City of Aurora Marries MIFARE and Pay-by-Plate for Metra Commuters

Cale America Inc., a leading supplier of payment technology for parking and transportation, has announced its first US installation of MIFARE contactless card technology paired with license plate based payments in the City of Aurora, IL. Installed and supported by Cale’s distribution partner, Total Parking Solutions, Inc., the new system allows Metra commuters to simply tap their Aurora MIFARE card and instantly pay for parking as they head to the train. The payment and parking session are linked to the vehicle license plate number which is stored on the MIFARE card.

Joe Hopp, Superintendent of Maintenance Services for the City of Aurora explained that commuters love the convenience. “We have had almost 50,000 MIFARE card transactions since the program began in October last year. Adoption of the contactless cards has grown at a rapid pace,” said Joe. “Customers are now able to reload the cards easily at any pay station, and we expect many more commuters will prefer the convenience of tapping their card and getting on the train.”

Stored vehicle plate information on the MIFARE card eliminates customer input errors greatly speeds up the transaction process. These benefits are important to customers in a hurry, especially when the weather is bad. There are also savings to the city in cost of operation. "Using contactless technology means quicker interaction with the parking meter and eliminating user error in entering the plate information.” explained Andreas Jansson, President of Cale America Inc. “Since there is no need to insert the MIFARE card into a slot or manually enter a plate number, the technology works great in snowy or sunny conditions and there is less equipment to service or clean.”

Commuters can obtain a pre-paid MIFARE parking card in person at Motor Vehicle Parking Division office, located at 44 E. Downer Place, or by downloading and mailing a completed card Application Form. The initial cost is $48, which includes an $8 fee for the card and $40 credit for parking. The card can then be reloaded inside the ticket agency lobby or at any Cale meter at the Route 59 station up to a $40 limit per reload.

The City plans to add additional MIFARE card readers to its Transportation Center pay stations as well later this year.

About Cale America

Cale Group incorporates over 60 years of experience in the design and development of secure and innovative payment solutions for unattended parking and transit locations with cloud-based management applications. Headquartered in Kista, Sweden, the Cale Group has subsidiaries in ten countries and a network of partners in over 30 countries worldwide. Cale America Inc. was established in 2012 and is Cale’s largest subsidiary with systems installed in over 200 municipalities, campuses and privately-managed properties throughout the US, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.