Los Angeles recently overhauled its entire fleet of 35,000 parking meters, chucking the coin-operated models for smart meters that take credit cards.
Sacramento is about to follow suit. Once that happens, city officials expect to collect 22 percent more money from eager parkers.
A San Diego company is responsible for both of these cities’ revamps. IPS Group was supposed to do the same for its home base metropolis, but that deal, more than a year in the making, just fell through. When Voice of San Diego’s Scott Lewis investigated, city officials would only say it was a “personnel matter.” Now they’ll start the process all over again.
READ MORE: Parking-Meter Deal Aborted to Ensure ‘Squeaky Clean’ Integrity, Says City COO
In this edition of San Diego Explained, Lewis and NBC7’s Catherine Garcia break down the benefits of smart meters, and what we know about the botched deal.