City reports more revenue from parking meter operations

Indianapolis received more than $3 million in revenue from parking meters in 2013, its highest total yet since turning over meter operations to ParkIndy in late 2010.

The revenue figure of nearly $3.1 million was up from $2.5 million in 2012 and $1.5 million in 2011.

Actual collections from the meter were $8.8 million in 2013, an increase over $7.7 million in 2012 and $5.1 million in 2011.

The city realized only $339,165 in revenue in 2010 before reaching the 50-year contract with ParkIndy, a public-private partnership the city formed with Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services.

More than 70 percent of meter payments were made with credit cards in 2013, up 10 percentage points from 2012. More than 12 percent of payments were made via smart phone applications.

Fewer than 20 percent of payments were made with cash, down from about 35 percent in 2012 and 100 percent in 2010.

“For the third consecutive year, Indy residents are seeing the benefits of ParkIndy,” Mayor Greg Ballard said in a prepared statement. “More than just increased revenue to the city, we’re seeing tremendous growth in the number of drivers choosing credit cards and smart phone mobile applications to pay for parking, and that shows how far we’ve come since 2010—when your only choice was to dig for change to feed the meters.”