Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

Getting the price of on-street parking right is important for commercial areas in cities. Setting prices to ensure that about one space per block remains open reduces double-parking, cuts down on unnecessary traffic, and can speed up buses as a result.

You're going to change for parking? Good! What's the right equipment? Photo: Wikimedia Commons
You're going to change for parking? Good! What's the right equipment? Photo: Wikimedia Commons
You're going to change for parking? Good! What's the right equipment? Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Putting the right price on parking isn't always popular, but by choosing good systems and technology to manage curbside spaces, cities can make it easier for motorists. Paul Barter at Reinventing Parking has written a handy guide to 18 different types of on-street parking management, from very low-tech cash payment to state-of-the-art GPS-based systems.

He concludes that the best systems are digital and track payment via license plates or vehicle registration numbers, as opposed to the physical space the car occupies. Of those, he highlights these four options as the best for cities today -- read the whole post for a detailed look at how these systems work:

The digital pay-by-plate options seem to do best to maximize parking-management effectiveness and minimize the pain.

They score highly on most of the key criteria mentioned earlier, especially high convenience for users, easy price adjustment, data stream, low-cost integration with enforcement, low transaction costs, suitability for motorcycles, and ability to integrate with permits and special discounts.

This means that any city tackling this issue afresh today should probably focus on these options (in pay-by-plate mode): 12: Smart (digital) multi-space meters with Pay-by-License-Plate15: Pay-by-smart-phone-app16: In-vehicle meters, or17: Global Positioning System (GPS)-based in-vehicle metersor some combination of 2 or more of these (including all of them together).

In addition, if your city does not already have parking meters, then seriously consider skipping in-street meters completely and just use the mobile options (15, 16 and/or 17)!. These mobile phone and in-vehicle meter options have very low capital costs. But be careful to keep transaction costs down (via mobile wallets for example). For example, in Tel Aviv the only options to pay for on-street parking are pay-by-phone (two companies) and in-vehicle meter (one company).

What do you think about on-street parking payment mechanisms? And could more places skip the parking meter altogether and just use mobile payment options?

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater Greater Washington shares details from WMATA's plan to restore trust in the agency. The Wash Cycle corrects a conservative writer who said D.C.'s bike-share program should be drained along with the rest of the Washington swamp. And The Overhead Wire reviews what we know about Trump's pick for transportation secretary, Elaine Chao.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Have Unintended Consequences

President Trump's tariffs are pushing people to buy smaller cars or forgo driving altogether in favor of transit.

May 6, 2025

Where Does ‘Motonormativity’ Come From — And Which Country Has It Worst? 

A new study explores how "motonormativity" shows up in the US, UK, and (yes) even in the Netherlands — and where we should apply pressure if we want to change our unspoken attitudes about how we move.

May 6, 2025

Elon Musk Is Hiring the Same Lobbying Firms That Represent Your Transit Agency

Weak ethics laws allow dozens of lobbying firms to work for both Elon Musk's companies and the cities, transit agencies, and climate philanthropies he and DOGE are attacking — and some advocates think it's time for them to pick a side.

May 5, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Keep Us Divided

Physically divided — remember the Biden administration's efforts, insufficient as they were, to reconnect communities divided by Urban Renewal highways? Republicans are trying to get rid of all that.

May 5, 2025
See all posts