Company Tapped by Newport for Parking Program Reportedly Overcharged Customers in Other Cities
GoLocalProv News Team
Company Tapped by Newport for Parking Program Reportedly Overcharged Customers in Other Cities
According to the city, it has partnered with LAZ Parking and Flowbird Group to introduce “pay-by-plate” parking.
In 2021, Flowbird was faced with reports of overcharging customers in multiple cities across the country.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Ocean City may have lost as much as $20,000 in revenue due a glitch in Flowbird parking kiosks,” reported the Salisbury Daily Times on July 8, 2021. “Flowbird operates parking kiosks in downtown Ocean City. The company performed a software update July 1 that led to some customers being charged multiple times, according to Ocean City spokeswoman Jessica Waters.”
“An Action News Jax investigation revealed 2,779 people were overcharged to park in St. Augustine from July 2-5,” reported the Florida CBS/Fox affiliate on July 9, 2021. “The city confirmed its third-party vendor, Flowbird, had a glitch that impacted customers across the country, including those who paid to park using St. Augustine’s 48 pay stations.”
Newport’s move to parking vendors marks just the latest in Rhode Island.
As GoLocal reported in 2021, “DEM Picks Beach Parking Vendor - Faces EEOC & Wage Theft Claims, Execs Raimondo Donors:”
“The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has selected an out-of-state corporation with a checkered background to run the parking lots at the State beaches.
The company LAZ Parking has been battling a number of labor and racial discrimination charges across the country. In Massachusetts, the company settled with the MBTA and was forced to pay millions for allowing skimming.
LAZ Parking executives have been strong donors to Governor Gina Raimondo and the Rhode Island Democratic Party. Company executives have donated nearly $10,000 of which Raimondo has collected $6,000 and the Rhode Island Democratic State Party received $3,500.”
According to campaign finance records, LAZ has since donated to Rhode Island Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Buonanno Foulkes as well.
City on Record
Newport's Communications Officer Tom Shevlin said that to date, the city has had a “positive” experience with LAZ.
“LAZ Parking has been managing the majority of the City’s seasonal parking program since 2018, and thus far we’ve had very positive feedback from both staff and end-users who utilize our parking areas each summer,” said Shevlin. “In addition to operating the City’s public parking lots, LAZ is also currently in the process of replacing all of our single-space parking meters with multi-space pay stations as we look to increase efficiencies and provide for a more seamless parking experience for the millions of visitors who come to Newport each summer."
Shevlin also addressed the reports of overcharging by Flowbird.
"As a City, we’re always concerned about how public taxpayer dollars are spent and we do our best to hold our contractors and third-party providers to the highest of standards," said Shevlin. "In this case, two of the three bids that we received included the use of Flowbird machines."
"In the event that any potential issues do arise – whether it be from either a software or hardware standpoint- we would certainly address them promptly with the vendor," he said. "At this point, I think it’s fair to say that while we’re immediately focused on bringing the City’s new parking program online, we’re also eager to explore new strategies to refine and improve our parking operations for the long run."
Flowbird did not respond to request for comment.