News

City of Reno takes revenue hit from parking kiosk glitches

August 13, 2012

A year after installing electronic parking kiosks on public streets, the city of Reno, Nev., has lost about $300,000 in revenue, an article in the Reno Gazette-Journal reported. Technology glitches like blank screens and unresponsive keypads led to the dramatic drop in the parking system's financial intake.

In a records request to the city of Reno, reporters discovered stark contrasts in ticketing and revenue between fiscal year 2011, the year before the kiosks were deployed, and 2012.

In 2012, Reno dismissed 536 tickets due to kiosk malfunctioning, while only five were dismissed in 2011. The total number of tickets issued fell from 16,305 in 2011 to 9,888 in 2012. Consequently, the revenue from the parking system fell by 31 percent, going from $1 million in 2011 to $753,215 in 2012, according to the article.

Kane Dutt, CEO of Curb System, the manufacturer of the kiosks, said the problems stem from the old electrical infrastructure in downtown Reno, which caused electrical spikes that were not foreseen during production of the kiosks. Crews must rewire the digital boxes to a better power source, as well as complete the installation of sensors that will detect when a car is parked in an unpaid spot—a critical tool for the enforcement of parking rules.

The city council said it may consider other options if Curb System fails to remedy the glitches.

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