Sacramento State University’s Success with LPR and Integration with T2 Systems

California State University at Sacramento has just over 32,000 students and almost 2,000 faculty members. With its large flow of daily campus commuters, the university struggled with its parking operations prior to Covid-19. The school manages over 14,000 parking spaces that include 5 structures and several open lots. Dealing with physical permits and gated entry into some of their parking structures caused slower operations and higher costs for the school. The costs of manually operating parking lots and structures were at an all-time high before Covid-19 hit in the spring of 2020.

After a stay-at-home order was put into place and classes transitioned online, Sacramento State was pushed to reevaluate its parking operations. The need for virtual and contactless parking was in high demand, students and faculty wanted the cleanest and safest way to park while still focusing on effectiveness. They had heard from other state schools and universities around the country about implementing ALPR cameras to better assist them in managing parking lots and issuing citations. After careful consideration and recommendations from other schools, Sacramento State and Route1 began their relationship. The first step was to understand what the school wanted to accomplish with its new technology and design a plan to fit its needs.

During the summer of 2020, people around the world realized that some business operations would never revert to the way they used to be. With the two Toyota Priuses Sacramento State purchased for enforcement, Route1 began the installation of Genetec mobile ALPR cameras. The feed from the ALPR cameras ties directly into Genetec Security Center, which is a unified platform that includes not only ALPR but video surveillance and access control. Route1 then helped integrate Security Center with a paid parking provider, T2 Systems, that allows the parking enforcement officers to run the license plates against a database of customers that have purchased parking permits. From there, the officers can issue citations via the T2 parking application.

Sacramento State has seen enormous benefits since adopting ALPR cameras to manage its parking operations. The students and faculty enjoy gateless entry and the contactless permitting system. Without a parking attendant at every structure, the school cut down on operation costs immensely. Sacramento State saw an annual return on its investment by not having to pay for physical permits, in addition to the money saved in labor and time. This also helped them maximize their operations after 2020 saw a reduction in the number of parking enforcement officers. Many universities also see increases in compliance throughout their campuses as virtual permits are easier to obtain.

Route1’s turn-key engineering and professional services provide the school with the support needed from installation and configuration of the technology to end user and administrator training. This allows the school to work with Route1’s Field Service Engineers and Solution Architects whenever they have a question about their technology or need to train a new staff member. Route1’s goal is to build a lasting relationship with our customers and to ensure they are getting the most out of their investment.