The WPA recently implemented T2 Systems parking management software,T2 Flex, to automate the city's parking system, and control permits and tickets in a wireless environment -- all from a unified database.
WPA is using 50 new TDS Recon 200 handhelds with real-time wireless communications as part of its new system. The handheld ticketwriters are fully integrated with T2 Flex, allowing field officers to lookup relevant data and write citations; with the citation information being immediately available.
"Integrating a wireless network into handheld ticketwriting technology allows our field officers to have the right information in front of them whenever they need it. We can now perform permit searches from the field," said David Hill, Chief Operating Officer, WPA.
According to Hill, WPA trained 12 people with no prior experience in just two weeks.
WPA has become much more customer-centric since using T2 Flex because ticket collections are no longer handled on a "per ticket basis."
According to Hill, "Little was known about the offender before. But since using T2 Flex, we can view an account at a glance and see a person's entire history of paid or unpaid tickets from the office and from the field. It allows us to be more lenient with good customers who have a history of paying their tickets, and concentrate more time on modifying the behaviors of frequent offenders."
Additionally, changes to the parking enforcement system have led to increases in revenue. Since importing all of the data into T2 Flex, WPA was able to generate statements for 81,000 unpaid citations. In two weeks, WPA had closed on more than 4,000 outstanding accounts. To date, WPA has collected on more than $500,000. It will continue to send invoices each month until fees have been paid, which is estimated to take about a year.
