City of Aspen Simplifies Citation Payments with T2 Scan & Pay

Client Snapshot

• Municipality: City of Aspen
• Location: Aspen, CO
• Parking Environment: High-demand tourist destination with limited parking infrastructure, including one small garage and primarily street parking. Heavy commuter and visitor traffic, with a strong emphasis on alternative transportation.
• T2 Products Used: Scan & Pay, Flex Permit Management, Reside Residential Permits

The Challenge

The City of Aspen has been a T2 Systems customer for over 25 years, consistently embracing innovation to meet the unique demands of a world-renowned mountain town. With limited parking and a high volume of tourists and commuters, Aspen needed a flexible, digital-first approach to parking management, a challenge faced by many municipal parking systems.

“We don’t have enough parking spaces for the amount of tourists that come to town, let alone commuters.”

The city’s parking office is also located in an inconvenient area with no nearby parking, making in-person citation payments difficult. The team needed a solution that would reduce foot traffic to the office and make it easier for people to pay citations quickly and conveniently.

Through T2’s Flex and Reside solutions, Aspen provides virtual permits for residents and commuters, streamlining access and reducing administrative overhead. The city’s long-standing partnership with T2 has positioned it as a pioneer in adopting modern parking enforcement technology that enhance convenience and efficiency for both staff and the public.

The Solution

To address these challenges, Aspen implemented T2’s Scan & Pay, a mobile-first citation payment solution that allows users to scan a QR code on their citation and pay instantly from their phone.

“We’re always trying to find ways for people not to have to come into the parking office… Scan & Pay was another way to make that happen.”

The implementation was seamless, requiring minimal effort from the team. The city added a simple message—“Scan quickly and pay online”—to make the QR code more noticeable and user-friendly. As part of a broader city parking enforcement strategy, this digital approach aligns with Aspen’s goal of reducing in-person transactions.

Implementation Experience

Debbi Zell, a long-time leader in Aspen’s parking department, was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to roll out Scan & Pay.

“There was like no work on my part… it just worked so well from day one.”

The city saw immediate adoption, with people using the QR code to pay citations the very first day it was introduced. The solution proved to be an effective upgrade to their parking enforcement solution without adding an administrative burden.

The Results

Scan & Pay has had a measurable impact on Aspen’s parking operations:

• Financial impact: $180,000 collected with T2 Scan & Pay in the first year
• Faster revenue: days to pay with T2 Scan & Pay 5-6x faster than kiosk or web
• On-time payments: 86% of citations are paid on time, many the day they’re issued
• Lower appeals: less than 1% of citations paid through T2 Scan & Pay are appealed
• Positive feedback: Users report that Scan & Pay is even easier than paying online

“I was amazed that the very first day we put it on our ticket, we got people paying that way… It totally works.”

Customers appreciate the speed and simplicity of the process, often choosing to pay their citations immediately using the QR code. The city’s proactive investment in municipal parking solutions has directly contributed to these positive results.

Strategic Value

Scan & Pay has helped Aspen reduce in-person visits, streamline citation payments, and improve the overall customer experience. While the city continues to explore back-office tools for tracking transactions and resolving occasional issues, the overall impact has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s worth it… it just worked so well from day one.”

Final Thoughts

For Aspen, T2’s Scan & Pay has proven to be a simple yet powerful tool in modernizing the city enforcement parking practices. As the city looks to phase out traditional pay stations and go fully digital, Scan & Pay is paving the way for a more efficient, user-friendly future.

Ready to Transform Your Parking Operations?

Discover how T2’s solutions, Scan & Pay, Flex, and Luke Pay Stations, can help your organization simplify enforcement, accelerate payments, and enhance the parking experience.

▶️ Take a quick demo tour to see how easy it is to use T2 Scan & Pay for citation payment.

💰 See how much more you could recover from your parking operations with our T2 Systems Scan & Pay ROI Calculator.

👉 Connect with a T2 representative to schedule a personalized demo today.

About T2 Systems 

T2 is the largest provider of parking and mobility solutions in North America. With over 27 years in business, T2 now serves more than 2,000 customers and maintains the largest Customer Community with over 7,500 active members. T2 helps universities, municipalities, operators, healthcare campuses, and transportation hubs generate revenue and operate efficiently with a comprehensive, integrated suite of solutions featuring touchless and contactless capabilities. From curbside management to gateless, from mobile payments to transportation demand management, T2 strives to make every trip a smooth journey by streamlining the parking, mobility, and transportation experience with technology solutions that help organizations manage resources, achieve goals, and empower consumers with choices.