I?m doing a study on revenue streams available to local governments as
part of a policy research project. One revenue stream that I have had
trouble working with is parking violation and metered parking
revenues. I have split up my queries on this topic into two separate
answers.google.com posts, this is 2 of 2.

In particular, I am looking for three figures:

1)	An exact number (or good estimate) on the number of parking meters
in use throughout the world or, if that?s not possible, in the U.S.A
alone. I need good sources backing this number ? government documents,
university studies, business records, news publications, etc.

2)	An estimate on the ratio of meter maids to the parking meters they
tend over the entire U.S.A. or just two distinct major cities (those
with populations in excess of 100,000). Once again, I would like legit
sources backing this number.

3)	An estimate on how much (on average) meter maids cost their cities
in terms of wages and equipment. This can be over the entire U.S.A. or
just two distinct major cities. Again, legit sources.

Thanks in advance.

Hello lumbergh-ga,

I completed the research on your other question so I decided to take
on this one as well. It?s amazing how difficult it is to get hard
information about this industry. I was able to find some numbers for
your total parking meters question from parking industry sources but
these were called into question by some comments on a discussion
forum. See below for discussion of the numbers.

It is possible to find some statistics about number of parking meters
in some cities and information about the number of Parking Enforcement
Officers in various city budgets posted online. Unfortunately, they?re
rarely available for the same city and even then it?s difficult to
find information for matching time periods. I?ve developed some
national information based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates
for the PEO employment figures. Again, see below for ratios I
developed. I believe with extensive digging you could find additional
cities where both sets of figures are available.

Your third question proved the most difficult. Considering the price
of your question I?ve given up on trying to get the budget figures
you?re looking for. Based on my research I can suggest a search
strategy so that you can dig out the information for yourself. I found
that many cities post yearly budget information but the terminology
varies, the quality of the web sites can be very frustrating, and the
documents are frequently in PDF format. I suggest that you choose
cities of interest to you and search their websites for additional
information. Start with Parking but it might be under Public Works or
Transportation.

I hope that the information I?ve found will meet your needs.

Best wishes for your project.

~ czh ~


================================
ESTIMATE OF TOTAL PARKING METERS
================================

http://www.ionet.net/~luttrell/history.html
History of Parking Meters

From that early beginning, the use of parking meters by
municipalities, colleges and universities, and private parking
facilities has increased to the point that today, in the United States
alone, there are an estimated five million parking meters in use.

***** The source of this information is not given.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.parking.org/Value/FAQ/Default.aspx
International Parking Institute -- Frequently Asked Questions

How many parking meters are there?
Since parking meters have been around for more than 60 years, a hard
estimate is difficult to make. It appears, however, that at least four
million--and perhaps as many as five million--parking meters are on
the streets of virtually every mid-size to large city and thousands of
institutions as well. A significant meter market in recent years is
made up of cities throughout Asia, South America, Central America, the
Mideast, and the Pacific Rim.

-------------------------------------------------


http://board.parkingtoday.com/Forum2/HTML/000032.html
posted 04-23-2003 02:58 PM           

Dear RWH: 
What will complicate your efforts is that the industry has been
engaged in a concerted piece of puffery and market-size inflation for
years. Across the U.S. as a whole, there are only about 750,000
meters, no-where near the 5 million claimed by the "usual suspects."

You can prove this out for yourself by having your students call the
top 250 cities in the U.S.
Cheers, 
daBeast

-----------------------------

http://board.parkingtoday.com/Forum2/HTML/000010.html
Topic:   Parking Ticket Research
posted 04-25-2002 04:51 AM

You might try and go to the International Parking Institute website.
They can provide some statistics under commonly asked questions. They
also have a statistical guide available. If you like, you may call me
and I will try to assist. Jon Seybold
(216) 367-7910


***** You might want to browse this site and its forums for further information.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.parking.org/
http://www.parking.org/ContactUs/Default.aspx
International Parking Institute
PO Box 7167
Fredericksburg, VA 22404 ? 
Phone (540) 371-7535

***** This is the site the above comment refers to. You might want to
contact them or explore their site for additional information.



=======================================================
RATIO OF PARKING METERS TO PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS 
=======================================================

http://www.bls.gov/oes/2003/may/oes333041.htm
Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003
33-3041 Parking Enforcement Workers
Patrol assigned area, such as public parking lot or section of city to
issue tickets to overtime parking violators and illegally parked
vehicles.

National estimates for this occupation (9,870)
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

***** The Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers
in this occupation may be of special interest.

Champaign-Urbana, IL MSA 	
Boston, MA-NH PMSA 
San Jose, CA PMSA 
Stockton-Lodi, CA MSA 
Oakland, CA PMSA 

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.onetcodeconnector.org/report?id=551&s=title&tog=33
Parking Enforcement Workers - 33-3041.00

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/dpt_index.asp?id=13449
Department of Parking and Traffic ? San Francisco

Under the parking meter contract with Serco Management Services, Inc.
approved in Spring 2002, DPT was able to replace the City's 23,000
mechanical meters with new electronic meters that are more accurate,
accept coins other than quarters and eventually "smart cards," utilize
electronic vault locks to deter theft, and are included in a
comprehensive data management system to analyze parking usage.

***** Provides information about number of parking meters in San Francisco.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.sfgov.org/site/dpt_index.asp?id=13454#supply
Department of Parking and Traffic
San Francisco Transportation Fact Sheet

Number of Parking Meters Spaces (2003) -- 23,028
Annual Meter Revenue (1998-99)  $13,160,070
Annual Revenue per Meter (1998-99) $580
Parking Enforcement (FY 2002-03) ? Table of staffing and activities
Number of Parking Control Officers (PCO's)  279

***** See additional statistics to broaden your view of San
Francisco?s parking revenues and enforcement efforts.

Ratio --  San Francisco
Parking Meters 23,028 / Parking Control Officers 279 = 82.5

-------------------------------------------------


http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:owsSUvxrHh4J:www.ci.seattle.wa.us/transportation/parkingmeters.htm+seattle+%22parking+meters%22+&hl=en
Parking Meters

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is committed to
ensuring that on-street parking is managed to make the best use of
limited curb space in Seattle's neighborhood business districts. One
way is with parking meters. Currently, the City uses about 8,750
parking meters that are located primarily in downtown Seattle and
nearby neighborhood business districts.

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/parkingmeters.htm
Meters & Pay Stations
In 2004 Seattle began the three-year process of replacing the majority
of the 9,000 aging single-space parking meters in the city with
approximately 1,600 pay stations.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0246/news-anderson.shtml
November 13 - 19, 2002 -- Not Fine Enough

That's a lot of potential overtime violations wrongly issued by the
city's 67 parking-enforcement officers--they make between $47,000 and
$54,000 a year, and each generates more than three times that much in
ticket revenue, according to city figures.

-----------------------------------------------------------


http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0308/anderson2.php
February 19 - 25, 2003 -- The Hottest Ticket in Town...

The city is bringing in seven new PEOs. The police unit was down to 60
but is authorized for 67, covering 40 citywide districts. It's almost
a full house now, with five new officers hired, trained, and deployed
and two more in the works. The five new PEOs were city employees whose
previous positions were cut due to budget reductions.

Unfortunately for drivers and parkers, PEOs are likely the most
cost-effective method of raising money the city has, making them an
easy option when the city needs more cash. Officers earn a comfortable
$47,000 annually in salary and perks (supervisors earn $54,000). Each
PEO on average brings in a boggling $240 an hour in ticket
revenues?their handheld computers can spit out 400 tickets a day,
giving the city the potential of writing $100 million in tickets
annually. From 1994 through 2001, according to city averages, each PEO
racked up from $205,000 to $235,000 a year in revenue. (Man! Any PEO
want to take a stab at running City Light?)

***** This article provides a lot of statistics for parking meters and PEOs.

-------------------------------------------------


Ratio --  Seattle
Parking Meters 8,750 / Parking Enforcement Officers 67 = 130.6


===================================
SUMMARY ? PARKING METER / PEO RATIO
===================================

Parking industry estimate of 5,000,000 meters or contrarian figure of 750,000.

5,000,000 / 9,870 = 506.6
750,000 / 9,870 = 76.0

Ratio --  San Francisco
Parking Meters 23,028 / Parking Control Officers 279 = 82.5

Ratio --  Seattle
Parking Meters 8,750 / Parking Enforcement Officers 67 = 130.6


The probability seems high that the estimate of 750,000 is pretty
good. Although the sample of only two cities is very small the ratios
seem reasonable in light of my readings about other cities as well in
the course of my research. San Francisco is notorious for padding its
city payroll and Seattle is installing new types of meters. The
prognosis is high for reduction of Parking Enforcement Officer
staffing as a result of the replacement of old types of meters with
the new generation of electronic ones.



===================================================
COST OF PARKING ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT
===================================================

http://www.parking.org/Resources/BenchmarkingParking/Default.aspx
Benchmarking the Parking Profession: The Statistical Guide to Parking

The purpose of this report is to identify and analyze operational and
financial patterns in the public parking industry, as well as to
report compensation for various professional, administrative,
supervisory and labor segments of the parking profession.
Member rate - $59.00
Non-Member rate - 79.00

**** This report might be useful and the fee seems reasonable. You may
want to contact them first to get more detailed information about what
he report covers.


=======================
MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES
=======================

http://www.valuationresources.com/Reports/SIC7521ParkingGarages.htm
Industry Resources Report  -- SIC 7521  / NAICS 812930
Parking Garages and Parking Lots
Industry Resources Reports list resources available from trade
associations, industry publications, and research firms which address
subjects such as industry overview, issues, trends, and outlook,
financial benchmarking, compensation surveys, and valuation resources.

***** Browse through the offerings at the site to identify market
research organizations that might be useful for continuing your
research.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/ND812930.HTM
2002 NAICS Definitions
812930 Parking Lots and Garages 

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing
parking space for motor vehicles, usually on an hourly, daily, or
monthly basis and/or valet parking services.


http://www.census.gov/epcd/ec97/industry/E812930.HTM
1997 Economic Census: NAICS 812930 
Parking lots and garages

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.npapark.org/
National Parking Association
1112 16th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
800/647-PARK ? 202/296-4336
Fax 202/331-8523 ? info@npapark.org

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.marketresearch.com/browse.asp?categoryid=95&SID=88858954-294193267-348318009&partnerid=901625821
Transportation & Shipping	 (2685 reports)  
 
Find comprehensive market research and company reports on the
Transportation & Shipping Industry. More specifically, find reports on
the Automotive, Aviation, Aerospace, Logistics, Maritime, Mass Transit
and Railroad Markets. Reports include data on market segmentation,
size and growth in US, UK, Europe, Asia and global markets.

***** Searching for ?parking? in this category brings up several
reports that might be of interest to you.



===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

parking meters worldwide
parking meter statistics
"parking meters" statistics
"parking meters" market
"parking meters" industry
NAICS 812930
NAICS 812930 census
"parking meters" enforcement

If I wasn't a poor student I'd tip you much more, czh.

Hello lumbergh-ga,

I'm glad that the information was helpful and I hope you do well in
your studies. Thank you very much for the five stars and generous tip.

~ czh ~