License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology

The Parking & Transportation Office uses License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology to verify account holders, charge account holders in ungated lots, and issue parking violations for vehicles without accounts or in violation of MIT parking regulations.

LPR is a scanning technology that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically read license plate characters and compare them to a set of license plates in a database (in our case, the database of registered MIT parkers). The LPR system uses a car-mounted camera and integrated software to scan license plates and determine whether a vehicle is associated with a valid parking account and is parked in an authorized location.

• The LPR vehicle is driven by an MIT Enforcement Officer and travels through each MIT lot frequently during the course of the day, scanning license plates and confirming valid parkers in each lot. If the LPR scans a license plate that is not authorized to park, the MIT Enforcement Officer will investigate any apparent violations and will ticket vehicles as needed.
• The LPR scan of license plates in ungated lots enables our parking technology to automatically determine and bill parking charges, opening up the ungated areas to the daily parking rate program. This program may reduce parking costs for account holders by only charging individuals for days when parking is used. Even if a plate is scanned multiple times in one day, the parker will only be charged once per day.

What are the benefits of LPR?

LPR technology provides a range of benefits to MIT parkers on campus:

• Eliminates the need for permit stickers
• Enables us to offer daily rate parking in ungated lots on the MIT campus
• Helps make parking enforcement more efficient

Is the LPR system connected to the systems at the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles?

No, MIT’s LPR system is not connected with the DMV and does not transmit or receive information from the DMV’s systems.

How will I know if I have received a parking ticket?

The ticketing process remains unchanged. Your vehicle will be issued a citation (with a ticket placed on the car), and you will have 30 days to either pay or appeal the violation. Note that your parking dashboard will indicate whether you have any open parking violations.

What if I have more than one vehicle associated with my permit or if I’m driving a rental car or other temporary vehicle?

The LPR technology is integrated with the parking system, so if your parking account is up to date, you will not receive a citation. If you are driving a new vehicle or a different vehicle from usual, please be sure to update your account. See the All parkers FAQ for more details.

Does the LPR technology have any impact on my privacy? What happens to my information?

No. MIT and the Parking & Transportation Office value your privacy. We are collecting the same information from you that we have always collected to manage the parking system, and your information will stay within MIT’s systems.