resources

Parking 101

Parking is a necessity and if done right should be a non-event. This website may contain terms or language that is second nature to the Parking Guy/Gal but is Greek to the average customer/parker. The Parking 101 Glossary was developed to assist our website vistors better understand basic parking jargon

Glossary of Terms

Types of operations

• Unattended facilities – no personnel on-site (often times called honor facilities)
• Attended facilities – personnel on-site (can operate in many different modes listed below:
  
  
  • Self-park – customers park their own vehicles and pay for parking at a cashiered exit lane, pay cashier on entry, at pay-on-foot equipment, pay monthly, using a credit card on exit, or using credit card in credit card out.
  • Valet parking – customers drive to valet area and valet attendants will park the car for the customer.
  • Special Events – this is pre-arranged parking used during concerts, sporting events, or any event where many customers will be arriving and exiting at the same time.

Other terms

• Cashiered Facility – This type of parking operation has personnel on-site to provide customer service and collect fees.
• Gate – or Entry/Exit Barrier Gate is the physical moving part which controls traffic in and out of the facility.
• Honor Box – most often seen on surface parking lots or after hours in parking ramps, this operation involves the customer self parking and paying a fee (usually a flat rate) for parking in an “Honor Box”. An honor box is a secured drop box.
• Parking Facility – A location built or set up to park cars, also known as a parking deck, parking garage, parking ramp, Carpark or a parking location.
• Parking Space – This is the physical area where you park you car. Most often time it is striped to delineate the boundary of your space. Also known as parking slot, parking spot, or a parking place.
• Pay and Display – A method of payment usually for surface lots where the customer pays a lock-box (cash/ticket machine) and is issued a ticket. The customer displays this ticket on his/her dashboard specifying the time period for which the customer has paid.
• Pay by Space – A method of payment usually for surface lots where the customer pays a lock-box (cash/ticket machine) and is issued a ticket. When paying the customer specifies the numbered space in which he/she is parked in. This method is similar to the pay and display method but the information about how long the customer can park is stored in the parking equipment.
• Pre-pay – most often used in event situations, this operation involved collecting the parking fee upon entry into the facility.
• Ticket Spitter – slang for Ticket Dispenser, this is at the entry of a parking ramp and when the ticket is dispensed and the customer has possession of the ticket the gate will vend, or go up.
• Parking Meter – used primarily for on-street applications, this method has usually has one meter per space and the customer will pay with coins or a credit card.