How Smart Campus Parking Works
With ApartmentPermits the plate becomes the permit, allowing parking enforcement companies or campus police to use license plate recognition cameras to manage thousands of vehicles at once.
To begin, students and staff register their vehicle online issuing guest permits, semester or ful academic year permits. Then patrol vehicles can scan plates and check them against the permit system.
The live admin dashboard provides visibility into:
- Who has a valid permit
- Which lot they can use
- When the permit starts and ends
- Unpaid parking citations
- Whether the plate belongs to a visitor, student, or employee
Less paperwork and fewer unauthorized vehicles since the parking information and parking map is posted right on the platform.
Why Campuses Use LPR
LPR helps parking staff check more vehicles in less time. A patrol vehicle can scan many plates while driving through garages and surface lots.
The system can flag:
- No active permit
- Wrong parking zone
- Expired permit
- Blocked plate
- Repeat parking rules violations
All LPR enforcement will have final verification by a human, to ensure no vehicles are wrongfully towed.
No Gates Needed
Some campuses use gates for access control, this slows down parking in busy student housing or academic buildings. The virtual permit issued by ApartmentPermits makes parking a breeze, just drive in and park while parking enforcement scans your plates to ensure your permit is live.
Simple Parking Permit Management
A student may need a semester permit while professors may only be on campus two nights per week.
Good parking permit management lets staff create different permit types:
- Student resident
- Student commuter
- Faculty and staff
Each permit can have its own price, dates, times, and parking zones. And users can update their vehicle online, allowing for easy additions of guests, rental cars or temporary vehicles.
Better Visitor Parking
Guests can register online before arriving. They enter their plate, contact details, and visit date.
The campus parking permit software will register a virtual permit automatically for the vehicle. Some schools ParkMobile, or pay stations for short stays, but this adds friction to the already complicated parking on campus. ApartmentPermits makes visits easier and cuts down on phone calls.
Event Parking
Parking for games, concerts, graduation, and large meetings can be set up ahead of time. Staff can open temporary zones, change parking rules, or pause normal enforcement in certain areas. Guests can get permits before they arrive. Staff can also see which areas are filling up.
Fairer Parking Enforcement
Parking enforcement should be clear and the same for everyone. LPR gives officers a simple result:
- Valid
- Expired
- Wrong zone
- No permit
- Manual check needed
The system can save a photo, time, and location. This helps with parking citations and disputes. Some campuses choose to send a warning for the first offense. Others issue a ticket right away. The school sets the rules and enforcement policies.
Better Data for Planning
Campus parking management software can show how each lot is being used. Staff can track which lots are busiest, overused, underused or which ones tend to have the most unauthorized vehicles. This data can help the school change shuttle routes, adjust permit limits, or add better signs.
It may also show that a new parking facility is not needed yet.
Common Questions
Can LPR work at night or in bad weather?
Yes. Most systems use cameras made for low light, rain, and normal weather changes. A dirty or blocked plate may still need a manual check.
Can it use our current cameras?
Sometimes. It depends on the camera quality, angle, and software. Cameras made for plate reading usually work better.
Can it work with our current payment system?
ApartmentPermits has its own integrated payment gateway, allowing for payments to take place nay time 24/7.
Make Campus Parking Easier
ApartmentPermits services many student housing properties in Dallas. Enforced by On the Road Again Towing.
They found that by using ApartmentPermits for student housing properties, they are now able to scan lots, find unauthorized vehicles, validate parking and tow away vehicles that have overstayed their parking pass much faster than before.
Of course, all LPR recognition is verified by a human before any action is taken to ensure that there is no towing of vehicles without the proper cause.
Summary
ApartmentPermits helps universities and student housing get rid of hang tags, and facilitates the accessible parking found on the campus or student housing complex. Parking services or parking enforcement can use the system to make sure all vehicles are authorized to be in the parking lots.
