BUSINESS
ParkMagic rolls out new payment system
09-08-2007
by Charlie Taylor
Irish mobile parking payments firm ParkMagic has developed a new parking payment system using number plate recognition technology.
The firm has teamed up with Euro Car Parks to trial the new system in Steamboat Quay multi-storey car park in its home city of Limerick, with a view to rolling out the technology to 10 other barrier-controlled car parks over the next year. ParkMagic estimates that such a move will yield revenue of around EUR460,000.
Using the new number recognition payment system means that customers will no longer have to bother grabbing tickets and fumbling around for loose change at car park barriers.
Instead, anyone wishing to use the service at barrier-controlled car parks will be asked to register their licence plate beforehand with ParkMagic. A camera on the entry and exit lanes of the car parks will then read the customer's registration plate and lifts the barriers automatically. The hourly parking charge is automatically deducted from the customer's account.
Customers can print off statements online which will allow them to track usage and business users are able to bill the cost of their parking to their expense accounts.
"We are delighted to offer this new service to our customers and our joint venture with Euro Car Parks demonstrates the exciting new possibilities which our parking technology can bring to the market. We are committed to offering convenience and simplicity in terms of service to our customers and are continuously seeking new ways of doing this," said Philip Hayes, chief technical officer of ParkMagic.
The firm's latest announcement comes shortly after it won a major contract to implement a mobile parking payment system for the city of Chicago, which marked a significant breakthrough into the US market.
In June, the company's US subsidiary ParkMagic Mobile Technology beat competition from 13 other firms to win the contract for supplying an in-car parking permit display system that is controlled using a mobile phone. The display unit is placed on the dashboard or windscreen, and users pay for parking over their mobile phone.
ParkMagic claims that its Mobile Parking Service (MPS) is the world's first in-car parking permit display system controlled via handsets. The service is currently available in Limerick City and County and in selected sites in Dublin, Waterford and Cork.
However, ParkMagic is hoping to expand this service to all metropolitan areas in Ireland with the conclusion of an agreement with local authorities which could see the country provided with a standardised parking payment system where the customer can park in every city or town without the need to coin feed meters or waste time looking to buy parking discs.
Founded in 2005 by Philip Hayes and Paul Fitzgerald, ParkMagic opened its first US office in 2006 and a UK office earlier this year.
The company currently employs 15 people but is in the process of doubling its workforce following the Chicago contract win.
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