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IPMI & Member News

Member News: Conduent Seamless® Transportation System Now Allows Passengers in France’s Tours Métropole Urban Area to Use Their Smartphone for Contactless Payments

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Conduent Seamless® Transportation System Now Allows Passengers in France’s Tours Métropole Urban Area to Use Their Smartphone for Contactless Payments

GUILHERAND-GRANGES, France and FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Dec. 14, 2020 — Conduent Transportation, a unit of business process services and solutions company Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT), today announced the successful implementation and rollout of the Conduent Seamless ® Transportation System across the 200 buses and 21 trams in Tours Métropole’s Fil Bleu public transport network.

Leveraging this system, the residents of the Tours metropolitan area can now access buses and trams using their smartphone for contactless payments. Given current health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless payments have an added benefit of limiting contact between drivers and passengers.

How the system works
Conduent has installed Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags on Fil Bleu’s buses and trams. The user downloads the Seamless ® Transportation System app onto their NFC (for Android) or BLE (for iOS) enabled smartphone and registers to activate their account. To travel, they simply present their smartphone at any tag. The tag then creates and stores an encrypted transaction and relays it to the smartphone.

The solution is universal. It is designed independently of SIM cards and compatible with all mobile phone operators. It can be installed quickly and uses encryption technology and other security protocols to ensure data privacy and security.

“The Fil Bleu public transportation network carries nearly 40 million travelers every year. Thanks to the Seamless ® Transportation System, we can enhance the passenger experience by making onboard payments easier and faster,” said Loïc Latour, Director of Passenger Mobility at Fil Bleu. “The system’s interoperability and compatibility with other transit systems in France using the Seamless ® Transportation System is an additional significant benefit to the riders of Fil Bleu.”

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below:

Seven urban areas in France use the Seamless ® Transportation System
In addition to the Tours Métropole Fil Bleu bus and tram service, passengers have access to the Blois urban community transit network, Agglopolys.

The Tours Métropole implementation is the most recent application of the Seamless ® Transportation System in France. This year, the system has also been introduced in the Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée and the Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole urban communities. Combined, 1.5 million residents in seven urban areas across France can access their transportation systems using the Seamless ® Transportation System.

“Across France and the rest of Europe, transportation systems are looking to modernize their ticketing systems so that passengers can access the systems quickly, easily and safely,” said Jean-Charles Zaia, General Manager, Public Transit at Conduent Transportation. “Fil Bleu was up and running very quickly due to Conduent’s technologically advanced and easily installed system. Once a passenger has the app, they can leverage any transportation network in France that uses the growing Seamless ® Transportation System.”

Conduent Transportation is a leading provider of automated and analytics-based transportation solutions for government agencies. These solutions, spanning road usage charging, parking and curbside management, and advanced transit and public safety systems, enable streamlined and personalized services for citizens and travelers who use them. The company has been helping transportation clients for more than 50 years and operates in more than 20 countries.

About Conduent
Conduent delivers mission-critical services and solutions on behalf of businesses and governments – creating exceptional outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. Through our dedicated people, process and technology, Conduent solutions and services automate workflows, improve efficiencies, reduce costs and enable revenue growth. It’s why most Fortune 100 companies and over 500 government entities depend on Conduent every day to manage their essential interactions and move their operations forward.

Conduent’s differentiated services and solutions improve experiences for millions of people every day, including two-thirds of all insured patients in the U.S., 10 million employees who use its HR Services, and nearly 18 million benefit recipients. Conduent’s solutions deliver exceptional outcomes for its clients, including $17 billion in savings from medical bill review, up to 40% efficiency increase in HR operations, up to 27% reduction in government benefits costs, up to 40% improvement in finance, accounting and procurement expense, and improved customer service interaction times by up to 20% with higher end-user satisfaction. Learn more at www.conduent.com .

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Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security, Technology

Member News: Colorado Springs Partners with ParkMobile for Contactless Parking Payments

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ParkMobile - New LogoResidents and visitors to Colorado Springs will have the option to pay for parking on their mobile device without touching the meter

Colorado Springs, CO  – The City of Colorado Springs Parking Enterprise and ParkMobile have announced a new partnership to provide contactless payments via mobile app at approximately 2,400 metered parking spaces throughout the City of Colorado Springs.

“The City of Colorado Springs is happy to introduce contactless parking payments with the ParkMobile app,” said Parking Enterprise Director, Scott Lee. “We are committed to ensuring the health and safety of our residents and visitors. A mobile app for parking payments reduces the need for people to touch the meters and potentially spread germs.”

ParkMobile stickers and signs will be installed in Downtown Colorado Springs and Old Colorado City beginning the last week of May. The app will go live June 1, 2020, when the City’s Parking Enterprise begins parking enforcement again after limiting enforcement of meters for several weeks during the COVID-19 closures.

“As businesses reopen Downtown, metered parking spots are in demand again. For a few years, Downtown Partnership has advocated for innovative, touch-free technology that allows shoppers and diners the convenience of paying and extending parking times remotely. This is a great convenience for Downtown patrons,” said Susan Edmondson, President and CEO of Downtown Partnership.

The ParkMobile App is a free download available for both iPhone and Android devices. To pay for parking with the app, a user enters the zone number posted on stickers and signs around the meter, selects the amount of time needed, and touches the “Start Parking” button to begin the session. The user can also extend the time of the parking session on their mobile device, without having to go back to the meter. Meters will still have the option to pay by card or coin in addition to the app.

Later this year, the ParkMobile app will introduce an innovative new feature for Colorado Springs that will show where available parking spots are in the city based on real-time sensor data. This will help drivers avoid the areas with no available parking and navigate directly to the streets with open spots, saving time and frustration while reducing congestion.

ParkMobile has a large and growing audience in Colorado, with over 650,000 users in the state. The app is currently available in Denver, Boulder, Winter Park, Telluride, Manitou Springs, and Steamboat Springs. Additionally, the app can be used at the University of Denver, and the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses. Beyond the state of Colorado, the app can be used to pay for parking in over 400 cities across the United States.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the City of Colorado Springs,” says Jon Ziglar, CEO of ParkMobile. “We have a large and growing base of users in Colorado that can now avoid touching the meter and use the app to pay for parking wherever they go in the state.”

 

 

About ParkMobile

ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, helping millions of people easily find, reserve, and pay for parking on their mobile device. The company’s technology is used in thousands of locations across the country, including 8 of the top 10 cities as well as college campuses, airports, and stadiums. People can use ParkMobile solutions to quickly pay for on-street and off-street parking without having to use a meter or kiosk. Additionally, ParkMobile offers parking reservations at stadium venues for concerts and sporting events. Reservations are also available in metro area garages, allowing people to drive into the city without having to worry about finding parking. ParkMobile has been named to the Inc. 5000, Deloitte Fast 500, Smart Cities Connect “Smart 50,” and the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Top Workplaces. Additionally, the company won the 2020 Stevie Awards for Product Innovation. For more information, visit ParkMobile.io or @ParkMobile on Twitter.

ParkMobile Contact: Jeff Perkins, CMO, jeff.perkins@parkmobile.io

City of Colorado Springs: Skyler Leonard, PIO, Skyler.leonard@coloradosprings.gov

 

 

 

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: What Automatic Access Control Systems Can do for Car Parks in This New Reality

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Quercus Tech ACS

 

May 21, 2020

Interaction is natural and it is an inherent need of every human being. Nevertheless, latest technologies lead to avoiding human contact and simplifying lives thanks to automation. This path to the future based on avoiding interaction has been accelerated by the Covid19 situation. Considering the trend of increasing use of private transport, now it’s the best time for parking. More than ever it is mandatory to decrease or eliminate the physical contact points inside the premises.

PRESS RELEASE

How can LPR cameras like Quercus Technologies’ help prevent the virus spread at entries and exits of a car park? Quite simple. The less we poke around, the less chances for it to spread

In everyday life drivers who park in a car park have to interact with different devices in the process. It seems unavoidable to use things such as ticket dispensers, payment machines, cash or vouchers… And it’s been confirmed that the virus can stand on surfaces for long.

The major issue lies with the use of the ticket dispensers at the entry and exit; the best option to avoid this contact point is to simply go in and out without using a ticket. Technology built in SmartLPR Access cameras integrated with access control systems allows to automate entries and exits of the parking facilities. When drivers arrive at the parking premises, their vehicle’s license plate is recognized and registered and the barrier rises up automatically. This ticketless feature is widely used for car park monthly subscribers because it grants them a “hands free” access; bear in mind that this can also be used when creating registration lists for employees or regular customers with benefits.

If prepaid ticketless operation is not available, another physical interaction will be held at the payment stations. Don’t worry though, there are options that will allow you to minimize this such as using QR codes that make paper tickets readable at short distance away from the payment device. QR codes combined with the fact that most of the patrons will likely use a credit card will reduce the amount of user input.

Quercus Technologies ACS

To facilitate the previous process even more, some banks have taken the temporary measure to increase the contactless payment security limits. This will ensure that most of your daily parking fees can be paid without entering PIN and therefore making the payment a zero contact process.

Otherwise, if you want to avoid cash or credit payments altogether you can opt to integrate the LPR cameras and Access Control System into a mobile app. By using a mobile platform parkers will use their devices to pay using their licence plate or a pre-registered account as identification. This way they will be paying without touching any local device.

Last but not least, when users drive to the exit Quercus Technologies’ units will once more read their plate number, allowing them to verify if the user has already paid in order to automatically let them out. Every contact point can be easily removed with the combination of License Plate Recognition cameras and an adequate Parking Access and Revenue Control set-up.

LPR technology is not a one day work, it requires several years of experience.

Quercus Technologies has been developing LPR cameras for more than two decades now. SmartLPR Access is the latest generation of License Plate Recognition units designed to contribute to security and smart mobility in car parks and access controls. A single device integrates all what is needed to provide the highest reliability worldwide.

For more information please contact:
Marketing Department
marketing@quercus.biz

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: Borough of Belmar, New Jersey, Bringing contactless payments to beachfront parking with ParkMobile

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ParkMobile new logoParkMobile app will allow users to pay for parking on their mobile device.

ParkMobile, the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in the United States, has partnered with the Borough of Belmar, New Jersey, to allow residents and visitors to pay for parking through their mobile devices. The ParkMobile app will be available at approximately 400 spaces along the town’s beachfront area starting May 8th, 2020. With the recent COVID-19 crisis, many city leaders are encouraging residents to use the app to prevent the spread of the virus.

ParkMobile is a free app available for both iPhone and Android devices. To pay for parking with the app, a user enters the zone number posted on nearby signs, selects the amount of time needed and touches the “Start Parking” button to begin the session. The user can also extend the time of the parking session on their mobile device. In addition, the user can dial 877-727-5304 to initiate a payment. Beyond Belmar, the app can be used to pay for parking in over 400 cities across the United States.

ParkMobile has a large and growing audience in the state of New Jersey and in the Tri-State Area. There are almost 1.3 million users of the app across the state including Jersey City, Hoboken, New Brunswick, Asbury Park, Ocean City, Wildwood and more. ParkMobile can also be used to make parking reservations for concerts and sporting events at Prudential Center in Newark. Beyond New Jersey, the app can be used in cities along the Northeast corridor from Washington, DC to Philadelphia to New York City.

“The Borough of Belmar wants to ensure the safety of visitors and residents,” says Mayor Mark Walsifer. “By partnering with ParkMobile to offer contactless parking payments, we are working to provide our community with a smart mobility option for anyone looking to spend time at the beach.”

“We’re excited to bring contactless parking payments to Belmar,” says Jon Ziglar, CEO of ParkMobile. “We have thousands of ParkMobile users in the local area who will now be able to pay for parking on their mobile devices without the concern of spreading COVID-19.”

For more visit https://parkmobile.io/.

 

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: Flowbird Uses Advanced Technology To Limit Contact During Transactions

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May 6th, 2020

Company focuses on reducing germ spread while supporting city financial health

Moorestown, NJ – Flowbird Group has announced recent developments that limit the amount of physical interaction with its parking kiosks and an alternative to avoid the kiosks altogether. The leader in curbside management, having been involved in downtown commerce for over 50 years, plays a critical role in urban mobility. The company’s solutions have helped cities worldwide collect vital revenue that is reinvested to provide invaluable services to the community. During this global pandemic, the physical and financial health of cities are being threatened, leading Flowbird to respond to the call.

One such feature is Flowbird’s latest release of pay station software called, “recall”, which is now available on the CWT smart parking kiosk.  How does it work? The recall feature makes a ‘token’ from the credit card used the first time a driver makes a transaction at a kiosk. The next time they return and swipe their card, the kiosk will suggest the same license plate number and phone number for text receipts. This limits the amount of physical interaction when entering their license plate number for pay-by-plate transactions, or entering their phone number for time expiration reminders and receipts. The recall function is an optional feature that the City operator can choose to enable on their kiosks.

While credit card use at Flowbird kiosks remain high and contactless payments rise in popularity, Flowbird reminds and encourages drivers to use ‘tap-to-pay’ methods whenever possible. Several Flowbird clients are in the final phases of launching contactless/NFC payments, including the ability to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and credit cards with the NFC symbol.  This method of payment eliminates another touchpoint at the kiosk.

For users who are not quite ready to interact with pay stations or meters, Flowbird continues to provide and make advances to its Flowbird mobile payment application. The latest release of the app was recently launched at the end of April, giving drivers the option to search, filter, book and pay for a parking reservation before they even leave their home.  This gives motorists a completely contactless parking experience.

“Our number one concern will always be our customers and their safety,” said Benoit Reliquet, President of Flowbird, North America, “Over the last several months, we have also seen city revenues dropping tremendously, so it is important that we offer as many ways as possible for cities to continue to collect parking fees while ensuring the health and wellbeing of its citizens.”

Currently, Flowbird supports over 40,000 parking pay stations for over 600 customers throughout the U.S.  Their mobile apps have been deployed in over 600 municipalities and universities around the world including 100 locations in the United States, with over 1.5 million mobile users globally.

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Flowbird US Media Contact
Sean Renn – Vice President of Marketing & Communications
856-220-1577
sean.renn@flowbird.group
www.flowbird.group

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: NYC DOT Announces New Effort to Encourage Contactless Payments for City Parking Meters

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April 21, 2020
With COVID-19 concerns, drivers will have a new pay-as-you-go option via ParkMobile smartphone app
Today, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a new effort to discourage cash payments at the City’s parking meters and encourage contactless parking payment by smartphone. The Pay-By-Cell option protects the safety of both DOT’s workforce and the public by reducing physical interactions with the City’s 14,000 meters.
Two different apps are now available for download to pay for parking at 80,000 metered spots across New York City:

  • ParkNYC: Launched in December 2016 and available for free download in the Apple Store or Google Play, ParkNYC allows account holders to pay for parking at any metered parking space on a new pay-as-you-go basis with no additional fees after loading an initial $25 wallet balance. The popular app was used for more than 22 million parking transactions last year.

  • ParkMobile: To enhance the Pay-by-Cell program and encourage contactless transactions, DOT is now temporarily offering the option to use the nationwide ParkMobile app for single transactions, for a 15-cent per transaction fee. While meters will continue to accept coins and credit cards, we encourage all customers to consider their own safety and the safety of our workers — and opt for mobile payments. The app accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.

 “DOT is asking all New Yorkers who can to switch to Pay-By-Cell, which will reduce the need for physical cash transactions at our 14,000 parking meters.  Contactless Pay-By-Cell reduces exposure risk for the public and our workforce,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “Please help us reduce the need to physically service parking meters and collect, sanitize and securely store cash during this crisis.”
New York City’s parking meters remain in effect to encourage curb turnover, which supports deliveries and essential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies and medical providers.  The availability of parking meters also discourages double parking, which enhances safety.  Zone numbers on Muni-Meter decals and under parking signage will work in both apps. DOT encourages all New Yorkers who do not need to travel to stay home to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and expresses its greatest thanks to its own employees — and all other essential workers — for their continued work keeping the city running safely.
About ParkMobile:
ParkMobile, LLC is the leading provider of smart parking and mobility solutions in North America, helping millions of people easily find, reserve, and pay for parking from their mobile devices. The company’s technology is used in thousands of locations across the country, including 7 of the top 10 cities as well as college campuses, airports, and stadiums. People can use ParkMobile solutions to quickly pay for on-street and off-street parking without having to use a meter or kiosk.

 

DOT: Scott Gastel/Alana Morales (212) 839-4850
ParkMobile: Jeff Perkins (404) 219-4720, jeff.perkins@parkmobile.io

CONTACT:
Patrick Christman
617.834.6877
PatrickChristman@arpr.com

IPMI & Member News, Resources, Safety & Security, Transportation & Mobility

Member News: Is COVID-19 the Tipping Point for Contactless Payments?

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Contactless infrastructure has been in place for years but consumer behaviour hasn’t yet embraced this technology at a large scale. Are the tides about to change?

April 3, 2020

Screen-Shot-2020-04-02-Honk mobile postThe climate around coronavirus has drawn particularly close attention to the safety and cleanliness associated with both cash and the high-touch payment technology that we use everyday – from ATM’s to parking pay stations to retail pin pads to name but a few. These simple conveniences of modern day life will need to be re-examined in a post COVID-19 world.

Let’s take a closer look…

Bills typically stay in circulation between 5 to 15 years and are the perfect environment for microbes to settle. The dirtiness of banknotes is far from a new phenomenon – in a 2014 study (the Dirty Money Project), biology professor Jane Carlton found that US bills carried more than 3,000 types of bacteria. A separate US Air Force study found that 94% of banknotes collected in Ohio were infected with pathogens including E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus.

While health and safety around cash-handling isn’t new, government bodies’ hypersensitivity towards cash-handling and the strong measures they are taking to alleviate the possibility of banknotes transmitting the coronavirus certainly is. Some examples: China is disinfecting and locking away used banknotes, while the Bank of Korea is heating banknotes, and in some cases, burning the bills. In addition, the Bank of Korea will no longer handle the exchange of coins and banknotes that have been introduced from abroad.

Another powerful recommendation to move away from cash comes from the World Health Organization, which has urged the population to avoid cash and to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of the transmission of COVID-19.

Banks worldwide are also taking measures amidst the COVID-19 outbreak that have a direct impact on consumer purchasing behaviour. Dutch banks are raising contactless limits as one measure to deter the spread of COVID-19 – the limit for contactless payments was previously €50 EUR, and has now been raised to €100 EUR. Another example is the UK, where the spending limit will rise from £30 GBP to £45 GBP in a national roll-out.

While governments and banks are now looking at cash handling differently, so too are consumers. “Sensitivity to catching the Coronavirus is now showing up at point of sale,” said Richard Crone, Principal at Crone Consulting, LLC. One study of US consumers before and after the Coronavirus epidemic is very telling, translating to a growing need for, and embrace of, contactless payments: “About 38% of consumers now see contactless as a basic need or feature of payments, up from 30% a year ago.”

While the current coronavirus outbreak won’t last forever, it is perfectly plausible to expect that many of the new habits formed during this time will. As such, it’s safe to assume the hypersensitivity to touching cash and avoidance of high-touch areas will have a lasting impact on consumer habits going forward.  The good news is that the answer is, and has always been, in the palm of our hands.