New technology improves accuracy, convenience and efficiency

Originally published in the 4th Quarter 2018 issue of Parker Magazine

In today’s increasingly fast-paced world, more cities are turning to technology-driven solutions to help them manage parking, transit and other forms of mobility in real-time. Leveraging technology can help cities run more efficiently, save money and create a more seamless experience for city employees and citizens.

The City of Windsor saw an opportunity to utilize technology to upgrade its parking system and partnered with Passport to launch a new enforcement platform. The new platform integrates with Passport’s mobile pay platform, which launched in December 2017, providing Windsor a fully-integrated solution for parking management.

The upgraded enforcement system gives the city immediate access to analytics which will provide information on parking trends, identify issues in high-ticket density areas and allow for optimization of its officers’ beats. The real-time functionality allows parking administrators to immediately access information upon ticket issuance through the back office platform. With the Passport enforcement platform, the city has the ability to locate bylaw enforcement officers in real-time, pull ticket density reports and analyze parking patterns to continuously improve parking in the city.

At the same time, bylaw enforcement officers can efficiently issue citations using wireless handheld connected devices and printers, an upgrade from the outdated, docked devices the city was previous using. Officers can also monitor parking, conduct digital chalking and instantly upload pictures of violations. The city expects to write upward of 100,000 parking violations per year with the new system.

The City of Windsor extensively and carefully considered three options for its enforcement operations. Option A: keep the city’s current aging and unsupported parking enforcement provider; Option B: update the city’s enforcement hardware and keep the current provider; Option C: Upgrade to a fully integrated enforcement platform and include a mobile app for payments. Bill Kralovensky, Windsor’s supervisor of parking enforcement, presented to City Council, recommending a cloud-based, real-time platform that would help improve accuracy and compliance.

“The technology enables us to run our operations in real time, in a more efficient and cost-effective way, while also providing a better experience both for our parking enforcement officers as well as our customers,” says Kralovensky.

Passport’s enforcement platform has been certified by and integrated with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), enabling license plate lookups so the city can mail late payment notices.

“The combination of our enforcement platform with our mobile pay solution will provide unmatched solutions for the City of Windsor,” said Conor Kelly, regional sales director at Passport. “Our technology will ensure bylaw enforcement officers are provided the support they need to do their jobs successfully, while real-time data will give administrators the tools they need to make data-driven decisions.”