Parking at a meter without any loose change can be a nightmare, but new parking meters across campus are changing the way MSU faculty, staff and students are parking.

During the summer MSU police conducted a three-month trial run of solar powered parking meters that accept credit and debit cards in addition to cash and coins. Since then the meters have been placed in various areas around campus, such as the Dairy Store, the Union and Owen Hall.

The meter installation is now complete with a total of 600 new meters in operation. The meters accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover Cards in addition to cash and coins.

“Our previous electronic meters were 20 years old and outdated. It was important for us to provide additional payment options to our customers and at the same time be able to add additional parking info on the meter display screen,” said Steve Grice, accounting clerk with the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety. “Other important features with the new IPS meters is they are all web based and we have the option to program or change necessary info at the touch of a key stroke.”

The new meters are also energy efficient.

“The new meters are solar powered and will save us from changing batteries twice a year. The solar powered meters are much more environmentally friendly than the previous model,” Grice said. “The new smart meter is also cellular and updates our technician by email and text when a meter is malfunctioning.  This allows us to be more efficient and provide a better service to our customers.”

The MSU Parking Office is currently researching new alternative meters to use in parking garages across campus.