By McPherse Thompson, Staff reporter 
Integrated Security Systems managing director, Julian Spence - File
NEARLY A year after it approved the privatisation of the city's parking meter system to a local firm, the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ) is yet to complete negotiations for its implementation.
Integrated Security Systems (ISS) of Barbican, St. Andrew, was selected to install more than 400 parking meters in downtown Kingston and New Kingston as part of the Government's move to provide a properly regulated on-street parking system.
"We are finalising negotiations with NIBJ," managing director of ISS, Julian Spence, told Wednesday Business yesterday. He said, "details need to be sorted out" in relation to the Road Traffic Act, clamping and other matters.
Mr. Spence said that as a result of those issues, installation of the parking meters had not yet started.
Asked which of the parties was delaying the implementation, Mr. Spence said there were a "lot of things that need to be dealt with" as far as the NIBJ, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and ISS were concerned. He said by month-end he should be able to say how soon implementation would begin.
The Government has proposed that when the meters are installed, motorists will be required to pay a fixed charge of $25 for the first half hour and thereafter it will be prorated up to a maximum of $50 per hour, with a maximum parking time of two hours.
A proposal from ISS to install the meters was approved by the NIBJ in March 2001 and by Cabinet two months later.
In its 2000-2001 annual report, the NIBJ said ISS will use Altek electronic cashless parking meters that use the iButton technology invented by Dallas Semiconductor. "This type of parking meter is specifically suited to outdoor applications and uses a stored value electronic token," the NIBJ said.
Parking meters were first introduced by the KSAC in 1974, but suffered from theft and vandalism, high maintenance costs for repairs to meters and increasing cost of wages for meter maids, car pound operations and wrecker crews.
In 1995, the KSAC divested itself of the car pound and the wrecker service for traffic management. Arrangements are now in place with wrecker operators to remove, ticket and impound vehicles parked in 'no parking' areas.
