City of Charleston reevaluates contract with Flowbird, parking meter operator

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – City leaders in Charleston are reevaluating the contract with the city’s chosen parking meter service after the company failed to repair and replace inoperable parking meters.

The City of Charleston said the Flowbird Group failed to meet the March 1 deadline of repairing and replacing inoperable parking meters.

In January, Flowbird representatives met with city leaders during a traffic and transportation meeting. They set a deadline on when all the parking meters would be up and running again, however it failed to be met, leaving the contract up in the air.

“We could end it tomorrow, if we wanted, but we want to be really thoughtful about this to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We have got to ask some really tough questions,” Deja Knight McMillan, director of communications for the city, said. “We have to take a thorough look at the data – the information we’ve been given to date and figure out what is the next move. And make sure whatever we put in the place going forward is a recipe for success and not a recipe for disaster, which is what it has been up until this point.”

News 2 reached out to Flowbird for comment, they replied with a statement.

“We have worked extensively with the city team throughout the month of February to inspect and test the parking meter system. When problems were identified, we immediately replaced any low batteries to restore operation of the meters. Our combined team is now monitoring the system to make sure it remains stable, and that processes are now in place to ensure that the meter system is managed properly and remains operating at a high level,” Jeff Nethery, a product support director at Flowbird, said in a statement.

Before then, hundreds of parking meters were inoperable throughout the peninsula, making it inconvenient for residents and visitors.

“We have about 1600 meters throughout the city. At the last T&T meeting, they had not replaced all of them even from that original contract, which is ludacris. Then on top of that, between 300 and 400 of ones they had replaced, were not working,” said Knight McMillan.

The city remains in the second year of a three-year-long contract, which was signed by the previous mayor’s administration. Now, the current administration is feeling the effects. Officials reported they have experienced a major loss of revenue, and are now looking to make changes with or without Flowbird.

“This is unacceptable of what’s happened to date. We’re very disappointed with the level of service we’ve been provided,” Knight McMillan said. “It’s not fair to the residents of Charleston, not only for the meters to not be working but the lost revenue as well.” 

Officials said the company has provided them with data about the amounts, but the city intends to verify that data and discuss how to move forward in the coming months.