Mount Laurel, NJ, March 15, 2011
Metric Group Inc. which has been producing revenue collection and control machines for the parking industry for over 30 years and Liberty PlugIns (LPI), a developer of secure access technologies for Electric Vehicle Service Equipment, have agreed on a sales and technology partnership that enables the Aura Multi-Space pay station to collect payments for both parking and electric vehicle (EV) charging. Using pay stations to control EV charging reduces the cost of the chargers and eliminates the need for proprietary networks and billing systems.
Consumers will use the Aura Multi-Space Pay station to pay for parking as they usually would, and then select another payment for their EV charge transaction. Using LPI’s Synchronous Code Generation technology, the Aura will print a charge authorization code on the customer’s receipt which is then entered into the charger. This method does not require a direct connection between the units, which reduces cost for the operator. The Aura will show EV charging transactions separately on their ASLAN back office software, allowing the operator to easily track these transactions against the parking transactions.
Dave Witts, President of Metric Group Inc. says, “We are seeing more and more interest in EV charging stations from our customers and wanted to provide an integrated solution that would satisfy the requirement with minimal cost impact on our customers. Our open architecture allows for these options to be added to the Aura and our ASLAN back office, and we want to take advantage of it along with Liberty PlugIns product”.
“Liberty PlugIns and Metric share a common goal of creating a cost effective solution for our customers. We look forward to working with Metric as communities across the country prepare their streets and parking lots for electric vehicles” said Forest Williams, Vice President of Sales and New Business Development for Liberty PlugIns Inc. This integrated solution will be demonstrated in Metrics booth this year at IPI in May.