High-tech parking meters let you pay by cell phone

Duncan Solutions is advancing the art of parking-meter design with its mPark mobile-payment parking service. These high-tech meters will let you pay by cell phone and are smart enough to send a text message when the meter is about to run out of time. You can add time to the meter without having to run out and plunk more change in. The company also makes parking meters that take credit cards. The mPark system is currently deployed in Oklahoma City, Las Vegas, and Yonkers.

There is a downside, however. The meters will obey parking restrictions, such as not letting you feed it over the maximum time you're allowed to use the space. Duncan Solutions also makes AutoCite X3, a Windows-based handheld device that lets parking-control officers monitor these smart meters to find out which ones have run out of time. AutoCite X3 even tells the officer the history of parking tickets on any given car. Duncan Solutions seems to be enabling a high-tech arms race in the world of parking.