It could be another couple of weeks before Salt Lake City parking meters are back in working order. A spokesman for the mayor’s office says the city is trying to determine why the big blue meters stopped accepting credit cards on Friday.
City officials turned off the meters after receiving several calls about the issue. Spokesman Art Raymond says they’re not sure whether it is a software or hardware breakdown, but the city will figure out who’s responsible to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
It’s only the credit card system that’s not working. The machine still accepts coins or cell phone payments. Raymond says about 75 percent of people who use the meters pay by credit card, so the city shut the whole system down to ensure convenience for the majority of users.
Raymond says more than 5,000 credit card payments are made each day on the city’s meters.
Parking enforcement officers are working regular shifts. They’re issuing tickets to cars parked longer than two hours in a metered spot.