WO2006076773A1

WO2006076773A1 - An integrated parking, enforcement and detection arrangement

Info

Publication number: WO2006076773A1
Application number: PCT/AU2006/000071
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mark Lee Ralston; Gavin Jones; Roger John Price
Original assignee: Reinhardt International Pty Limited
Priority date: 2005-01-20
Filing date: 2006-01-20
Publication date: 2006-07-27
Also published as: CA2595309A1

Abstract

A method of deploying enforcement officers across a parking enforcement region is disclosed. The method comprises determining (in a step 1002) the compliance status of parking spaces in the enforcement region using vehicle sensors (806), and deploying (in a step 1004) enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the determined compliance status.

Description

ANINTEGRATED PARKING,ENFORCEMENT

ANDDETECTIONARRANGEMENT

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of parking meters, and in particular, to enforcement issues which arise in the administration of such systems.

Background

The constant increase in the number of motor vehicles flowing into cities around the world has forced city planners and authorities to find ways of rationing and controlling scarce on-street parking spaces. Typically, measures taken comprise use of parking meter systems, at which a motorist is able to pay an appropriate amount, for which in exchange, the motorist obtains a corresponding measure of time during which the motorists vehicle may remain parked in a designated parking spot. hi order to ensure that motorists adhere to the legislative requirements of time, price and parking restrictions, which are typically pre-defined in such parking meter systems, authorities usually implement an enforcement regime. Enforcement is typically legislatively supported, and is typically carried out by teams of authorised officers who inspect the parked vehicles, ensure that appropriate payment has been made, and ensure that the time that has been purchased by motorists has not been exceeded. Examples of the scope of the parking regulations considered by the officers include "No Parking", "No standing", "Sanitation", "Paid parking becomes a clearway at 16:30" and so on. The intention of the enforcement regime is to ensure that there is compliance with parking regulations, thus ensuring a constant turnover of vehicles moving in and out of available parking spaces, so that businesses in the area may prosper, and so that motorists have an opportunity to carry out their business. There are also safety issues relating to blockage of areas such as fire hydrants or driveways that are enforced. When payment is not made, or when the vehicle remains in the parking space longer than the time which has been purchased, or the vehicle is in violation of other parking restrictions as noted above, the enforcement agent, or officer, is typically legally empowered to take enforcement measures. In most modern cities, a parking ticket, or notice of violation (typically called called a "citation" or an "infringement") is issued in the form of a ticket which often is generated by a hand-held computer used by the enforcement officer. It is noted that parking meters that are presently used are typically electronic devices.

However, unless an enforcement officer is on hand to serve a citation to a motorist whose vehicle is in violation, the citation will not be served. Since parking fines are often issued for considerable amounts of money, and given that cities typically issue thousands of parking citations, a significant amount of revenue is at stake.

There are considerable difficulties associated with efficiently deploying enforcement officers to the locations where they are needed. Statistics can be gathered on the compliance behaviour of motorists, however this information is typically gathered only in certain areas and at certain times using limited manpower resources. The resultant statistics are incomplete and inaccurate, resulting in inefficient deployment of enforcement resources, and consequent inefficient use of parking resources and loss of parking revenues.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more disadvantages of existing arrangements.

Disclosed are arrangements, referred to as "real-time compliance mapping and enforcement" arrangements, which seek to address the above problems by integrating vehicle sensors, portable enforcement terminals used by enforcement officers, and a central system so that (i) real-time and historic "compliance maps" of the enforcement region can be generated and maintained, and (ii) enforcement officers can be deployed across the enforcement region based upon these compliance maps. The disclosed system also can generate real-time occupancy maps of the region of interest, enabling parking and traffic policy to be implemented by changing contextual parameters associated with some or each parking meter, and if desired, by providing corresponding information on the display of some or each parking meter. In other words, enforcement officers are deployed to attend to vehicles which are non- compliant (ie whose parking space status is "expired - see Fig. 13). This approach puts the human enforcement resources where they are most needed thus (a) increasing legitimate access to the scarce parking resource for the driving public at large, (b) increasing the efficiency of the parking enforcement function, and (c) decreasing lost parking violation revenues.

The term "real-time" has at least two related but distinct meanings in this description for the disclosed "real-time compliance mapping and enforcement" arrangements. In one context, the disclosed "real-time compliance mapping and enforcement" arrangements can, using the vehicle sensors, obtain a snapshot of the actual compliance status of a particular parking space, and enables an enforcement officer to be dispatched in real-time to that space to enforce compliance. This is a real-time control loop enabling the actual compliance situation at a given instant of time to be dealt with at that time or shortly afterwards. Clearly other enforcement regimes consistent with the disclosed arrangements can also be operated in real-time. Thus, for example, if compliance is detected directly by the central system using the vehicle sensors at a parking space, and if a resultant citation is issued by mail rather than by an enforcement officer, the citation can be generated as soon as the appropriate compliance violation is detected by the central system. Citations can also be notified to owners of non- compliant vehicles by email, facsimile, Short Message Service (SMS) or telephone.

In another context, the disclosed "real-time compliance mapping and enforcement" arrangements have the capability of interrogating the vehicle sensors across the entire region of interest in a concurrent and effectively simultaneous manner, thus generating a snapshot of the compliance status of all the parking spaces across an entire city, an entire region or sub- regions thereof at the same instant of time. Consequently, the occupancy or compliance distribution map that is generated at the time instant in question is an accurate representation of occupancy and/or compliance distribution over the region in question at the time instant in question. This provides a significant improvement in accuracy over other current methods of generating parking statistics. The other current methods are unable to provide an instantaneous snapshot over an arbitrary region, and thus the resultant statistics have to be approximated by aggregating local statistics taken at different times into an approximate overall picture. Since the manpower resources allocated to collecting these statistics in other current systems are typically very limited, the other current systems provide an inaccurate picture at best. The disclosed "real-time compliance mapping and enforcement" arrangements enable accurate statistics at any instant of time to be generated, and these snapshots can be taken at any desired frequency, thus generating accurate statistics of compliance and occupancy over the entire region of interest.

This information can then be used to accurately portray when, where and how often certain parking related events such as parking, and/or paying and/or re-paying and/or reuse of inherited time and/or over staying occur. This information can then be used to accurately determine summary measures such as site/area/meter efficiency (defined by compliance * occupancy) and or enforcement efficiency (defined by the number of vehicles in violation compared to actual number of violations issued).

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of deploying enforcement officers across an enforcement region, the method comprising the steps of: interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking

spaces in the enforcement region; and deploying enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the

determined compliance status. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of enforcing

compliance with parking regulations across an enforcement region, the method comprising the

steps of:

interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking

spaces in the enforcement region; and

issuing citations in regard to vehicles that are not complying with the parking

regulations.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of

preventing a motorist from extending their stay in a parking space beyond a specified time period, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting occupancy of the parking space by a vehicle;

detecting payment of a fee associated with the specified time period; and

if attempted payment of a further fee associated with a further time period is detected before the space is vacated by the vehicle; performing one of at least: refusing the attempted further payment;

modifying the parking tariff for the further time period; and

dispatching an enforcement officer to the parking space to issue a citation.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of implementing traffic policy for parking spaces in a region, the method comprising the steps of: determining the compliance status of the parking spaces; and setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined

compliance status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of implementing traffic policy for parking meters in a region, the method comprising the steps of: determining the occupancy status of parking spaces in the region; and setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined occupancy status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of implementing traffic policy for a parking space in a region, the method comprising the steps of: determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status of the parking space; and setting a contextual parameter for the parking space dependent upon the one of compliance status and occupancy status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of charging for use of a parking space, the method comprising the steps of: determining, using a vehicle sensor associated with the parking space, the time during which a vehicle has occupied the space; and charging for use of the space dependent upon the determining step.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for deploying enforcement officers across an enforcement region, the system comprising: a plurality of parking spaces in the enforcement region; a plurality of vehicle sensors, adapted to detect vehicles using the parking spaces; means for determining the compliance status of the parking spaces dependent upon

the detection of the vehicles; and means for deploying enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the determined compliance status. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system enforcing compliance with parking regulations across an enforcement region, the system comprising: a plurality of parking spaces in the enforcement region; a plurality of vehicle sensors, adapted to detect vehicles using the parking spaces; means for determining the compliance status of the parking spaces dependent upon the detection of the vehicles; and means for issuing citations in regard to vehicles that are not complying with the parking regulations.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for preventing a motorist from extending their stay in a parking space beyond a specified time period, the system comprising: means for detecting occupancy of the parking space by a vehicle; means for detecting payment of a fee associated with the specified time period; and means, if attempted payment of a further fee associated with a further time period is detected before the space is vacated by the vehicle, for performing one of at least: refusing the attempted further payment; modifying the parking tariff for the further time period; and dispatching an enforcement officer to the parking space to issue a citation.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for implementing traffic policy for parking spaces in a region, the system comprising: means for deteπriining the compliance status of the parking spaces; and - o -

means for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for implementing traffic policy for parking meters in a region, the system comprising: means for determining the occupancy status of parking spaces in the region; and means for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined occupancy status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for implementing traffic policy for a parking space in a region, the system comprising: means for determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status of the parking space; and means for setting a contextual parameter for the parking space dependent upon the one of compliance status and occupancy status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of issuing a parking citation against a vehicle that has been parked in a parking space associated with a parking meter, said method comprising the steps of: communicating by said parking meter operational status for the parking meter and parking status data for the vehicle during a relevant time period to a central system; downloading (i) said operational status and said parking status data and (ii) contextual data for the parking meter to a portable enforcement terminal from the central system; determining parking citation data for the vehicle depending upon the downloaded information; and issuing, depending upon the determined citation data, the citation including the parking citation data and the operational status. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for issuing a parking citation against a vehicle that has been parked in a parking space associated with a parking meter, said system comprising: said parking meter; a central system adapted to communicate with the parking meter and a portable enforcement terminal; said portable enforcement terminal; means for communicating operational status for the parking meter and parking status data for the vehicle during a relevant time period from the parking meter to the central system; means for downloading (i) said operational status and said parking status data and (ii) contextual data for the parking meter from the central system to the portable enforcement terminal; means for determining, by the portable enforcement terminal, parking citation data for the vehicle depending upon the downloaded information; and means for issuing, by the portable enforcement terminal, depending upon the determined citation data, the citation including the parking citation data and the operational status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program comprising at least one program element, said at least one computer program element comprising computer program code means to make at least one computer execute a procedure for issuing a parking meter citation against a vehicle that has been parked in a parking space associated with a parking meter, said at least one computer program element comprising: code for communicating by said parking meter operational status for the parking meter and parking status data for the vehicle during a relevant time period to a central system; code for downloading (i) said operational status and said parking status data and (ii) contextual data for the parking meter to a portable enforcement terminal from the central

system; code for determining parking citation data for the vehicle depending upon the downloaded information; and issuing, depending upon the determined citation data, the citation including the parking citation data and the operational status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for deploying enforcement officers across an enforcement region, the program comprising: code for interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; code for determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking spaces in the enforcement region; and code for deploying enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the determined compliance status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for enforcing compliance with parking regulations across an enforcement region, the program comprising: code for interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; code for determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking spaces in the enforcement region; and code for issuing citations in regard to vehicles that are not complying with the parking regulations. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for preventing a motorist from extending their stay in a parking space beyond a specified time period, the program comprising: code for detecting occupancy of the parking space by a vehicle; code for detecting payment of a fee associated with the specified time period; and if attempted payment of a further fee associated with a further time period is detected before the space is vacated by the vehicle; one of at least: code for refusing the attempted further payment; code for modifying the parking tariff for the further time period; and code for dispatching an enforcement officer to the parking space to issue a citation.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for implementing traffic policy for parking spaces in a region, the program comprising: code for determining the compliance status of the parking spaces; and code for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for implementing traffic policy for parking meters in a region, the program comprising: code for determining the occupancy status of parking spaces in the region; and code for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined occupancy status. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for implementing traffic policy for a parking space in a region, the program comprising: code for determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status of the parking space; and code for setting a contextual parameter for the parking space dependent upon the one of compliance status and occupancy status.

Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed. Brief Description of the Drawings

One or more embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a system block diagram representation of one arrangement of a parking meter enforcement system; Fig. 2 is a flow chart of steps taken by an enforcement officer in the context of the system of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 depicts functional sub-systems within a parking meter and a portable terminal shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 depicts functional sub-system blocks within the central system shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary health or operational status report, and citations which typically issue in the system of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of method steps wherein the parking meter health or operational status report of Fig. 5 is used to substantiate a parking citation; Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a general purpose computer upon which

arrangements described can be practiced;

Fig. 8 shows the system depicted in Fig. 1 emphasising the communication

infrastructure; Fig. 9 shows a flowchart of a process by which the system detects and logs compliance of parking spaces;

Fig. 10 shows a flow chart for a process by which the central system uses compliance maps in order to deploy and control Parking Enforcement Officers;

Fig. 11 shows the officer guidance sub-process of Fig. 10 in more detail; Fig. 12 shows a city-wide compliance map representation showing, for example, the five city blocks having the highest non-compliance status in the enforcement region; and

Fig. 13 shows a parking-space-specific compliance map representation of one of the city blocks in Fig. 1.

Detailed Description including Best Mode Where reference is made in any one or more of the accompanying drawings to steps and/or features, which have the same reference numerals, those steps and/or features have for the purposes of this description the same function(s) or operation(s), unless the contrary intention appears.

It is to be noted that the discussions contained in the "Background" section above relating to prior art arrangements relate to discussions of devices which form public knowledge through their use. Such discussions should not be interpreted as a representation by the present inventor(s) or patent applicant that such documents or devices in any way form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

Some portions of the description which follows are explicitly or implicitly presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those

skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent

sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical

manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the

form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for

reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols,

characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that the above and similar terms are to be

associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to

these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, and as apparent from the following, it

will be appreciated that throughout the present specification, discussions utilizing terms such

as "detecting", "preventing", "determining", "increasing", "dispatching" "setting",

"communicating", or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or

similar electronic device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical

(electronic) quantities within the registers and memories of the computer system into other

data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or

registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

The present specification also discloses apparatus for performing the operations of

the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement methods. Such apparatus may be

specially constructed for the required purposes, or may comprise a general purpose computer

or other device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the

computer. The algorithms and displays presented herein are not necessarily inherently related

to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose machines may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein. Alternatively, the construction of more specialized apparatus to perform the required real-time compliance mapping and enforcement method steps may be appropriate. The structure of a conventional general purpose computer will appear from the description below. In addition, the present specification also discloses a computer readable medium comprising a computer program for performing the operations of the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement methods. The computer readable medium is taken herein to include any transmission medium for communicating the computer program between a source and a designation. The transmission medium may include storage devices such as magnetic or optical disks, memory chips, flash memory or other storage devices suitable for interfacing with a general or special purpose computer. The transmission medium may also include, but are not limited to, infra red or a hard-wired medium such as exemplified in the Internet system, or wireless medium such as exemplified in the GSM mobile telephone system or the GPRS radio system. The computer program is not intended to be limited to any particular programming language and implementation thereof. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages and coding thereof may be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure contained herein.

Fig. 1 depicts a system block diagram representation of one arrangement of a parking meter enforcement system. A number of parking meters 104, ..., 110 constitute a parking meter group, as denoted by a dashed line 124. Each of the aforementioned parking meters, for example 110, may control a single space, or in the context of MultiBay meters, controls a set of N parking bays denoted by reference numerals 112, ..., 114, the set being depicted by a dashed bi-lateral arrow 138. For ease of reference, the present description covers MultiBay equipment, but could equally provide the required data for other meter types. A central system 102 performs administrative and other functions for the parking meter group 124, - Io -

including storage of contextual data for each parking meter 104, ..., 110. This contextual data relates to fixed information associated with each parking meter, such as a street address at which the parking meter is located, details of the nearest cross street intersection, applicable legislative conditions for the parking meter (such as the maximum parking period which might apply on a per-parking meter basis, ), and so on. The contextual information can also extend to time varying information associated with each parking space. Thus, for example, a particular parking space may be subject to different parking rates at different times, or the maximum parking duration for the parking space may vary with time. Furthermore, parking may only be permissible at certain times, these being dictated by requirements for bus-stop use at the location of the parking spot, or for clearway use when no parking is permitted in certain streets at certain times of the day. Furthermore, the parking space may be reserved for particular purposes at certain times, such as disabled parking or special "bagged" ie reserved parking. The association between the central system 102 and the parking meters 104, ..., 110 is depicted by arrows 120 and 122. In operation, an enforcement officer 118 uses, as a tool of his or her trade, a portable enforcement terminal 116. The portable enforcement terminal 116 can be a hand held device as depicted in Fig. 5, or alternately, the portable enforcement terminal 116 can be a laptop computer with appropriate communications capabilities. Typically, the enforcement officer 118 establishes a communication connection 132 between the enforcement terminal 116 and the central system 102, between shifts of duty.

In an alternate arrangement, communication can be established between the terminal 116 and the central system 102 over a network 801 (see Fig. 8) at various times throughout the enforcement officer's shift of duty, and information can be communicated from the terminal 116 to the central system 102, and/or can be communicated from the central system 102 to the terminal 116. This communication can be established periodically, under control of the computer system 724 in the terminal 116 (see Fig. 7). Alternately, the communication can be established each time the enforcement officer interrogates their terminal 116, and/or each time the officer issues a citation.

This enables the central system to download the aforementioned contextual data to the enforcement terminal 116. As described below, in another arrangement this also enables the central system 102 to download parking status and operational data to the enforcement terminal 116, this information having previously been uploaded to the central system 102 by the parking meters or via the enforcement terminal. Communication between the terminal 116 and the central system 102 is typically established by various means which may include docking the terminal 116 in a docking station (not shown) provided for the purpose and communicating with the central system 102, or alternately using a radio connection, cellular mobile connection, wireless connection, or any other communication technology as may be appropriate to establish communication between the terminal 116 and the central system 102 (eg see Fig. 8). It is accordingly clear that the connection 132 can also be established by means of an optical connection or another equivalent connection or communication means.

Once the aforementioned data has been downloaded from the central system 102 to the enforcement terminal 116, this taking place, for example, at the beginning of the day or at the beginning of a work shift, the enforcement officer 118 takes the terminal 116 to the area of operation for the day. Upon arriving at the designated geographic area, the enforcement officer 118 approaches a particular parking meter 104 and establishes communication 130 between the parking meter 104 and the terminal 116. The connection 130 between the terminal 116 and the parking meter 104 can be established by plugging the terminal 116 into a corresponding socket (not shown) in the parking meter 104, or alternately, by establishing a wireless or infra-red or other equivalent link between the terminal 116 and the parking meter 104. Alternately, the enforcement officer can acquire the meter data from the central system by selecting the meter from a pick-list provided by the central system and displayed on the enforcement terminal display. Alternately, the officer can scan a serial number on the meter or on a signpost at the start of the street using a scanner built into the enforcement terminal, or type in a meter-ID or a street name and provide this to the central system which will download the relevant meter information. Alternately, the officer can communicate the meter location using a location based service (eg GPS and map) to the central system.

While the connection 130 is established, the parking meter 104 downloads parking status data and health or operational status status data for either a single meter being interrogated, or for the meter group 124. The group 124 may be provided with meter to meter communications (eg see Fig. 8), such that each meter in the group 124 stores all the contextual and parking information for the group. The group 124 may, alternately or in addition, be provided with individual or group communications to the central system 102 parking computer. The various types of information downloaded will be described in more detail with respect to Fig. 3.

In another arrangement, the parking meter 104 uploads parking status data and operational status data for either the single parking meter 104 or for the meter group 124 to the central system 102. This upload is usually performed over a network (see 720, 801 in Figs. 7, 8). The uploads can be performed on a regular basis, or on an event driven basis dependent upon events occurring in the central system 102 and/or in the parking meter 104 or in other parking meters in the meter group 124. Since the parking status and operational data is uploaded to the central system 102 in this alternate arrangement, the enforcement terminal 116 is able to download appropriate parking status data and operational data from the central system without establishing the communication connection 130 between the enforcement terminal 116 and the parking meter 104. Once the required information has been downloaded from the parking meter 104 to the terminal 116, (or alternately from the central system 102 to the terminal 116), the enforcement officer 118 proceeds to physically inspect the various parking bays 106, ..., 108 and 112, ..., 114 ofthe meter group 124. hi a particular instance, the enforcement officer 118 inspects a particular vehicle, denoted by an "X" having a reference numeral 136, which is parked in the parking spot 108, the action of inspection being depicted by a dashed arrow 134. The officer 118 is able to establish whether the vehicle 136 is parked legally or not by reading the requisite information, as depicted by a dashed arrow 140, from the terminal 116. In simple terms, the officer 118 is able to interrogate the terminal 116 in order to establish whether the vehicle 136 is parked during a legally purchased time period, or in contrast, whether the vehicle has overstayed the paid period, or moved into a penalty period, or the driver has failed to pay for parking. Other compliance violations relating to time varying contextual data, including parking regulations, (such as parking not being permitted to allow for a clearway) can also be identified in the same manner. If the officer 118 determines that the vehicle 136 is, indeed, illegally parked, then the officer is able to issue, as indicated by an arrow 142, an on-the-spot citation 144 which contains details of the parking violation. The details contained in the citation 144 will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 5. In order to produce the citation 144, the officer 118 makes use of the contextual information for the particular parking meter 104 which was downloaded into the terminal 116 prior to the beginning of the work shift from the central system 102. The officer 118 also makes use of the parking meter status for the space 108 which was downloaded from the parking meter 104 when the communication 130 was established between the terminal 116 and the parking meter 104. The parking status data indicates when the paid period expired, and also indicates a current time, thereby establishing an amount of time during which the vehicle 136 has overstayed the paid-for period. Alternately, by indicating the amount of time negatively, the parking status data can show how long it has been since any payment was received relevant to the parking space in which vehicle 136 is currently parked.

In addition to the above contextual and meter status information, the officer 118 manually enters, as depicted by a dashed arrow 140, information relating to the vehicle 136 as well as required manual entry information such as the officers' badge number or other data that acts as an electronic signature that all information is true and correct. Information about the vehicle would typically include the registration number of the vehicle, and could also include information such as the vehicle make, colour and year of manufacture. The local statutes determine the actual information required relative to the parked vehicle. Once all the aforementioned information has been input by the officer 118 into the terminal 116, the citation 144 can be produced, and it is typically then placed on the vehicle under the windscreen wiper for the motorist to find upon their return to the vehicle 136. Actual placement of the citation may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Other mechanisms for data entry can also be incorporated into the disclosed system.

Thus for example the enforcement office can enter a scanned image of the vehicle into a suitably modified enforcement terminal, and can identify him or herself to the system via a fingerprint scanner integrated into a suitably modified enforcement terminal.

In an alternate arrangement, enforcement is performed by the central system, and does not require an enforcement officer using a portable enforcement terminal. Since the compliance of a vehicle and the location of the parking space occupied by the vehicle is known to the central system, if the vehicle ownership can be determined, then the central system can simply dispatch the citation to the vehicle owner by post. This avoids the need for enforcement officers to a significant degree. One method for determining ownership of a vehicle is to integrate a camera into the parking meter associated with the space, and ^

photograph the vehicle registration information. The camera can also be mounted in other convenient places having a view of the relevant parking space. This photograph can then be processed to extract the vehicle registration, which can then be used to look up the Road and Traffic Authority/Department of Motor Vehicle (RTA/DMV) database to identify the owner's name and address. Alternately, vehicles having in-built location based service (such as Global Positioning System or GPS) and/or in-built Internet capability can be used to identify the vehicle details remotely.

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of steps taken by the enforcement officer 118 in the context of the system of Fig. 1. In a first step 202, the system downloads contextual data for relevant meter groups from the central system 102 to the portable terminal 116. Thereafter, in a step 204, the officer 118 makes his, or her way to the location in which the meter group is situated. Thereafter, in a step 206, the officer 118 establishes a communication between the terminal 116 and one of the parking meters in the meter group 124. The communication may be between one meter in the group and the officer's terminal 116, or if the group of meters establish group communication, the download may constitute data for the entire meter group, this being received from the meter with which the connection 130 has been established.

Alternately, communications between the officer's terminal 116 and each meter, or between the officer's terminal 116 and one meter that is acting on behalf of the meter group, can be performed over the network 801 in Fig. 8. It is noted that the communication 130 can generally be established with any meter individually, or when there is communication between meters in the meter group, a single communication may provide a download of information for the entire group. Dependent upon the communication medium, the officer 118 may not need to interrogate a meter for the aforementioned information, but may instead receive it via a radio or other broadcast method directly to the terminal 116. Furthermore, it is possible to download data for more than one meter group while the communication 130 is established. Alternately, in the step 206, the officer 118 establishes communication between the terminal 116 and the central system 102 to download parking status and operational data for the entire group of parking meters..

Returning to Fig. 2, in a following step 208, the officer 118 inspects all vehicles parked in bays of the meter group under consideration. In the course of that inspection, the officer 118 identifies vehicles which are parked without authorisation, or payment, or sufficient payment for the time the vehicle has been parked, as depicted in a step 210. Thereafter, in a step 212, the officer 118 issues citations for vehicles which are illegally parked. If the officer 118 has not yet completed their work day, the officer proceeds to the next meter group as depicted by an arrow 214. Alternatively, if the officer 118 has completed his or her workday shift, the officer can return to the location where the central system 102 is located, establish the communication 132 as shown in Fig. 1, and upload citation and other data including operational status data of each meter to the central system 102 as shown in a step 216. Alternately, the officer can upload the citation and other data from a remote site (such as their home) by establishing a suitable connection between the enforcement terminal and their own PC, establishing a suitable connection to the central system 102, and uploading the aforementioned date. Furthermore, if the enforcement terminal has the appropriate communications capabilities, the officer can upload the citation and other data directly from the terminal to the central system 102.

Fig. 3 shows functional sub-systems within the parking meter 104, and within the portable terminal 116 shown in Fig. 1. The parking meter 104 is seen to contain a number of functional sub-systems, a first sub-system 302 being concerned with issues of payment and authorisation status for the parking bays 106 to 108 in the set of parking bays associated with the parking meter 104. Accordingly, this sub-system 302 monitors and correlates payment provided by motorists in respect of the parking bays 106 to 108, and provides this information to the officer 118 when a download connection 130 is established.

This sub-system 302 also provides payment and other information to the motorist using the meter, by displaying the information, in one arrangement, on a display unit (not shown) on the parking meter in question. This display unit on the parking meter can also serve to provide useful information to the motorist, both in regard to the specific payment and parking duration details relating to the motorists current desire to park, and also to indicate special contextual conditions prevailing for the meter in question.

Thus, for example, the particular parking space may be subject to different parking rates at different times, or the maximum parking duration for the parking spot may vary with time. Furthermore, parking may only be permissible at certain times, these being dictated by requirements for bus-stop use at the location of the parking spot, or for clearway use when no parking is permitted in certain streets at certain times of the day. Furthermore, the parking space may be reserved for particular purposes at certain times, such as disabled parking or special "bagged" ie reserved parking.

Furthermore, the above-noted variables may be adjusted in real time by the central system 102 in order to maintain required parking policy goals, traffic flow requirements, parking occupancy, payment compliance levels and so on.

A sub-system 306 is concerned with a different aspect of the parking meter 104. This sub-system 306 monitors the health or operational status of the meter 104 and stores health or operational status information for the meter in an internal memory (not shown). The term "health or operational status" when applied to the parking meter 104 extends to operational status of the meter 104 as well as other events such as opening of access panels and so on.

In a first arrangement, the sub-system 306 is concerned with establishing a time- stamped record of the health or operational status of the meter 104, so that the operational health or operational status of the meter 104 at a particular time can be easily established. This first arrangement is used for establishing a meter performance and health or operational status history, which can be used for establishing service and maintenance schedules for preventive and remedial maintenance of the parking meter system. In a second arrangement, the sub-system 306 is concerned with providing a health or operational status record for the parking meter 104, for the specific purpose of providing a simple and rapid source of information by which a citation can be substantiated in regard to the health or operational status of the meter 104 when the citation was issued and for a relevant prior period. A rationale for the second arrangement is provided in more detail in relation to Fig. 6. The aforementioned sub-systems 302 and 306 may be connected to a communication sub-system 310 as depicted by connections 320 and 318 respectively.

The aforementioned sub-systems 302 and 306 relate to the parking meter 104 itself. In contrast, a sub-system 304 deals with payment and authorisation status for other parking bays in the meter group 124. This arrangement requires that the parking meter 104 downloads information from other meters in the meter group 124. This information can be obtained, for example, by means of a communication network connecting the various meters in the meter group 124. This allows the officer to get a breakdown of the number of vehicles in an area for which parking time has expired. This allows for more efficient enforcement of the parking regulations. The officer is able to access information from a single meter in the group, and thereby obtain all the information for all the vehicles parked at all the meters in a street or in an area controlled by meters that are communicating relevant information to each other. Alternately, the officer is able to access the desired information directly from the central system. Thereafter, the officer can go directly to the expired vehicles and exercise the duty placed upon him. Accordingly, the sub-system 304 deals with the same type of information as the subsystem 302, however the sub-system 304 is concerned with other parking meters in the meter group 124. A sub-system 308 is concerned with health or operational status of other meters in the meter group 124, in contrast to the sub-system 306 which is concerned with health or operational status of the present parking meter 104. The sub-systems 304 and 308 are connected to the communication sub-system 310 by means of connections 324 and 322 respectively.

The portable enforcement terminal 116 contains a number of sub-systems 312, 314 and 316 which depict a communication sub-system, a processing and data storage sub-system, and a user interface respectively. When the enforcement officer 118 establishes the communication 130 between the terminal 116 and the parking meter 104, as depicted by the arrow 130, the parking meter 104 is able to transfer information from the various sub-systems 302 to 308, by means of the connection 130 to the terminal 116.

Fig. 4 shows sub-system blocks within the central system 102 shown in Fig. 1. The central system 102 is seen to have at least three sub-systems 402 to 406. The sub-system 402 is a service and maintenance system which typically comprises a computer and associated storage devices and other peripherals. This service and maintenance system 402 is concerned with maintaining and organising data for the various parking meter groups (for example the group 124) within the scope of control exercised by the central system 102. Information contained in the system 402 would include, but not be limited to, performance data for the parking meters including Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) for each meter, up-time of each meter, types of faults recorded for each meter, times and duration of full operational health or operational status, and so on. Additional information might include times of service technician visits, expenses incurred for repairs, parts used and so on. The service and maintenance system 402 contains a large amount of data for the purposes of statistical analysis of system performance in order to establish, for example, system wide maintenance schedules. Accordingly, the database associated with the service and maintenance system 402 stores a great deal of data which is not required in order to substantiate a citation.

The sub-system 404 is concerned with accounting and citation information. Accordingly, this system 404 contains, in the form of an electronic citation file on a per citation basis, contextual and status information relating to each issued citation, for example the citation 144 in Fig. 1, including health or operational status data as will be explained in more detail with reference to Fig. 5. Furthermore, each citation file contains the information manually entered by the officer 118 for the citation 144 such as the make and registration number of a vehicle 136 which was illegally parked in a space 108, details about the infringement and substantiation thereof as required by relevant statutes, plus any comments the officer thought pertinent at the time. The arrangement and organisation of data in the accounting and citation system 404 makes it particularly simple to access health or operational status information to support, and substantiate, any particular citation which is contested. This ease of data arrangement and access provides a particular advantage when dealing with a motorist contesting a citation. This will be explained in more detail with reference to Fig. 6.

The service and maintenance system 402 and the accounting and citation system 404 are connected by respective connections 408 and 410 to a communication sub-system 406 which is capable, by means of a connection 132, of exchanging information with the terminal 116 (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary health or operational status report 502, and a citation 144 as would typically be issued in the system of Fig. 1. When the enforcement officer 118 (see Fig. 1) establishes the communication depicted by the arrow 130 between the parking meter 104 and the portable terminal 116, part of the meter group status information which is downloaded from the parking meter 104 to the terminal 116 is the health or operational status _2?

report 502 for the parking meter 104. This report 502 is provided by the meter health or operational status sub-system 306 as described in relation to Fig. 3.

As noted, the health or operational status sub-system 306 in the meter 104 is capable of operating in two alternative ways. In the first arrangement the health or operational status sub-system can download a historic health or operational status record for the meter covering a historic period of some predetermined length. This type of record can take the form of a number of historic records, information on when the last fault was recorded, information on when the last service was recorded and so on. This type of record is useful for incorporation into the maintenance and service central sub-system 402. In the second arrangement, the health or operational status sub-system 306 can download a health or operational status snapshot at the time that the enforcement officer conducts the download 130 from the parking meter 104. In this case, it is the health or operational status of the meter for a period prior to the citation being issued which is of interest, rather than long term historic health or operational status data. In the second arrangement, the meter can download a health or operational status report for the meter which extends backwards in time, for example, from the time at which the download during the connection 130 occurs, back to the last time when money was inserted into the parking meter in question. It is noted that the health or operational status report in this case takes account of the fact that the meter may have become faulty during the period in question. Under these circumstances, the meter fault diagnostic system would determine that a fault has taken place and log it accordingly, after which a repair/service call would have been made. This information can also be provided in the operational status report that is filed at the end of each shift, when the officer's citation computer downloads the shift data to the computer 102 via the connection 132. Typically, this report is forwarded to a maintenance section for attention. The printed citation 144 produced by the terminal 116 has, typically, information as shown in the representation 144 in Fig. 5. When the citation 144 is issued by the officer 118 using the terminal 116, an electronic copy 506 of the citation is also produced by the terminal 116, as depicted by an arrow 504, and is stored in the terminal 116 when the citation 144 is issued. At a later stage, when the officer 118 establishes the communication 132 between the terminal 116 and the central system 102 (see Fig. 1), then the electronic copy 506 of the citation is communicated, as depicted by an arrow 508, to the central system 102. In particular, the electronic copy of the citation 506 is stored in the accounting and citation subsystem 404 (see Fig. 4). Accordingly, as can be seen from both the printed citation 144 and the electronic copy thereof 506, citation details 510 and 512 are incorporated together in a common data structure with their associated health or operational status reports 514 and 516 respectively, noting that the health or operational status reports are provided substantially at the time that the citation is issued, and not extracted from stored historic health or operational status data at a later time. Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of method steps wherein the parking meter health or operational status report 502 of Fig. 5 is used to substantiate a contested parking citation, hi a first step 602 the enforcement officer 118 issues a parking citation in paper form (see 144 in Fig. 5) to the motorist, hi a next step 604, the "contested status" of the citation is tested, and in the event that the citation is not contested, then the process 600 is directed in accordance with a "no" arrow to the step 606 in which the motorist pays the fine associated with the citation, and the process 600 terminates. If, however, at the step 604, the motorist does contest the citation, then the process 600 is directed in accordance with a "yes" arrow to a step 608. The step 608 pictorially represents a process in which the motorist contesting the citation puts his or her case, typically to a magistrate in a local court, hi traditional systems, if the motorist maintains that the parking meter 104 was inoperative at the time when he or she arrived at the parking meter and attempted to pay the necessary parking charge, it would be necessary for the magistrate to call a number of witnesses to establish the facts. These witnesses would include the enforcement officer 118, and it would be necessary for the court to decide whether the motorist was telling the truth or not. In accordance with one arrangement described in the present specification, the motorist has been issued with a printed citation 144 having printed thereon a copy of the meter health or operational status report 514 (see Fig. 5). In this event, it is difficult for the motorist to allege that the parking meter 104 was inoperative at the time when the citation was issued.

In another arrangement, the health or operational status report 514 is not directly printed on the citation 144. hi this case, the judge in the local court is able to directly access the electronic citation file 506 by means of a terminal in the court. Alternately, the judge can obtain a relevant printout from the accounting and citation system 404 (see Fig. 4). The aforementioned printout constitutes physical evidence for use by the court, and can be used to create a profile for the meter in question. Therefore, various options are available for accessing the associated health or operational status report 516 which has been stored together with the electronic copy of the citation 506 in the accounting and citation sub-system 404 of the central system 102.

The technique of storing the health or operational status report 516 for a citation 506 directly with the electronic file 506 associated with the citation 144 allows for a significant reduction in operational complexity, and in the processing time needed to retrieve health or operational status details for the parking meter 104 relating to the particular citation 144 in question. The historic health or operational status and operational status for parking meters which is stored in the service and maintenance sub-system 402 need not be accessed for this purpose, and instead the specific health or operational status report 516 for each citation 506 is stored directly with the electronic file for the citation 506 in the accounting and citation sub- system 404. This makes for particularly easy and rapid retrieval of information in the event that a court officer is required to do so by means of a terminal.

Fig. 7 shows how the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement method can be practiced using a computer system 700, to implement the Accounting and Citation System 404, which operates in conjunction with processing modules in the parking meter 104, and with a special purpose computer system 724 in the terminal 116, wherein at least some of the processes of Figs. 2, 6 and 9-11 may be implemented as software, such as an application program executing within the computer system 700. The application program can comprise one or more program elements suitably distributed between the accounting and citation system 404, the special purpose computer system 724 and the computer system (not shown) in the parking meters such as 104. The special purpose computer system 724 in the terminal 116 includes the communication, processing and data storage, and user interface sub-systems 312- 316 respectively as described in relation to Fig. 3. The Service and Maintenance sub-system 402 is also shown in Fig. 7 for completeness. In particular, the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement method are effected by instructions in the software that are carried out by the computers 404, 724 and the computing modules in the parking meters such as 104. The instructions may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part performs the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement methods, and a second part manages a user interface between the first part and the user. The software may be stored in a computer readable medium, including the storage devices described below, for example. The software is loaded into the computers from the computer readable medium, and then executed by the computers. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product. The use of the computer program product in the computers preferably effects an advantageous apparatus for real-time compliance mapping and enforcement.

The computer system 404 comprises a computer module 701, input devices such as a keyboard 702 and mouse 703, output devices including a printer 715 and a display device 714. A Modulator-Demodulator (Modem) transceiver device 716 is used by the computer module 701 for communicating to and from a communications network 720, for example connectable via a telephone line 721 or other functional medium. The modem 716 can be used to obtain access to the enforcement terminal 116, the Internet, and other network systems, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN). Although the description refers to the modem 716 as one example of a communications module, this is intended to encompass other types of communication modules (such as optical etc.) as well, which are used to establish communication over a communications network.

The enforcement terminal 116 communicates, using a connection 722 to the network 720, and thereafter, with the computer systems 402 and 404. The parking meter 104 communicates, using a connection 803 to the network 720, and thereafter, with the computer systems 402 and 404.

The computer module 701 typically includes at least one processor unit 705, a memory unit 706, for example formed from semiconductor random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM), input/output (I/O) interfaces including a video interface 707, and an I/O interface 713 for the keyboard 702 and mouse 703 and optionally a joystick (not illustrated), and an interface 708 for the modem 716. A storage device 709 is provided and typically includes a hard disk drive 710 and a floppy disk drive 711. A magnetic tape drive (not illustrated) may also be used. A CD-ROM drive 712 is typically provided as a nonvolatile source of data. The components 705 to 713 of the computer module 701, typically communicate via an interconnected bus 704 and in a manner which results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer system 700 known to those in the relevant art. Examples of computers on which the described arrangements can be practised include IBM-PC's and compatibles, Apple systems, Sun Sparcstations or alike computer systems evolved therefrom. Typically, the application program for the citation system 404 is resident on the hard disk drive 710 and read and controlled in its execution by the processor 705. Intermediate storage of the program and any data fetched from the network 720 may be accomplished using the semiconductor memory 706, possibly in concert with the hard disk drive 710. In some instances, the application program may be supplied to the user encoded on a CD-ROM or floppy disk and read via the corresponding drive 712 or 711, or alternatively may be read by the user from the network 720 via the modem device 716. Still further, the software can also be loaded into the computer system 700 from other computer readable media. The term "computer readable medium" as used herein refers to any storage or transmission medium that participates in providing instructions and/or data to the computer system 700 for execution and/or processing. Examples of storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated circuit, a magneto-optical disk, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the computer module 701. Examples of transmission media include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including email transmissions and information recorded on websites and the like.

The real-time compliance mapping and enforcement method may alternatively be implemented in dedicated hardware such as one or more integrated circuits performing the functions or sub functions of real-time compliance mapping and enforcement. Such dedicated hardware may include graphic processors, digital signal processors, or one or more microprocessors and associated memories. Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of the system depicted in Fig. 1, however in Fig. 8 a communication infrastructure has been shown explicitly. Thus, a network 801 is shown, to which the central system 102 is connected by a connection 802. The parking meter 104 can be connected to the other parking meters such as 110 by a connection 810, and the parking meter 104 can also be connected by a connection 803 to the network 801. Other parking meters such as the parking meter 110 can also be connected, as depicted by a connection 811, to the network 801. The enforcement terminal 116 can establish connection, as depicted by the connection 722, to the network 801. Therefore, the central system 810, the parking meters 104 ... 110, and the portable enforcement terminal 116 can all communicate over the network 801.

The system 800 in Fig. 8 also includes a vehicle sensor associated with each parking space. Thus, for example, the parking space 112 is associated, as depicted by a dashed line 805, with a vehicle sensor 806 that communicates, as depicted by a connection 809, with the associated parking meter 110. Similarly, the parking space 114 is associated, as depicted by a dashed line 807, with a vehicle sensor 808 that can communicate, as depicted by a connection 809, with the parking meter 110. In one arrangement, the vehicle sensor 806 is implemented using an inductive loop buried under the road surface in the parking space 114, this loop communicating with the parking meter 110 associated with the parking space 114 by wired or wireless communication technology. Other types of vehicle detecting sensors can also be used, these being situated on or under the surface of the road, or in proximity to the parking space. The parking meter 110 can then communicate the signals detected by the vehicle sensor 806 to the central system 102. In another arrangement, the vehicle sensor 806 can communicate directly with the central system 102.

In yet another arrangement, the vehicle sensor 806 can be implemented by a camera (not shown) that can capture the occupancy status of the parking space 114. The camera can in some cases capture the occupancy of a number of parking spaces, and the occupancy of any space can be determined by pattern recognition techniques applied to the captured image data. In yet another arrangement, the vehicle sensor 806 can be implemented by enabling position sensors (based on GPS for example) installed in vehicles to communicate their position directly to the central system 102. The central system 102 can then correlate the incoming position data for the vehicles with the known positions of the parking spaces such as 114 and thus determine the occupancy of the space 114.

By means of the aforementioned communication infrastructure the vehicle sensors 806 and 808 can, upon detecting vehicles entering, remaining, and/or leaving their associated parking bays 112 and 114, communicate this information to the parking meter 110. The parking meter 110 can, in turn, communicate this information to other elements in the system 800, such as the central system 102, or to the enforcement terminal 116.

The disclosed arrangement enables enforcement system management to determine exactly when a vehicle first arrives in a parking space and when that same vehicle departs the parking space. This insight into the movement of specific vehicles in and out of spaces allows the system 800 to "zero-out" remaining time on a specific meter. This prevents a motorist entering a parking space before the payment previously entered into the meter has been fully consumed, from deriving benefit from the remaining time on the meter.

Furthermore, with information pertaining to the arrival and departure time of a specific vehicle, the system 800 can eliminate "meter feeding", therefore ensuring turnover of vehicles occurs. The term "meter feeding" relates to the habit of motorists who are parked, for example, in a "1 hour parking only!" zone, from feeding additional money into the meter near the end of each hour, thus hogging the meter and preventing other motorists from gaining access thereto. This type of violation is particularly prevalent in shopping malls, for example. Meter feeding, this relating to the situation in which a vehicle remains in a parking space . -

beyond the initial period, can be discouraged by, for example, setting differential tariffs in which parking costs $ I/hour for the initial period, $2/hour for the subsequent period and so on.

The disclosed arrangements can also be used to provide guidance to the motorist in regard to payment of the parking fee and other useful information. Thus for example, when a vehicle enters a parking space, the associated vehicle sensor can detect the presence of the vehicle, and can trigger activation of a visual indicator (such as a flashing arrow for instance), on the road or near the parking space. This visual indicator can point the motorist towards the nearest parking meter. Furthermore, when the motorist reaches the parking meter, the meter can display useful contextual information such as a reference number for the parking space in which the motorist has parked. If the vehicle in question has positional capability, such as a GPS locator, the vehicle can communicate it's identity to the parking meter system, either directly to the central system or to the central system via the parking meter. In this arrangement, when the motorist arrives at the parking meter, the display can inform the motorist of the parking space identification number in association with the vehicle registration number. This feature is useful in crowded environments where several motorists can approach the parking meter at the same time.

Furthermore, the disclosed arrangement allows a parking regime in which motorists only pay for the time they are parked in a regulated parking space. Since the vehicle sensors provide an accurate picture of how long the vehicle is in the parking space, the motorist can leave the parking space, drive to a booth manned by a parking attendant, and pay for the time the vehicle was in the space as the attendant can access this information from the central system and exact payment only for the time used. In another arrangement, if the parking meter has facilities for accepting payment by credit card, the motorist can park, go to the parking meter, and swipe his or her credit card through a credit card reader to "start the clock". When the motorist returns to the vehicle, he need not go to the parking meter to signal his departure, since the vehicle sensor in the space in which his car is parked will detect his departure, notify the system, and "stop the clock", thus accumulating only the payment associated with the actual time the vehicle occupied the space.

In another arrangement, after the motorist parks in the spot, she can make an e- commerce telephone call to the central system 102, and start the clock in this manner. In this arrangement there is no need for a parking meter, since the vehicle sensor in the space in which her car is parked will detect her departure, notify the central system, and "stop the clock", thus accumulating only the payment associated with the actual time the vehicle occupied the space.

The term "compliance" is used to define the extent to which a particular motor vehicle meets all the conditions associated with a particular parking space at a specific point in time. Thus, for example, if meter-feeding has been used at a particular parking space where this is forbidden, then although the required payment has been made, the vehicle is not compliant because the meter-feeding prohibition has not been observed.

An additional benefit provided by the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement is in the value of the significant data intelligence automatically captured regarding the dynamic usage of individual parking space. The information available, such as overall and dynamic usage and compliance data, allows the city to improve the management of its parking asset and make policy decisions based on complete facts. This improved visibility and the ability to respond to the changing demands and usage of the city's parking asset allows the city to derive additional revenue. An additional benefit of the compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement is the ability to gain insight into the utilization of parking spaces outside regulated parking hours. Data can be captured on the use of spaces even when the spaces are not being being enforced. This enables parking management to analyze data for parking spaces and determine whether it is appropriate to extend operating hours, increase or otherwise modify rates, and so on.

The real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement also enables the real-time information regarding the compliance status of individual parking spaces (e.g whether they are occupied or vacant), to be provided to in-car communication and navigation systems, thereby providing drivers with the ability to identify and locate vacant parking spaces in a given street, area or location.

When used in a multi-bay parking arrangement, the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement enables the system to inform the motorist, who has parked their car and then walked over to the multi-bay meter to pay for the space, what the identification number of their parking space is. The real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement operates in a number of modes. One mode provides the ability to deploy parking enforcement officers based upon a compliance map of the parking region. In other words, based upon a knowledge of which spaces are "compliant" (meaning occupied in an authorised manner) and which spaces are "non-compliant" (meaning spaces that are occupied without the appropriate amount of money having been paid, for example) enables the system operators to despatch parking enforcement officers on a needs-basis. This type of deployment would be performed, for example, on a daily basis

Another mode of operation relates to when a parking enforcement officer reaches his or her designated region of operation. The officer can then be presented, in a "pull" or a "push" manner on his enforcement terminal, with information about compliant and non- - J O -

compliant parking spaces in his area. Using this information in the simplest "pull" case, the enforcement officer can, based upon his own methodology, attend to the non-compliant spaces by serving the necessary citations. In this approach, the enforcement officer is unaware of the decisions or actions of other enforcement officers, and it can happen that two officers decide to deal with the same non-compliant parking space. The information for pull-type operation can be presented in the form of a compliance map of a particular region which shows the enforcement officer the non-compliant spaces in his designated area.

In a "push" arrangement, best-route algorithms can be used by the central system to directly point the enforcement officer to non-compliance places one after the other in an optimal fashion so that a maximum number of non-compliance places are attended to in the least time. This approach coordinates the work of each officer in the full knowledge of the other officers, and so the double-handling of parking spaces such as can occur in the "pull" case does not occur.

In yet another mode of operation, the aspect of "traffic management policy" can be implemented based upon the real-time "map" of compliant and non-compliant parking spaces and the statistical information that is available in this regard. This mode of operation relates to the fact that based upon parking space occupancy, compliance and time of day, parking authorities typically have legislative freedom to adjust parking rates in order, for example, to achieve a figure of merit of 20% of parking places being vacant on average. This is a typical objective of parking meter authorities. Operation in this mode involves setting parking tariffs in an area depending upon the compliance trends in the area. Typically, the higher the tariffs, the less people will be inclined to park in the area.

Another mode of operation combines use of the real-time compliance mapping information with the ability to vary the contextual conditions as displayed on the parking meter display. Thus, for example, if (a) the real-time compliance information provided by the disclosed system shows that the parking area in a particular area is heavily occupied, and (b) the central system is advised that a public event in that area is planned to commence in two hours, then the central system can raise the tariffs and reduce the permissible maximum stay parameters for that area in order to prevent undesirable lack of parking spaces for the public event.

Fig. 9 shows a flowchart 900 of a process by which the system 800 in Fig. 8 detects and notifies the central system 102 about occupancy of parking spaces. Considering the vehicle sensor 806 and the associated parking spot 112 in Fig. 8, the process 900 commences with a step 901 in which the vehicle sensor 806 determines if a change of occupancy has occurred in the parking space 112. If this is not the case, then the process 900 follows a NO arrow back to the step 901. If, on the other hand, a change of occupancy has been detected by the vehicle sensor 806, then the process 900 follows a YES arrow to a step 902. hi the step 902, the vehicle sensor 806 determines if the occupancy change is such that a vehicle has entered the parking space 112. If this is the case, then the process 900 follows a YES arrow to a step 903 in which the vehicle sensor 806 notifies the associated parking meter 110 about the details of the occupancy change detected, namely that a vehicle has entered the parking space 112. In a subsequent step 904 the parking meter 110 notifies the central system 102 about the occupancy change. The process 900 then follows an arrow 905 back to the step 901.

Returning to the step 902, if the vehicle sensor 806 does not detect that a vehicle has entered the parking space 112, this meaning that the vehicle sensor 806 has detected a vehicle departing from the parking space 112, then the process 900 follows a NO arrow to a step 906. In the step 906 the vehicle sensor 806 notifies the parking meter 110 via the connection 809 that a vehicle has departed from the parking spot 112. In a subsequent step 907 the parking meter 110 notifies the central system 102 via the communication infrastructure described in relation to Fig. 8 of the vehicle departure from the parking spot 805. _4Q

In an alternate arrangement, the vehicle sensor 806 has an associated communication sub-system, and can communicate directly with the central system 102 over the network 801, without needing to communicate via the associated parking meter 110. This type of arrangement is useful in "virtual parking systems" in which (i) parking spaces are marked with identification numbers, (ii) parking meters are not present, and (iii) payment for parking is made directly to the central system 102 using mobile devices such as cellular telephones, PDA's, mobile laptop computers, in car devices and so on. This mode of payment, in the case of mobile phones, typically requires the user to dial a pre-determined telephone number, and then to enter a series of keystrokes via the mobile telephone keypad in order to (i) identify the parking space, and (ii) define the amount of time for which parking is to be requested.

Fig. 10 shows a flow chart for process 1000 by which the central system 102 in Fig. 8 uses compliance maps in order to deploy and control Parking Enforcement Officers. The process 1000 commences with a start step 1001 after which in a step 1002 the central system determines current and expected compliance distributions for the enforcement region. The enforcement region is the area presently being considered by the central system in deploying the Enforcement Officers. It is noted that the entire enforcement region within the scope of the central system can be dealt with either in an integrated overall fashion, wherein deployment is determined for the entire region in a single process, or alternately, the entire region can be subdivided into sub-regions and deployment can be performed on a per-sub- region basis.

The current compliance distribution in the step 1002 is merely the compliance map of the enforcement region being considered at the present time. The "expected" compliance distribution is that compliance distribution that is predicted using historic compliance maps for the region being considered. This approach can be useful, for example, to take account of unusual circumstances in the region being considered which may, if used as the sole basis for ^

deploying Enforcement Officers, lead to inappropriately deployed resources. Thus, for example, if a particular sub-region has been temporarily closed for a sports event, then the current compliance distribution may indicate a very low incidence of parked vehicles. This would lead the central system to deploy a small number of Enforcement Officers to that region if considering only the current compliance distribution. If, however, historic compliance distributions for the region being considered show a much higher level of activity, then the central system can take this into account when making the deployment.

In a following step 1003 the central system 102 determines a target deployment distribution for Enforcement Officers, this being the deployment distribution that is determined on the basis of the various compliance distributions referred to in regard to the step 1002. The step 1003 can also, in an alternate arrangement, display information on the individual displays of the parking meters in the region of interest that is intended to effect the occupancy of the parking spaces in the region. Thus for example, as noted previously, if (a) the real-time compliance information provided by the disclosed system shows that the parking area in a particular area is heavily occupied, and (b) the central system is advised that a public event in that area is planned to commence in two hours, then the central system can raise the tariffs and reduce the permissible maximum stay parameters for that area in order to prevent undesirable lack of parking spaces for the public event.

In a following step 1004, the central system implements the target deployment, typically by communicating deployment instructions to the various Enforcement Officers via their portable enforcement terminals 116. This target deployment would typically be communicated to the officers' enforcement terminal 116 in the evening prior to the day to which the target deployment applies.

On the day following receipt of the target deployment from the step 1004, the Enforcement Officers would travel to their designated deployment areas, and commence work. In a following step 1005, the central system determines if officer-specific guidance is required. This step would be implemented if, for example, the enforcement terminals 116 incorporate global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices which enable the central system 112 to accurately correlate the location of the Enforcement Officers with the compliance distributions received in real-time from the field. If officer-specific guidance is desired, then the process 1000 follows a YES arrow to a step 1006 in which the central system implements the officer guidance routine on a per-officer basis for at least some of the enforcement officers. Thereafter, the process 1000 follows an arrow 1007 to amend step 1008. Returning to the step 1005, if officer-specific guidance is not desired, then the process 1000 follows the NO arrow to the END step 1008.

The arrangement of Fig. 10 can be extended to deployment of "enforcement personnel" (rather than enforcement officers) who enforce compliance with relevant contextual parameters, but not necessarily by issuing parking citations. Thus for example, if a vehicle is non-compliant by being parked in a space during a time interval for which the space is designated as a clearway by a suitable contextual parameter displayed on the display associated with the parking space, a tow truck belonging to the roads authority can be dispatched to tow away the non-compliant vehicle. The tow truck is one type of enforcement personnel.

Fig. 11 shows the process 1006 in more detail. The process commences with the start step 1100 after which in the step 1101 the central system 102 determines whether there are any more officers to guide. If this is not the case, then the process 1006 follows a NO arrow to an END step 1102. If, on the other hand, there are further officers to guide, then the process 1006 followings a YES arrow to a step 1103. In the step 1103, the central system 102 establishes the compliance issues to be addressed by the officer in question, by considering the compliance map of the region in question. In the following step 1104, the central system 102 determines a least-cost route that the officer should follow in order to attend to the non- compliant parking spaces in his or her region. This least-cost route takes into account both the location of the officer, the location of the non-compliant spaces, and the guided actions of other officers. Thereafter, in a step 1105, the central system 102 notifies the officer in question of the desired route by communicating this information over the network 801 to the officer's enforcement terminal 116. Thereafter, the process 1006 follows an arrow 1106 back to the step 1101.

Fig. 12 shows a city- wide compliance map representation 1200 showing, for example, the five city blocks having the highest non-compliance status in the enforcement region. A city block having a "non-compliance status" is a block in which the percentage of the available parking spaces occupied by vehicles which do not comply with the requisite requirements exceeds a pre-determined threshold. The aforementioned requisite requirements of parking spaces include payment of the correct fee, parking in the spot only during certain hours, and so on. The view 1200 shows a coast line 1203 upon which the city is situated, and a main highway 1201 running through the city. A region 1204 of the city is depicted by a grid, upon which are displayed, in relation to city blocks such as 1205, shaded blocks such as 1202 indicating that the Northern end of the block 1205 is one of the five blocks in the region 1204 having the highest non-compliance rates. The other four blocks meeting this criterion are also shown.

Fig. 13 shows a parking-space-specific compliance map representation 1300 of one of the city blocks in Fig. 12, showing how the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement can "drill down" into the block 1205 in Fig. 12, in order to view specific "space by space" activity. The city block 1205 is shown in enlarged format, as depicted by a dashed line 1301. Individual car spaces 1303 are shown, and the compliance status of each space, such as 1302 can be indicated, for instance, by displaying the space 1302 in a particular colour (not shown). Types of compliance status can include the following:

• Expired Spaces (Red) - spaces which are occupied, but time has expired;

• Paid Spaces (Green) - Spaces which are occupied and paid;

• Vacant Spaces (Blue) - Spaces which are vacant;

• Out of Order Spaces (Yellow) - Spaces which are controlled by a meter which is out of service; and

• Bagged / Reserved Spaces - Spaces which are "bagged" or reserved due to a special event or permit.

The real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangement enables a variety of customizable views and reports to be generated, including the following: Occupancy Analysis

Through data collected from the vehicle sensors 806, real-time visibility of the compliance status of every parking space is possible. Customizable views (such as occupancy maps) and queries can be generated to display real-time occupancy information such as:

• Overall real-time visibility of citywide parking space occupancy;

• Analysis of historical trend of percentage of occupied versus non-occupied spaces (for definable time and/or date range);

• Top 10 blocks of non-compliant spaces (ie where meters have expired);

• Top 10 blocks of occupied spaces

• Top 10 blocks of non-occupied spaces

• Trend analysis of specific areas, zones, streets or blocks regarding occupancy level Historical trend analysis lends substantial support to the ongoing optimisation of a parking installation.

Occupancy rates for a specific area can be reviewed to help determine what parking rates would better manage supply and demand. Thus, for example, allowable parking time in some areas can be reduced, or the daily length of regulated parking time can be increased. Compliance levels and attendant lost revenues can underpin a business case for more enforcement resources. Compliance Analysis

The following type of compliance related information can be generated:

• Overall citywide compliance

• Compliance by area, zone, street, block, meter or space

• Total revenue lost due to non-compliant vehicles (for definable date/time range)

• Real-time view of Top five (or ten or fifteen etc.) blocks with non-compliant vehicles

• Trend analysis of specific areas, zones, streets or blocks regarding compliance level

Enforcement Analysis

Through intelligent reporting, analysis and real-time monitoring and response of the data created through the real-time compliance mapping and enforcement arrangements, enforcement managers have the ability to do the following:

• Perform real-time dispatch of enforcement personnel to specific areas of the city, (e.g. direct enforcement officers to the "Top 10 blocks with non-compliant vehicles" at any specific time); • Enforcement officers can view Geographic Information System (GIS) maps (such as those depicted in Figs. 12 and 13) on their own terminals such as 116, and identify which streets and blocks they need to be enforcing.

Industrial Applicability It is apparent from the above that the arrangements described are applicable to the on- street parking industry.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method of deploying enforcement officers across an enforcement region, the method comprising the steps of: interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking spaces in the enforcement region; and deploying enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the determined compliance status.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the deploying step comprises the steps of: downloading deployment information to portable enforcement terminals used by the enforcement officers, said information comprising one of: a compliance map showing non-compliant vehicles in the enforcement region; and routing information according to which the non-compliant vehicles should be attended to.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the routing information comprises a least- cost route.

4. A method of enforcing compliance with parking regulations across an enforcement region, the method comprising the steps of: interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; deteraiining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking spaces in the enforcement region; and issuing citations in regard to vehicles that are not complying with the parking regulations.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the issuing step comprises notifying the owner of a non-compliant vehicle of the non-compliance by at least one of an on-vehicle paper citation, a mail notification, an email notification, a facsimile notification, an SMS notification and a telephone notification.

6. A method of preventing a motorist from extending their stay in a parking space beyond a specified time period, the method comprising the steps of: detecting occupancy of the parking space by a vehicle; detecting payment of a fee associated with the specified time period; and if attempted payment of a further fee associated with a further time period is detected before the space is vacated by the vehicle; performing one of at least: refusing the attempted further payment; modifying the parking tariff for the further time period; and dispatching an enforcement officer to the parking space to issue a citation.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the detecting step comprises the steps of: interrogating a vehicle sensor associated with the parking space; and detecting the occupancy of the space depending upon the interrogating step.

8. A method of implementing traffic policy for parking spaces in a region, the method

comprising the steps of: determining the compliance status of the parking spaces; and

setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined

compliance status.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the determining step comprises the steps of:

interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and

detecting the compliance status of the parking spaces depending upon the

interrogating step.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the setting step comprises the steps of:

determining the tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined

compliance status; and

displaying the tariffs on a display associated with the parking spaces.

11. A method of implementing traffic policy for parking meters in a region, the method

comprising the steps of:

determining the occupancy status of parking spaces in the region; and

setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined occupancy status.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the determining step comprises the steps

of:

interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and . -

detecting the occupancy status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the setting step comprises the steps of: determining the tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status; and displaying the tariffs on a display associated with the parking spaces.

14. A method of implementing traffic policy for a parking space in a region, the method comprising the steps of: determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status of the parking space; and setting a contextual parameter for the parking space dependent upon the one of compliance status and occupancy status.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the determining step comprises the steps of: interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and detecting at least one of the occupancy status and the compliance status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.

16 A method according to claim 15, comprising a further step of: displaying the contextual parameter on a display associated with the parking space.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the contextual parameter is at least one of: a parking tariff; a maximum parking duration; a specification of at least one permitted parking time interval;

a statement that the parking space is reserved for use as a bus stop during at least one

specified time interval; a statement that the parking space is reserved for use as a clearway during at least one

specified time interval; a statement that the parking space is reserved for use as disable parking during at

least one specified time interval; and a statement that the parking space is reserved during at least one specified time

interval.

18. A method according to claim 14, comprising further steps of:

dispatching enforcement personnel to the space; and

enforcing compliance with the displayed contextual parameter.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein:

the displayed contextual parameter reserves the parking space as a clearway;

the dispatching step dispatches a tow truck to the space; and

the enforcement step comprises towing the non-compliant vehicle from the space.

20. A method of charging for use of a parking space, the method comprising the steps of: determining, using a vehicle sensor associated with the parking space, the time during which a vehicle has occupied the space; and

charging for use of the space dependent upon the determining step.

21. A system for deploying enforcement officers across an enforcement region, the

system comprising: a plurality of parking spaces in the enforcement region; a plurality of vehicle sensors, adapted to detect vehicles using the parking spaces; means for determining the compliance status of the parking spaces dependent upon the detection of the vehicles; and means for deploying enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the determined compliance status.

22. A system according to claim 21, further comprising: a central system; and a plurality of portable enforcement terminals; wherein: the central system comprises: means for receiving information communicated by the vehicle sensors about detection of vehicles using the parking spaces to the central system; and means for communicating the compliance status of the parking spaces to the portable enforcement terminals, these being used for deploying the enforcement officers across the enforcement region.

23. A system according to claim 22, wherein the means for communicating the compliance status comprises at least one of: means for communicating a compliance map showing non-compliant vehicles in the enforcement region; and . -

means for communicating routing information according to which the non-compliant vehicles should be attended to.

24. A system enforcing compliance with parking regulations across an enforcement region, the system comprising: a plurality of parking spaces in the enforcement region; a plurality of vehicle sensors, adapted to detect vehicles using the parking spaces; means for determining the compliance status of the parking spaces dependent upon the detection of the vehicles; and means for issuing citations in regard to vehicles that are not complying with the parking regulations.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein means for issuing citations comprises means for notifying the owner of a non-compliant vehicle of the non-compliance by at least one of a mail notification, an email notification, a facsimile notification, an SMS notification and a telephone notification.

26. A system for preventing a motorist from extending their stay in a parking space beyond a specified time period, the system comprising: means for detecting occupancy of the parking space by a vehicle; means for detecting payment of a fee associated with the specified time period; and means, if attempted payment of a further fee associated with a further time period is detected before the space is vacated by the vehicle, for performing one of at least: refusing the attempted further payment; modifying the parking tariff for the further time period; and dispatching an enforcement officer to the parking space to issue a citation.

27. A system according to claim 26, wherein the means for detecting occupancy comprises: means for interrogating a vehicle sensor associated with the parking space; and means for detecting the occupancy of the space depending upon the interrogating step.

28. A system for implementing traffic policy for parking spaces in a region, the system comprising: means for determining the compliance status of the parking spaces; and means for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status.

29. A system according to claim 28, wherein the means for determining compliance comprises: means for interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and means for detecting the compliance status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.

30. A system according to claim 28, wherein the means for setting tariffs comprises: means for determining the tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status; and means for displaying the tariffs on a display associated with the parking spaces.

31. A system for implementing traffic policy for parking meters in a region, the system comprising: means for determining the occupancy status of parking spaces in the region; and means for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined occupancy status.

32. A system according to claim 31, wherein the means for determining occupancy status comprises: means for interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and means for detecting the occupancy status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.

33. A system according to claim 31, wherein the means for setting tariffs comprises: means for determining the tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status; and means for displaying the tariffs on a display associated with the parking spaces.

34. A system for implementing traffic policy for a parking space in a region, the system comprising: means for determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status of the parking space; and means for setting a contextual parameter for the parking space dependent upon the one of compliance status and occupancy status.

35. A system according to claim 34, wherein the means for determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status comprises: means for interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and means for detecting the at least one of the occupancy status and the compliance status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.

36 A system according to claim 35, further comprising: means for displaying the contextual parameter on a display associated with the parking space.

37. A system according to claim 36, wherein the means for displaying the contextual

parameter comprises at least one of:

means for displaying a parking tariff; means for displaying a maximum parking duration;

means for displaying a specification of at least one permitted parking time interval;

means for displaying a statement that the parking space is reserved for use as a bus

stop during at least one specified time interval;

means for displaying a statement that the parking space is reserved for use as a clearway during at least one specified time interval;

means for displaying a statement that the parking space is reserved for use as disable parking during at least one specified time interval; and

means for displaying a statement that the parking space is reserved during at least one specified time interval.

38. A system according to claim 34, further comprising: . -

means for dispatching enforcement personnel to the space.

39. A method of issuing a parking citation against a vehicle that has been parked in a

parking space associated with a parking meter, said method comprising the steps of:

communicating by said parking meter operational status for the parking meter and

parking status data for the vehicle during a relevant time period to a central system; downloading (i) said operational status and said parking status data and (ii)

contextual data for the parking meter to a portable enforcement terminal from the central

system;

determining parking citation data for the vehicle depending upon the downloaded information; and

issuing, depending upon the determined citation data, the citation including the

parking citation data and the operational status.

40. A system for issuing a parking citation against a vehicle that has been parked in a parking space associated with a parking meter, said system comprising:

said parking meter;

a central system adapted to communicate with the parking meter and a portable enforcement terminal;

said portable enforcement terminal;

means for communicating operational status for the parking meter and parking status

data for the vehicle during a relevant time period from the parking meter to the central system;

means for downloading (i) said operational status and said parking status data and (ii) contextual data for the parking meter from the central system to the portable enforcement terminal; . -

means for determining, by the portable enforcement terminal, parking citation data for the vehicle depending upon the downloaded information; and means for issuing, by the portable enforcement terminal, depending upon the determined citation data, the citation including the parking citation data and the operational status.

41. A computer program comprising at least one program element, said at least one computer program element comprising computer program code means to make at least one computer execute a procedure for issuing a parking meter citation against a vehicle that has been parked in a parking space associated with a parking meter, said at least one computer program element comprising: code for communicating by said parking meter operational status for the parking meter and parking status data for the vehicle during a relevant time period to a central system; code for downloading (i) said operational status and said parking status data and (ii) contextual data for the parking meter to a portable enforcement terminal from the central system; code for determining parking citation data for the vehicle depending upon the downloaded information; and issuing, depending upon the determined citation data, the citation including the parking citation data and the operational status.

42. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for deploying enforcement officers across an enforcement region, the program comprising: code for interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region; code for determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of parking spaces in the enforcement region; and code for deploying enforcement officers across the enforcement region dependent upon the determined compliance status.

43. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded

thereon a computer program for enforcing compliance with parking regulations across an

enforcement region, the program comprising:

code for interrogating vehicle sensors across the enforcement region;

code for determining depending upon the interrogating step the compliance status of

parking spaces in the enforcement region; and

code for issuing citations in regard to vehicles that are not complying with the

parking regulations.

44. A computer program product according to claim 43, wherein the code for issuing

citations comprises code for notifying the owner of a non-compliant vehicle of the non-

compliance by at least one of a mail notification, an email notification, a facsimile

notification, an SMS notification and a telephone notification.

45. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded

thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for preventing a

motorist from extending their stay in a parking space beyond a specified time period, the program comprising:

code for detecting occupancy of the parking space by a vehicle;

code for detecting payment of a fee associated with the specified time period; and . .

if attempted payment of a further fee associated with a further time period is detected before the space is vacated by the vehicle; one of at least: code for refusing the attempted further payment; code for modifying the parking tariff for the further time period; and code for dispatching an enforcement officer to the parking space to issue a citation.

46. A computer program product according to claim 45, wherein the code for detecting occupancy comprises: code for interrogating a vehicle sensor associated with the parking space; and code for detecting the occupancy of the space depending upon the interrogating step.

47. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for implementing traffic policy for parking spaces in a region, the program comprising: code for detennining the compliance status of the parking spaces; and code for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status.

48. A computer program product according to claim 47, wherein the code for determining compliance status comprises: code for interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and code for detecting the compliance status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step. - -

49. A computer program product according to claim 47, wherein the code for setting tariffs comprises: code for determining the tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status; and code for displaying the tariffs on a display associated with the parking spaces.

50. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for implementing traffic policy for parking meters in a region, the program comprising: code for determining the occupancy status of parking spaces in the region; and code for setting parking tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined occupancy status.

51. A computer program product according to claim 50, wherein the code for determining occupancy status comprises: code for interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and code for detecting the occupancy status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.

52. A computer program product according to claim 50, wherein the code for setting tariffs comprises:

code for determining the tariffs for the parking spaces dependent upon the determined compliance status; and code for displaying the tariffs on a display associated with the parking spaces. . -

53. A computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for directing a processor to execute a method for implementing traffic policy for a parking space in a region, the program comprising: code for determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status of the parking space; and code for setting a contextual parameter for the parking space dependent upon the one of compliance status and occupancy status.

54. A computer program product according to claim 53, wherein the code for determining at least one of compliance status and occupancy status comprises: code for interrogating vehicle sensors associated with the parking spaces; and code for detecting the at least one of the occupancy status and the compliance status of the parking spaces depending upon the interrogating step.