News

Pre-paid parking kiosks make for fast exit

April 18, 2002

MINNEAPOLIS - Thanks to a new easy-in, easy-out automated payment system, short-term parkers at Minneapolis' airport can bypass tollbooth cashiers.

Electronic payment kiosks are located at all Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's Lindbergh Terminal's exits leading to short-term parking facilities. Drivers insert their parking tickets into the designated slot, pay the amount indicated on the monitor and take the returned ticket after it has been encoded with payment information.

The kiosks accept $1, $5, $10 or $20 bills, $1 coins or major credit cards. Once the ticket is paid, drivers have 15 minutes to exit the short-term parking ramp without incurring additional costs, according to a news release.

Once at the ramp exit plaza, drivers insert their parking tickets into an electronic reader to exit any of the seven lanes. The pre-payment system allows parkers to use any open or closed exit booth, increasing the number of lanes available and shortening the exit time, said Arlie Johnson of the area's Metropolitan Airports Commission.