Now, there are four meters that are being tested in Downtown Orlando on Central Ave by the Orange County Regional History Center. The meters being used for testing don’t accept credit cards and you can’t pay by phone.
Three different companies submitted bids to replace all of the parking meters in downtown.
The City is expected to make a decision soon on which company to go with.
Here’s what you need to know about the new meters:
- Meters can accept payment of not only coins but also credit card and payment via phone
- Meters can send you a notification prior to your meter expiring
- You will be able to add more time to your meter via your phone
- Meters will know if there is someone parked in the spot. This means they can put together a map of available spaces, but it also means they will know the second you run over your meter.
- The City can program the meters to have different rates for holidays or special events.
- The meters could give “courtesy time” once a vehicle pulls up, if they are programmed to do so
- If there is time left on the meter, the meters may or may not be reset to zero when a vehicle pulls out of a spot
Once the meters begin being installed, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Here’s a look at the other two meters being tested:
About time Orlando!!! I’ve used the app in other cities and it’s extremely convenient.
#OYES
Christian Mendoza
I’ve used both and from a user standpoint I’m really indifferent as long as both are smartphone compatible. Whichever is cheaper is fine with me!
From what I can tell from the RFP it looks like they are saving money by using the existing meter bases so install might be less expensive. It will be interesting to see how much each additional meter is.
scottljoseph Actually no more chalk needed…they have vehicle sensors so they will know how long its there…and they probably won’t let you add more than two hours without the car pulling out.
This will be a great improvement over the current system, where you have to go to an office on Central to enroll and to re-up.
The meters may allow you to remotely add more time, but they won’t do anything about that old analog chalk mark the meter readers put on your car’s tire to indicate how long it has been in the space. After the two-hour limit it won’t matter if there’s money in the meter, you’ll be dunned for overstaying.
In Tampa they saved money and space by not having a separate meter at each parking space. They have a smart meter on each block that works for all the spaces in the city. You can also do it on your phone.
Jonathan Kilman
It’s about time! I was shocked when I moved to Orlando that the city didn’t already have smart meters!