Enhancing parking services with AMS

The company

The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (UWL) is a leading comprehensive four-year institution located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1909, UWL caters to over 10,000 students and employs over 500 academic staff. The university knows that providing excellent customer service helps them rank among the top schools in the State. It’s why the parking services team at UWL always seeks to improve parking across the five-level garage and 18 lots. Total, they manage over 2800 spaces and over 3700 permits.

The challenge

While UWL used to issue decals and printed hangtags to students and staff, both options led to familiar problems. For example, the decals would not always stick to windshields. Furthermore, a one-permit-per-vehicle rule resulted in unnecessary tickets after students or staff would forget to move the permit to a secondary vehicle. Sometimes, those permits would end up in the wrong hands, either shared between students or sold. For parking staff, printing, issuing, and checking permits on foot was costly and time-consuming.

The solution

Simplified installation and maintenance

AMS offered the University a powerful and reliable ALPR system, without the hassle and costs of procuring servers, managing updates or handling fixes.

Better data to maximize lot usage

“The biggest thing we have been able to do is to sell more permits,” said Hill. In most lots, UWL has increased usage by 10-25%, allowing for more permitted and visitor parking.

Pay-by-plate leads to savings

Without physical permits, UWL has saved up to $30,000 in labor and material. Customers can buy permits online using their license plates.

Fraud detection made easier

With the ALPR system, there’s little room for errors and fraud. “Last year, we issued over 60 citations for fraud which accounted for about 25% of our citation revenue gain,” said Hill.