Hoboken is a New Jersey city which butts up against Manhattan – it occupies only one square mile, but every year, more than one million motorists use Hoboken to park their cars in – a huge headache for the city and for parking enforcement.  Using traditional parking enforcement techniques such as paper or plastic based parking permits, parking meters and exclusion zones required a huge amount of manpower to enforce and falsifying documents was rife.  Enforcement was further complicated by the limited practicality of taking abusers to court and the legality of impounding illegally parked cars or indeed, cars which had a permit but which was not properly displayed.

In short, Hoboken needed a parking enforcement solution which would definitively identify those vehicles which could be legally parked in a spot and which were undeniably, illegally parked.

The solution was to implement RFID tags into the parking permits issued by the city.  RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, and relies on the tag emitting a radio signal which in turn can be read by a “reader” used by the enforcement officer.  This process takes seconds and the information is instantly conveyed to the parking officer.  There is no need to check where a permit is located as the radio signal is emitted from the permit through the vehicle.  No radio signal means there is no parking permit and the vehicle is illegally parked, allowing a ticket to be issued.

The RFID parking permit also delivers numerous other benefits and advantages over the old system too.  Hoboken residents with a vehicle can now apply for a permit online or by using the telephone service, and overall, it is much easier to get a parking permit which saves the customer time but also saves the city time and money in processing the application and receiving payment for the permit.  This serves to maximize revenues to the city but at the same time, reduces the cost of acquiring these revenues.

RFID parking permits are extremely difficult to counterfeit – this means that fake permits are no longer such a problem in terms of lost revenues to the city and increased costs associated with the enforcement of the parking regulations.  Stolen parking permits were also a significant problem, accounting for a large number of vehicle break-ins and contributing to the crime levels experienced in the area.  As the RFID tag contains vehicle information which not only identifies who can park but which vehicle can be used, the RFID tags are not transferable and have no value to a thief or an unscrupulous motorist.

The RFID tag contains the make and model of the vehicle, the color, the driver’s license information as well as the vehicle identification and license plate number.  This makes identification of a specific vehicle simple and definitive and the reader which is used to identify the signal can readily display the information to the parking enforcement officer.

The cost of implementing the system was a mere $50,000 for the RFID tags and the reading equipment, and yet the benefits of the system have already delivered in the region of $8 million in increased revenues and reduced costs.

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Humble parking permits rarely make the news but you may be surprised at how politically charged the issue of parking and the prospective regulation of where you can park your car on a weekday or weekend becomes.

Albany in upstate New York is a great example of how parking laws which may seem so simple on the face of it, can divide a city and destroy political alliances as well as several careers.

Albany has become a bustling minor city with several parking issues to contend with.  It is not simply the issue of where can you park without getting a ticket, but who can park in your neighborhood without detracting from the area where you live!

Albany had a serious issue with people commuting into the city both to work there and as a transit point for other destinations because of the established rail center, airport and jumping off point for Canada to the north and New York City to the south.  Many commuters were parking in neighborhoods which simply didn’t want them there but unless the city made the act illegal, there was nothing unlawful about parking in front of someone’s house and blocking their drive!

Several incidents served to underline the point when in 1996, one irritated homeowner commandeered a wrecking truck and proceeded to haul away several cars parked outside his home.  Tempers flared when car owners returned to find their vehicles had been “stolen”, and violence erupted when it became clear the homeowner had hauled the cars away.

In 2004, an effort to impose a parking law which the state legislature approved of but which the city council didn’t want because it was not broad enough to be effective failed to be approved.  The ensuing political machinations would have done credit to Machiavelli, the scheming Italian politician.  Two major unions in the area, several political figures and bi-partisan grass roots movements on both sides of the parking divide came head to head.

The collision was as thunderous as any rear-ender!

Today, Albany still does not have a parking permit system despite more than 20 years of political bickering.

Parking issues dominate local elections and politics because they are emotive – people don’t want strangers using their neighborhood as a car lot, while commuters consider they already have a hard enough job getting to and from work and should not be treated unfairly.  Drivers of any denomination consider the issuance of parking fines to be just another form of raising revenue for the city or local government.

The key to effective parking regulation is to provide a fair and clear set of standards.  Parking permits are an ideal way of demonstrating just who, and when a vehicle can be parked in an area.   They provide a cheap form of regulation of parking but the crux of the underlying issue must be that parking regulations are imposed which are clearly in everyone’s interests.  It is not sufficient to simply proclaim a road or area a “No Parking Zone”; people need to use their vehicles and to be able to park when they are working or commuting, but as Albany demonstrates, getting a consensus is one heck of job requiring more than the wisdom of Solomon.

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I’ve started a new job and they made me get a parking permit. A parking permit? How official! I guess every company has its own procedures. My Human Resources Manager asked me to keep note of my feelings about having a parking permit over the next two weeks and to report back. So I’ll share them with you.

Day 1, Week 1: Entering the Building They Know Who You Are

What a great feeling to work in a large company but to have the security office know who I am as I enter the company grounds. I was nervous for my first day, wondering how things would be. But the security manager smiled and said, “Welcome Mr. Clark.” I just felt better and more at home right at once. I know I’m going to like it here.

Day 3, Week 1: Left My Lights On

Today we’ve had a thunderstorm and I left the lights on my car. This could have been a real hassle at the end of the day, with me calling for a jump from an auto shop at the end of the day and waiting at least an hour for them to show up. But instead, I got a call from the security desk about twenty minutes into my day that my lights were on. I went down to my car and turned them off. Security suggested I check the battery at lunch to be sure it works. They said they can call the auto shop for me then if it doesn’t so I wont miss any time from work calling an auto shop at the end of the day. How convenient!

Day 4, Week 1: Came to Work Early Today

I lost a little time yesterday dealing with my lights so I came to work early today to catch up on everything. Security was there in their station, greeting me by name. I was one of the first cars on the grounds. In some ways I was glad they were there so I wasn’t there by myself. It’s a new place to me and being somewhere unfamiliar is a bit intimidating. The security guard also told me that security keeps early employees or late employees safe, especially if they are working alone. That they know who is working often by checking your parking permit. And they’ll check on someone if they see my car there but I haven’t come out in awhile. This is a great place.

Day 1, Week 2: Human Resources Confirmed My Emergency Contacts

Today I got a call from Human Resources. I didn’t fill out completely my emergency contacts for my parking permit. You need to put down at least one emergency contact for your parking permit and I didn’t give them a telephone number. So I went down to their department and filled that out. At first I thought these parking permits were a little silly and kind of a hassle but now I realize my company is looking out for me. If anything happens to me, they’ll always have my emergency contact information handy and be able to help me. This is much better than working for a company that doesn’t have parking permits.

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So you’re starting your own company? Congratulations! If you’re starting your own company then you’ve got a lot to handle. Well we’re going to add one more thing to your plate: parking labels. Parking labels for your employees are very important. For safety and morale – parking labels are quite useful. Let’s talk about how you can use parking labels to motivate and keep employees happy.

What does it mean when you have a parking label? It means you have a specific place to park your car. Whether this means a certain parking spot or a parking lot where you can choose your own spot, this is a great perk to offer your employees. And it is one that many potential employees look for. Let’s face it: finding a parking spot in the mornings can be a real hassle. The simple fact that you offer parking labels and a place to park can be seen as a great benefit to any potential employee. So while it may take a little paperwork and cost on your part, offering parking permits pays off in the long run in many ways.

Parking labels help many employees feel safe in the workplace. At many offices when you have a parking label, there is a security office that checks your parking label as you come in and as you leave. This means someone always knows who is in the building or office. If you work earlier or later than others, this can make you feel quite safe. It’s a good feeling to know there is security staff aware of who else is in the building. If you are a hardworking person, this is a great convenience.

A parking label can also mean that security keeps an eye on cars during the day. If they notice someone has a flat tire during the day, they can check the information on their security tag and find out what department they work in and contact them. Then security can help them get the tire fixed by calling a local garage, all while the person doesn’t miss work. Just imagine how much easier this is than coming out at the end of the day to a flat tire. Or how much harder security would have to work to help someone if the cars did not have parking labels – and they weren’t sure whose car it was.

In setting up parking labels with your company you want to create a system. Probably the best thing to do is to give them out right when people are hired. This way you can ask for their information as they are in orientation – instead of waiting awhile. Many parking labels have a photo of the person, their license plate #, make of car and other contact information. Most companies renew parking labels every few months – this also makes sure you have updated department and contact information.

Parking labels are a great way to boost morale and to keep your employees happy. Most employees prefer to have parking labels when asked their choice. It’s an easy program to implement. Start parking labels at your company today!

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