If you're running a parking operation or starting one soon, you probably dream of automating the entire system - perhaps with a parking gate. Our team at AirGarage has helped thousands of businesses find alternatives to parking barriers.

1. Install quotes can be misleading

The average price for a single-arm parking barrier is $6,000, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Maintenance contracts, software add-ons, visitor access, and lost revenue during repairs can put the total effective cost closer to six figures.

2. Drivers will drive through them

Employees at one parking operator wrote on Glassdoor that "our parking arms break constantly, people drive through them or they have electrical problems and we have to wait days for HQ to send a contractor to fix it."

3. Credit card readers can be unreliable

A garage owner in Stillwater, MN reported over 900 calls a month from people experiencing issues with the parking gate's credit card reader, requiring a dispatch from the operator during service hours and an arrangement with the police department after hours.

4. They can malfunction and cause serious injury

Not only are parking gates flimsy enough to drive through they can also malfunction and come down on a pedestrian or car. This can result in bodily harm or car damage. This law firm has a whole site dedicated to compensation from parking arm gate injuries.

5. There are other options

AirGarage is a parking operator that uses license plate recognition to automatically bill customers and keep track of guests and visitors. Unlike traditional parking operators, there is no install cost since the solution is 100% software based. Several of our clients formerly used parking access control gates, and switched after the repair costs were unjustifiable.