation immediately, request more information, start an appeal, or request a hearing.

Customer Portal

What results can I expect from a LPR parking enforcement system?

Using the Passport cloud-based LPR solution, officers enforce quickly and accurately. The following are case studies of operations made better by license plate recognition parking enforcement by Passport. 

Baylor University

• Increased efficiency
• LPR vehicles patrol 88% of campus parking spaces
• 4x faster enforcement

Eastern Washington

• 25% increase in citation issuance over previous form of enforcement
• $20K increase in revenue due to LPR upgrade

About Passport

Passport is the leading edge provider of parking and transportation solutions. Contact us to schedule a demo.