ParkingMadeEasy.com.au understands the challenges and inconveniences faced by drivers who receive parking tickets, often as a result of the complexities of urban parking. Effective immediately, ParkingMadeEasy.com.au will launch a program for members to win the cost of parking tickets incurred by them called “Parking Fine Protection.” The process is simple: users can submit their parking ticket details through the ParkingMadeEasy.com.au website email address, and the platform will take care of the fine on their behalf.
Mercedes-Benz opened its first charging hub in North America in Metro Atlanta. The opening took place at Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Sandy Springs in November. It marks the beginning of a $1 billion investment from Mercedes-Benz in partnership with MN8 Energy to build out “North America’s fastest electric vehicle (EV) charging network by the end of the decade,” according to the official press release. The investment hopes to see 400 charging stations by 2030.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tiya Gordon of Brooklyn, New York, wanted to buy a car so she could reach family outside the city. She planned to get an electric vehicle but then realized there was no convenient place in her neighborhood to charge it overnight. She says city dwellers should not have to rely on EV chargers installed outside stores and in parking lots miles away. So, Gordon cofounded itselectric, a new business that’s piloting one approach to EV charging in cities. The company designed a simple curbside charger that looks much like a parking meter. It’s designed to connect with adjacent property owners’ electricity service. Those owners earn a percentage of any revenue the charger generates.
A consortium of British companies has secured £1,344,552 in government funding to explore how electricity stored in electric vehicle batteries can be used to smooth out peaks in supply and demand on the UK’s electricity grid. 3ti, the UK’s leading designer, installer, funder and operator of solar car parks, is leading the new project funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, delivered by Innovate UK. The project is setting out to integrate bi-directional DC charging and the associated power management systems into Papilio3, a pop-up solar car park and EV charging hub.
Hectronic is providing payment solutions for the world’s largest EV charging station. The world’s largest charging park is now located in the Swabian Alb: 259 charging points for electric cars haven been put into operation at the park-and-ride area of the Merklingen ICE train station. For the first time, a charging and billing solution has been implemented that complies with the German calibration law and also meets the requirements of the upcoming German charging station ordinance.
Genetec Inc., a provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, today announced a new version of its flagship unified security platform, Security Center. With a shift toward a continuous delivery approach, this version marks a new era in the way customers can stay up to date with the platform’s latest features and updates. “The fast-changing security landscape is driving a requirement for rapid innovation. By adopting a continuous delivery model, we are able to deliver new features and security updates more consistently with less disruption to customers, while maintaining the ambitious scale of our innovation strategy,” explains Christian Morin, Vice President of Product Engineering and Chief Security Officer at Genetec Inc.
The method of parking is changing in downtown Fort Myers with 32 automated stations replacing meters and previously free Zip Zones eliminated. The city has partnered with Flowbird to implement a long-discussed project of bringing the automated parking stations to downtown area. Regular enforcement of the new stations began in December 2023. The new system replaces traditional meters with payments via credit cards and coins accepted. Users may also use a text-to-pay feature and access the payment site by capturing a QR code with their cellphone camera. Parking time can be extended via a mobile device. Users can access the system’s text feature to ensure that they receive a message when time is expiring.
Nick Hutsen has been promoted to Senior Vice President for the Pacific Northwest, ACE Parking. Through Nick’s leadership, the scale of our regional operations has doubled in the last six years. He accomplished this by cultivating relationships, embracing new technologies, and expanding services to include enforcement and shuttle operations. Brian Tarbell has been promoted to Senior Vice President and now oversees ACE’s Enforcement Division in addition to a substantial portfolio of San Diego operations including our nationwide call center. Brian has led his team to expand operations by over 90 percent since 2017 and has been instrumental in bringing new technologies to our payment, enforcement, and call center services. Brad Elsass was promoted to Senior Vice President overseeing the San Diego market and company-wide Strategic Initiatives. Brad has a long history of championing innovative technology solutions that continuously add value for new and existing clients. Chris White was promoted to Regional Director for the Northeast. Having risen through the ranks at ACE from the site level, Chris earned this promotion through hard work and a constant focus on elevating service levels while also leveraging technology to drive operational improvements for prestigious clients like the University of Maryland and the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Henry Hernandez was promoted to Regional Director in recognition of his substantial contributions to ACE’s growth throughout Orange County. Henry is a proven leader who consistently exceeds client and customer expectations. Over the last few years, he has been instrumental in the successful launch of many new operations including the Long Beach Convention Center which has realized improved service and financial results. Mike Gaulin was promoted to Vice President for his leadership in ACE’s expansion of large-scale national event operations, his close attention to building JV/DBE relationships and opportunities, and his dedication to his team members’ development. Mike Wilson was promoted to Regional Director of Operations for his efforts in supporting substantial regional hospitality growth with proactive client engagement and filling new leadership roles through team development and strategic recruiting. Mostafa Tohamy was promoted to Regional Director of Operations because he has developed a successful track record opening new locations and expanded operations into new markets. Raul Galvez was promoted to Regional Director of Operations as he has been instrumental in ACE’s continued growth in the Houston market. Raul has been with ACE for over 14 years, and he has shown outstanding results with expanding services, technologies, and customer experiences to new and existing hotel and commercial operations.
Millennium Parking announced the launch of its revolutionary Sense parking system, specifically tailored for the hotel and tourist center industry. This innovative system is designed to meet the unique needs of these establishments, providing a seamless and adaptable parking experience for guests and visitors. The Sense system boasts several key features, including integration with hotel management systems, room key card access for parking, and portable solutions for valet parking.
The Fengate Asset Management Los Angeles International Airport Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility has been recognized with an Energy and Operational Carbon Design Merit award from the Los Angeles chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. To realize its vision for the project, Los Angeles World Airports coordinated efforts with LAX ConRAC Partners, the project’s design, build, finance, operate and maintain consortium led by Fengate.
Bike Share Pittsburgh (POGOH) is celebrating a year of record high ridership in 2023 with over 200,000 trips since January 1. Ridership numbers in 2023 squashed the previous record set in 2021 of 124,211 rides, which was also the peak of the former Healthy Ride system’s network of 115 stations. POGOH expanded by 22 stations in June of 2023, and currently operates 60 stations and 600 bikes across the City of Pittsburgh. More than half of its bike fleet are electric-assist bikes.
Bluefin, the integrated payments pioneer in PCI-validated encryption and tokenization services that protect payments and sensitive data, today announced a global agreement with Scheidt & Bachmann Fare Collection Systems GmbH, a provider of system solutions that make using public transport easy. “The collaboration among the teams from both organizations was outstanding as we were successful in meeting timelines for migration” Scheidt & Bachmann has integrated the Bluefin PCI P2PE solution based on Decryptx as an option into its payment processing software platform which allows Scheidt & Bachmann to offer PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE) solutions directly to their clients.
Joanna M. Pinkerton, president/CEO of Central Ohio Transit Authority, is to chair ITS America in 2024. She is one of a raft of elected officers certified this week by ITS America’s board of directors. The officers come from mobility, technology and ITS – in both public and private sectors – and their role is to set policy and strategic direction for the association. “We are proud to announce this strong slate of leaders who will be joining us at a pivotal time as we increasingly invest in digital solutions to modernize our transportation system across modes,” said ITS America president & CEO Laura Chace.
TKH Security (formerly Park Assist) is excited to share the news of its recent partnership with the City of Aspen for its Rio Grande Parking Plaza in Aspen, Colorado. Central to this collaboration is the implementation of a cutting-edge Automated Parking Guidance System, marking an advancement in parking efficiency and convenience for the City of Aspen. The installation commenced in December 2023, with completion slated for early 2024. Surrounded by four monumental ski areas, Aspen is a premier ski resort town and year-round outdoor recreation destination.
Coast to Coast Experiences, determined to electrify its fleet in North America, introduced Canada’s first Vehicle-to-Grid pilot project for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, demonstrating the very first bidirectional electric vehicle charging hub in British Columbia. Working with BC Hydro, The Lion Electric Company, BorgWarner, Powertech Labs and Fermata Energy, CTCE is creating the first rapid, deployable, end-to-end V2G mobile power infrastructure in Canada, enabling stored energy from CTCE’s electric bus fleet to support power grids, such as BC Hydro peaking and demand response initiatives.
