Duke University Modernizes a Complex, High‑Volume Parking Ecosystem with T2 Systems

Client Snapshot

Institution: Duke University
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Campus Size: 600+ acres across the Blue Ridge Mountains
Population Served: Students, faculty, staff, campus visitors, and Duke University Health System patients and guests
Parking Spaces Supported: ~28,000 parking spaces across 8 garages, ~190 gated lanes, and ~50 surface lots
Industry: Higher Education & Academic Medical Center Parking
T2 Systems Solutions: T2 Flex®, T2 PARCS, LPR, T2 Iris®

Background

Duke University operates one of the most complex parking environments in higher education, supporting both a major academic campus and a nationally recognized medical system. Parking & Transportation Services oversees all parking operations for the university and hospital, managing tens of thousands of daily parkers across gated garages, permit‑only surface lots, and visitor facilities.

Behind the scenes, a relatively small team is responsible for keeping this large ecosystem running smoothly.

Andrew Woloszczuk, Systems, Permits, and Adjudication Lead at Duke University Parking & Transportation, has been part of Duke’s parking operation for seven years. Starting in customer service, he worked his way into a system‑wide role that now touches nearly every part of the operation—from permit configuration and renewals to reporting, integrations, and VIP access.

“Our office controls all the parking for both the university and the medical system. It’s a large operation, but we do it with a very small team.”

With approximately 28,000 parking spaces across 8 garages, 190 lanes, and dozens of surface lots, Duke needed technology that could scale without adding operational burden.

The Challenge: Throughput, Reliability, and Experience at Scale

Duke has partnered with T2 Systems for decades, but like many long‑standing parking programs, its biggest challenge wasn’t starting from scratch—it was modernizing.

As parking technology and customer expectations evolved, Duke needed to elevate the experience for students, employees, and—most critically—hospital patients and visitors.

One major pain point was garage throughput and payment reliability. Older ticketing methods and ingest‑style equipment led to frequent issues:

• Tickets becoming demagnetized or unreadable
• Machines struggling with damaged tickets, especially during bad weather
• Drivers needing assistance in‑lane, backing up traffic
• High call volumes to customer service for gate issues

For hospital visitors, these delays mattered even more.

“You could be having the best day of your life or the worst day of your life. The last thing you want is to be stuck in a parking garage because a credit card won’t read.”

Duke’s team knew they needed to reduce friction, improve reliability, and modernize payments—without sacrificing the flexibility required to manage such a diverse environment.

Why T2: Flexibility Without Compromise

T2’s ability to scale and adapt is what has kept Duke’s partnership strong since the late 1990s. Rather than forcing Duke into rigid workflows, T2 Flex® allows the team to design parking rules that reflect reality on campus.

“T2 gives you good customization. You can use it at a base level, or you can really dive in and make the system work exactly how you want it to.”

That flexibility is critical for an operation with:

• Permit‑only, visitor‑only, and mixed‑use facilities
• Separate university and medical parking needs
• Departmental permits, VIP access, athletics, and special events
• Constantly shifting demand across locations

“You don’t have to go to three or four different vendors to do what you need. T2 gives you the solutions in one ecosystem.”

The Solution: A Unified Parking Ecosystem

Modernizing Permits and Back-Office Operations with T2 Flex®

Duke manages nearly every permit type imaginable through T2 Flex®, supporting a wide range of parking needs across both the academic campus and medical system, including:

• Annual permits for faculty, staff, and students
• Daily, monthly, and multi-day permits
• After-hours and carpool permits
• Departmental and contractor permits
• RFID hang tags, RFID stickers, temporary RFID paper permits, and digital permits

Despite the complexity of Duke’s parking environment, Flex keeps daily operations manageable. Once configured, most permit types require little ongoing maintenance. Departments request permits through controlled workflows, while most visitors and short-term parkers purchase permits online—reducing in-office traffic and manual processing.

Flex also integrates seamlessly with Duke’s financial systems:

• Employees can use payroll deduction for permits and citations
• Students are billed automatically through their campus account
• Flat files are exported directly to payroll and bursar teams

“Once configurations are done, we don’t have to do anything. T2 Flex just works.”

Data-Driven Decisions Through Reporting

Flex’s reporting framework plays a critical role in Duke’s planning and communication. Andrew and his team build on standard reports using SQL to track:

• Active permits by location
• Transient revenue by garage
• Day-pass utilization
• Oversell and waitlist thresholds

These insights help Duke adjust inventory, manage waitlists, and clearly communicate trends to leadership.

“Even if a report isn’t exactly what you need, the base is there. You just build on it.”

Enforcement at Scale with Mobile LPR

Duke’s enforcement team uses Android devices and Zebra printers paired with T2’s Mobile Enforcement App. Real-time syncing with Flex ensures officers always have accurate, up-to-date permit information in the field.

Mobile LPR reduces manual entry errors, improves accuracy, and helps new officers become productive quickly.

“They scan a plate and immediately know if there’s an active permit, an expired permit, or a previous chalk.”

Improving Throughput with T2 PARCS® and Modern Hardware

Duke has continued to modernize its access and revenue control environment with T2 PARCS®, upgrading garage lanes and replacing older ticketing equipment to improve reliability and throughput—particularly during peak hospital hours.

A key improvement came from moving away from ingest-style tickets to newer, scan-based formats designed to reduce mechanical failures and stabilize lane operations.

“The new ticket style has been amazing. It drastically reduced gate issues.”

Duke is also deploying ID TECH contactless card readers to further reduce friction for transient parkers and support tap-to-pay transactions directly in the lane.

“A lot of people don’t carry credit cards anymore. Tap-to-pay is going to eliminate so many lane delays.”

Future enhancements—including PARCS PoP, Scan & Pay, hotel key-card integration, and digital validations—will continue to reduce manual work while improving convenience for parkers across campus.

Results: Measurable Improvements in Throughput, Reliability, and Staff Efficiency

With T2 Flex® and T2 PARCS® working together as a unified platform, Duke University has realized measurable improvements across garage operations, customer service, and staff workload.

One of the most significant outcomes of the PARCS hardware modernization was a dramatic reduction in ticket-related lane issues. Prior to the upgrade, unreadable or damaged tickets were a frequent source of delays, often requiring staff intervention and contributing to congestion at garage exits.

“Before, you might see 20 bad tickets per shift,” said Andrew Woloszczuk. “Now we’re seeing maybe one or two—and most of those are user error.”

This represents an approximate 90% reduction in ticket-related lane issues, significantly improving exit throughput and transaction reliability across Duke’s garages.

The operational impact extended beyond the lane:

• Fewer gate calls and lane interruptions during peak periods
• Faster, smoother exits for hospital patients, visitors, students, and staff
• Reduced maintenance workload, allowing technicians to focus on preventative care and lot improvements
• Improved customer service availability, with minimal call wait times

By reducing friction at garage exits and minimizing equipment-related disruptions, Duke’s Parking & Transportation team has been able to reallocate time and attention toward higher-value service interactions—an especially critical outcome in an environment that supports both a major academic campus and a high-volume medical system.

A Partnership Built for the Future

Duke views T2 not just as a technology provider, but as a long-term partner that understands the unique demands of higher education and healthcare parking.

“If you want something basic, it works. If you want something very in-depth, you can do that too.”

With multiple initiatives underway—from ID TECH deployment to Scan & Pay and expanded digital validation—Duke is confident its parking ecosystem can continue to evolve without disrupting daily operations.

“Flex gives us the ability to grow and adapt. We know the system can handle whatever comes next.”

Supporting One of Higher Education’s Most Complex Parking Environments

Duke University’s experience demonstrates what’s possible when flexible technology is paired with thoughtful implementation. By centralizing permits, enforcement, access, payments, and reporting in one connected ecosystem, Duke has built a parking operation that scales—without sacrificing reliability or the parker experience.

As Duke continues to innovate, its partnership with T2 provides a foundation that supports both today’s demands and tomorrow’s growth—serving as a model for campuses navigating complex, high-volume parking environments.

Interested in modernizing your campus parking operation?
Discover how T2 Flex®, T2 PARCS®, LPR, and connected parking solutions can help your institution operate smarter and serve parkers better.

Join universities like Duke in optimizing parking operations.

Discover how T2 Flex®, T2 PARCS®, LPR, and connected parking solutions can help your institution operate smarter and serve parkers better. Contact us 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.