License Plate Recognition System (LPR)
Your License Plate is Your Parking Permit
For nearly 25 years, UB distributed printed rear-view mirror hang tags to faculty, staff, and students as proof of their permission to park on UB campuses. Beginning July 1, 2023, a License Plate Recognition (LPR) system has replaced physical parking hang tags. Your license plate is now your parking permit.
After being piloted in 2022-23, UB’s License Plate Recognition system (LPR) was implemented by Parking and Transportation Services to simplify the parking experience and free up our parking ambassadors to focus on other customer service priorities like improving traffic flow and assisting commuters with wayfinding. LPR systems allow UB to read hundreds of vehicle license plates quickly, resulting in significant savings in both time and costs. In addition, by eliminating paper hang tags, we are reducing waste: no more printing 25,000 paper hang tags yearly.
On This Page:
Register for Your 2023-24 UB Parking Permission
With the introduction of our LPR system, parking hang tags have been eliminated, but each year you still need to register for parking permission and update your vehicle information in the Parking E-Business Center. Inaccurate information there could result in a parking citation. Review the steps to confirm or update your vehicle information.
How License Plate Recognition Works
LPR systems use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to read hundreds of license plates quickly and match them to the vehicle information in the parking database. LPR systems have been in use since the ‘70s; you can find them everywhere — from major highways (including the New York State thruway) to many college campuses, such as Stanford University and North Carolina State University.
UB’s parking enforcement vehicles are equipped with roof-mounted cameras and parking ambassadors use mobile technology to record license plate information and match it to what appears in the UB parking system.
Information that's captured by UB’s LPR system:
- Context photo of the vehicle and its immediate surroundings
- Photo of vehicle license plate
- Date/time of the observation
Using this information, UB parking ambassadors will:
- Ensure your vehicle has a valid virtual permit
- Determine whether your vehicle is parked in an appropriate lot or area
- Issue a parking citation if appropriate
When a scanned license plate number is not recognized or is not parked in the appropriate lot, parking ambassadors are prompted to investigate further and, potentially, issue a citation.
Parking lots monitored by UB’s LPR system:
All parking lots on UB’s North and South Campuses will be monitored except for:
- Squire lot
- NFTA Park & Ride lots
- Center for Tomorrow lot
- Visitor parking will remain as physical permits issued by departments.
- A small number of specialty permits will remain in their current hang tag form. If this applies to you, you'll be made aware when you register or renew your permit.
Some remote UB parking locations will be monitored, including but not limited to:
- Baird Research Park
- Research Institute on Addictions
- Equal Opportunity Center
LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION PRIVACY INFORMATION
The University at Buffalo Parking and Transportation Services utilizes license plate recognition hardware and software (LPR) for parking and access control.
Locations
LPR data is collected on University at Buffalo properties. This includes the north, south and downtown campuses as well as certain remote locations including, but not limited to, Baird Research Park, The Research Institute on Addictions, Equal Opportunity Center and the 854 Ellicott parking garage. Data is collected by Parking and Transportation Services where mobile vehicle-mounted systems are driven by trained personnel in parking locations throughout the University.
Data Collected
The LPR system captures two photos of observed vehicles: (1) a context photo of the vehicle and its immediate surroundings and (2) a photo of the license plate. Along with the photographic data, the system also records the global positioning system coordinates and date/time information of the observation. Further software processing of the license plate image generates an alphanumeric version of the license plate number which is also stored with the record.
Use of Data
The intended use of data collected by the LPR system is for parking access control and parking enforcement. LPR data is used to determine a vehicle’s access permissions in a given parking area and support the issuance of a parking citation if needed. Any use of the data for purposes outside of these stated purposes must be detailed and approved in writing through administrative channels by the office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration.
Access to Records
Access to records created and maintained by the LPR system is restricted to trained designated Parking and Transportation Services personnel. All personnel with access to the system use unique identifiers and passwords to access records and all login, record additions and other activity is logged. Access to the system by others is prohibited. Designated personnel must gain approval from either the Director or Assistant Director of Parking Services.
Public Notification
Parking and Transportation Services will notify the public of its LPR data collection activities and policies via:
• Posting of a privacy policy on the Parking and Transportation Services website
Register for Parking and Confirm Your Vehicle Information in the Parking E-Business Center
1. Visit the Parking and Transportation Services E-Business Center and log in with your UBITName and password. Choose LOGIN in the top navigation bar (Figure 1). Select the button that says "Login with UBITName".
Figure 1
2. Click Get Permits (Figure 2), answer the questions and follow the prompts to continue the registration process.
Figure 2
3. You will select a permit and read through the Permit Agreement (Figure 3).
Then, select your vehicle(s) (Figure 4):
- If your vehicle information has not changed, you can continue to the Next page.
- If you have an additional vehicle or your vehicle information (including license plate number) has changed, follow these instructions:
- Choose Add Vehicle and add the information requested.
- Follow the prompts to View Your Cart and complete your registration.
- Note: there can be no spaces or dashes in your license plate number (example: ABC123).
That's it!
REMINDER: You will not receive a UB parking hang tag. Your permission to park on UB campuses will be linked to your license plate number. Be sure your license plate is accurately recorded in the parking system.
LPR Equipment At-A-Glance
FAQs
In the past, UB parking ambassadors monitored parking by manually checking vehicle rear view mirrors for up-to-date and valid parking hang tags. Vehicles with invalid or missing hang tags were issued parking citations.
Starting July 1, 2023, UB Parking and Transportation Services has done away with parking hang tags. Instead, UB now uses License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology for parking enforcement and access control. Parking ambassadors monitor vehicle parking using a vehicle-mounted LPR system. LPR systems have been in use since the 1970s and are ubiquitous today. No longer will UB students, faculty and staff need a physical parking permit. Your license plate will be your parking credential!
UB’s parking enforcement vehicles are now equipped with mobile roof-mounted cameras that will read license plates, and, using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), capture, store and compare vehicle information to stored data about owners and their permissions to park on UB’s campuses. Using this information, our parking ambassadors will:
- ensure your vehicle has a valid virtual permit
- determine whether your vehicle is parked in an appropriate lot or area
- send real-time mobile alerts to parking ambassadors’ LPR mobile devices.
When a scanned license plate number is not recognized or is not used correctly, our team is prompted to investigate further and potentially issue a citation.
LPR systems significantly enhance our parking enforcement efforts, allowing our parking ambassadors to spend more time on high-value parking activities like improving traffic flow and assisting commuters with wayfinding. In addition, UB’s LPR system has these benefits:
- No permit to lose, forget or move from vehicle to vehicle.
- Simplifies, streamlines and reduces processing time in permit renewal; no more taking trips to campus and waiting in line to pick up your permit.
- No worries about lost or stolen mail.
- Elimination of physical hang tags reduces waste (no more printing 25,000 paper hang tags each year).
A physical hang tag permit will no longer be required to be displayed in your vehicle. Instead, students, faculty and staff will update their vehicle and license plate information annually, during parking permit enrollment periods. The information in this system will be used to verify your permission to park on UB campuses.
Your license plate(s) is now your permit to park on campus.
Parking permission registration must still be completed annually. Register and ensure your vehicle and license plate information is accurate in UB’s Parking E-Business Center.
Parking permit registration must still be completed annually for all UB faculty, staff and students. Register and ensure your vehicle and license plate information is accurate in Parking and Transportation Services’ E-Business Center. (Login with your UBITName and password).
- In June each year, faculty and staff will receive a reminder to register and pay for their virtual parking permits, and to confirm their license plate and vehicle of record.
- The cost for faculty and staff parking permits will not change as a result of UB's implementation of the LPR system.
- Students will receive reminders to renew their parking permit via their buffalo.edu address and on myUB.
- Visitor Permits will remain as physical permit issued by departments.
- A small number of specialty permits will remain in their current hang tag form. If this applies to you, you'll be made aware when you register or renew your permit.
All parking lots on UB’s North and South Campuses will be monitored except for:
- Squire Lot
- NFTA Park & Ride lots
- Center for Tomorrow lot
- Visitor parking will continue to require a department-issued temporary permit, but will not be monitored by the LPR system. Parking citations will be issued to visitor vehicles parked without a valid permit
Some remote UB parking locations will be monitored, including but not limited to:
- Baird Research Park
- Research Institute on Addictions
- Equal Opportunity Center
The process to pay or appeal a parking ticket has not changed.
Unfortunately, hang tags are not recyclable in our current sustainability infrastructure, but since we will no longer need to produce 25,000 paper hang tags each year -- that’s not nothing. Every little bit helps.
UB’s LPR system captures the following information:
- Context photo of the vehicle and its immediate surroundings
- Photo of vehicle license plate
- Date/time of the observation
While it is legal to record the time and location of a vehicle, we understand that some may have data privacy concerns about LPR systems. Your privacy is very important to us.
- UB will only collect, store, and use LPR data for parking and transportation-related uses, research, or to comply with university policy or the law. Aggregated (i.e., no personal data) vehicle data may be shared for research and program management purposes.
- There is strict separation between the license plate data storage and other customer information databases UB operates.
- UB does not sell or license identifiable data to any third parties for any other purpose.
The intended use of data collected by the LPR system is for parking access control and parking enforcement. LPR data is used to determine a vehicle’s access permissions in a given parking area and to support the issuance of a parking citation if needed. Any use of the data outside of these stated purposes must be detailed and approved in writing through by UB Parking and Transportation Services and the vice president for finance and administration.
Access to records created and maintained by the LPR system is restricted to trained Parking and Transportation Services personnel. All personnel with access to the system use unique identifiers and passwords to access records and all login, record additions and other activity is logged. Access to the system by others is prohibited. Access to system data by UB personnel must be approved by either the director or assistant director of Parking and Transportation Services.
LPR systems are used widely on college and university campuses, including these and many others:
- Binghamton University
- SUNY Brockport
- Stanford University
- Boise State University
- North Carolina State University
- University of Central Florida
- California State University
- Central Michigan University
UB Parking and Transportation Services’s LPR web page is the public notification of the use of License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology on its campuses. Further, all members of the UB campus community have received notice of this change via email to their buffalo.edu address.
All permissions to park on UB North and South campuses will be monitored via UB’s LPR system. Participation is mandatory.
When using a rental car, please contact UB Parking and Transportation Services to have the vehicle license plate added to your virtual parking permission for the duration of use.
Each university member may link two (2) license plates to their virtual parking permission.
No. Only one vehicle can be on campus at a time under a single virtual permit. Think "one permit/one parking space."
Contact for Questions
Parking and Transportation Services