News

Montreal parking meters go high-tech

December 29, 2004

Globeandmail.com: That mad dash back to the car to feed the parking meter could soon be unnecessary in downtown Montreal. The city is installing a network of electronic meters -- a system that promises to make paying for a spot so painless people will even be able to do it far from where they left their vehicle.

"Nobody likes to pay for parking," says Isabelle Bettez, president and chief executive officer of 8D Technologies Inc., the Quebec company behind the city's new automated parking management system. "But since you have to pay, you might as well make it easy as possible."

Here's how it works: Drivers use cash or a credit card at a kiosk or "smart meter" located on each street to pay for the numbered spot where their vehicle is parked. They don't have to put a receipt on the dashboard, because paid parking spots are tracked electronically.

When drivers want to renew a spot, they simply pay again for that numbered space at any of the new kiosks anywhere in the city.

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