It looks as if the supplier of the city’s $10,000 parking meters has been chosen:
Digital Payment Technologies Corp., a leading supplier of revenue-management solutions for the global parking industry, has been awarded a three-year contract by Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) to supply 750 LUKE Payment Stations for deployment throughout the City of Houston, TX, starting in September.
There is an option to supply up to another 750 LUKE Payment Stations before the end of the contract to make up a city-wide total of 1,500 stations.
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The awarding of the contract caps a two-year evaluation period by the City of Houston to investigate general system integrators, on-street payment station manufacturers, and WiFi network suppliers for its on-street parking system. ACS was awarded the general system-management contract based on its ability to deliver the best overall integrated solution. In addition to supplying the LUKE payment stations, ACS has been contracted to install the meters, build a municipal WiFi network throughout Houston’s central business district, and install the pavement markings and signage. Among other firsts, this is the largest municipal WiFi project awarded in US history.
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UBU ROI ADDS: Lest anyone be confused, the company that got the red light camera contract was ATS, not ACS. The latter had been in the chase for the red light camera contract also, until questions were raised about exactly how ACS came to be the original front-runner. ATS, on the other hand, had friends in high places.
ATS’ ties are through former Texas Land Commissioner Gary Mauro, a good friend of White. Mauro, though, says he was hired to consult ATS, not to lobby City Hall.
Of course, some consultants are even more in the loop than the land commissioner.
