'Smart' parking meters catching on across U.S.

— -- The brick and cobblestone streets in the historical district of Charleston, S.C., are getting a high-tech touch.

Installation of "smart," card-operated parking meters began last month in the 339-year-old city, says Hernan Peña, director of the Charleston's department of transportation. So far, he says, about 900 of 1,800 planned meters have been installed.

Charleston is one of the latest examples of cities across the USA — including the nation's biggest — converting from drop-in-a-coin-and-twist-the-dial machines to a new generation of meters.

Although some form of the technology has been used outside the USA for about 20 years, and here for at least 10, "it's catching on in more and more cities as aging parking meters need to be replaced and new technology is being introduced," says Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, a non-profit association working to spread the use of smart-card technology.

About 200 people put cash on cards the first three days after the Charleston program was announced, Peña says.

One of them was Diana Shoaf, treasurer at The Citadel military college in Charleston. She says the meters are saving her money on lunchtime stops, because she reinserts her card when she's ready to leave and gets a refund for unused time.

"The nice thing is I don't have to carry change around in the car or in my purse," she says.

The meters — some of which also take coins — include solar-powered devices that take credit or debit cards, meters that can be paid by cellphone, and meters linked by wireless networks that can be remotely controlled and alert officers to parking violations, Vanderhoof says.

Glen Hellman, CEO of Bethesda, Md.-based smart-meter manufacturer IntelliPark, explains that a customer with an account for a controlled-access lot can pull into a spot, call the meter system by cellphone and enter the parking space number and the amount of money for the time they want. Hellman says his single meters sell for about $150 if about 5,000 are purchased.