Multispace parking pay stations including payment improvements

Abstract

Disclosed herein are multispace parking pay stations comprising: at least one processor, a memory, a communications element, a printer, and a computer program including instructions executable by the at least one processor to create an application comprising: a software module receiving a unique identifier associated with a parking customer, the parking customer having executed a mobile payment for parking in a space associated with the pay station; a software module transmitting the unique identifier to a central parking management server and querying the central parking management server with the unique identifier to identify the parking customer and verify the mobile payment; and a software module generating and sending instructions to the printer to print a payment verification for the parking customer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A parking payment platform comprising:
 a) at least one mobile processor configured to perform mobile operations comprising:
 i. providing an interface allowing a user to configure a user account; and 
 ii. generating a unique identifier associated in a central parking management system with parking information comprising: user account identification, parking space identification, parking time, vehicle identification, and payment information; and 
   b) a parking meter comprising a sensor, a communications element, and at least one processor configured to perform meter operations comprising:
 i. receiving, by the sensor, the unique identifier; 
 ii. transmitting, by the communications element, the unique identifier to the central parking management system to retrieve the parking information; 
 iii. executing a payment based on the parking information; and 
 iv. generating a verification. 
   
     
     
         2 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the parking meter is associated with a single parking space. 
     
     
         3 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the parking meter is associated with 2 to 400 parking spaces. 
     
     
         4 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the unique identifier comprises a barcode. 
     
     
         5 . The parking payment platform of  claim 4 , wherein the barcode comprises a linear barcode. 
     
     
         6 . The parking payment platform of  claim 4 , wherein the barcode comprises a two-dimensional barcode. 
     
     
         7 . The parking payment platform of  claim 6 , wherein the two-dimensional barcode comprises a quick response (QR) code. 
     
     
         8 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the unique identifier comprises biological identification information. 
     
     
         9 . The parking payment platform of  claim 8 , wherein the biological identification information comprises facial biometric data, retinal biometric data, finger print biometric data, palm print biometric data, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises: an optical scanner, a camera, a near field communication (NFC) reader, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, a Bluetooth radio, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the communications element is a wireless communications element. 
     
     
         12 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the payment verification comprises a receipt, an expense report, or a replacement receipt. 
     
     
         13 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the parking meter further comprises a printer. 
     
     
         14 . The parking payment platform of  claim 13 , wherein the meter operations further comprise generating and sending instructions to the printer to print the verification. 
     
     
         15 . The parking payment platform of  claim 14 , wherein the verification is utilized in a pay-and-display parking regime. 
     
     
         16 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the meter operations further comprise determining an advertisement appropriate for the user. 
     
     
         17 . The parking payment platform of  claim 16 , wherein the advertisement is determined based, at least in part, by an identity of the user, a parking history of the user, a transaction history of the user, a location of the parking meter, a time of day, a day of the week, one or more current promotions offered by nearby vendors, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The parking payment platform of  claim 16 , wherein the advertisement is presented on the verification, presented on a display of the parking meter, or presented on a display of a mobile device. 
     
     
         19 . The parking payment platform of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile operation further comprise providing an interface allowing the user to generate the unique identifier. 
     
     
         20 . The parking payment platform of  claim 19 , wherein the interface allowing a user to configure a user account enables the user to enter a plurality of vehicle identifications, and wherein the interface allowing the user to generate the unique identifier enables the user to selecting a vehicle identification from the plurality of vehicle identifications. 
     
     
         21 . The parking payment platform of  claim 20 , wherein the interface allowing a user to configure a user account enables the user to associate an alias with each vehicle identification. 
     
     
         22 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 a) providing, at a mobile application in communication with a central parking management system, an interface allowing a user to configure a user account;   b) generating, at the mobile application, a unique identifier associated in the central parking management system with parking information comprising: user account, parking space, parking time, vehicle, and payment information;   receiving, at a parking meter sensor, the unique identifier;   transmitting, by the communications element, the unique identifier to the central parking management system to retrieve the parking information;   e) executing a payment based on the parking information; and   f) generating a parking verification.