Western Carolina University Modernizes Campus Parking With T2 Flex and LPR

Client Snapshot

• Institution: Western Carolina University
• Location: Cullowhee, North Carolina
• Campus Size: 600+ acres across the Blue Ridge Mountains
• Population Served: Over 50,000 students, faculty, staff, and visitors annually
• Parking Spaces Supported: ~6,700 spaces across 55+ lots and a structured deck
• Industry: Higher Education
• T2 Systems Solutions: T2 Flex®, LPR mobile and fixed, T2 Pay Stations

Challenge

A Mountain Campus With Tough Connectivity Challenges

Western Carolina University (WCU) is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where cellular and Wi-Fi coverage can be inconsistent and unpredictable. Their previous parking system simply wasn’t built for this environment.

“Connectivity is always an issue up here. Our old system would fail if we even blinked the wrong way. We lost whole days of enforcement work.” Chelsea Reavis, Assistant Director of Events and Enforcement for Parking and Transportation.

Before T2, WCU’s enforcement process was held together by fragile workflows:

• Devices that rarely worked because of poor connectivity in the mountainous area
• End-of-day manual downloads that frequently failed
• Officers carrying an iPad, hotspot, Bluetooth printer, stylus, and spare batteries
• No real-time permit or payment data
• Manual permit assignments and spreadsheet-heavy management
• Unreliable evidence for appeals
• Students frustrated with limited self-service options

“It was beautifully horrible. Some days it worked. Some days it didn’t. And when it didn’t, you were just out of luck.”

A Complex Parking Operation That Needed One System

WCU manages:

• Over 55 lots
• A full parking deck
• Dozens of permit categories
• Rapidly shifting construction areas
• Thousands of daily visitors
• A large commuter and residential student population

Despite the scale, staff were forced to run everything through disjointed systems with no single source of truth.

“We were doing everything manually and everything took longer than it should have. We needed one system that could actually keep up.”

Solution

A Unified Parking Platform With T2 Flex

WCU implemented T2 Flex to centralize permits, enforcement, billing, payments, and reporting. Flex immediately streamlined every part of their operation.

“T2 Flex gives us everything in one spot. Permits, appeals, payments, vehicles—it’s all right there, and it keeps the whole history.”

Flex now manages:

• All permit types
• Online self-service through FlexPort
• Appeals and citations
• Payment processing and POS workflows
• Campus integrations
• Real-time reporting and dashboards
• LPR-based validation
• Event and visitor parking workflows
• Data exchange via APIs and batch files

Seamless Integration With Campus Financial Systems

A major win for WCU was Flex’s ability to integrate with the university’s payment ecosystem. Students can now pay for parking using the same system they already use for tuition, housing, and campus services.

“The integration with our campus system has been huge. Students don’t have to learn a new payment process—they use the same system they already trust.”

Parking financials now flow automatically and cleanly, reducing staff workload and eliminating the need for manual reconciliation.

Rugged Enforcement Hardware Built for the Mountains

T2’s Mobile Enforcement App running on XF handhelds transformed WCU’s enforcement operations.

“These handhelds are phenomenal. The battery lasts all day, the photos are clear, and everything is faster.”

Most importantly?

“They actually work anywhere on campus—even where we have no service.”

The devices allow officers to:

• Issue citations offline with auto-sync later
• Capture high-quality photos and signatures
• Validate permits on the spot
• Run enforcement routes without relying on connectivity

Officers also no longer carry five separate devices—everything is built into one rugged handheld.

Campuswide LPR for Accurate, Real-Time Enforcement

WCU deployed a combination of fixed and mobile LPR systems:

• Fixed LPR cameras in their parking deck
• Mobile LPR on multiple enforcement vehicles
• Integrated real-time permit validation through T2 Flex
• Partial-plate lookup capabilities for investigations
• Partner video tools for parking deck incident evidence

“LPR catches things we’d never catch on foot. It makes everything more efficient.”

Permits, vehicles, and payments sync automatically, improving the accuracy and fairness of enforcement.

Integrated Payments and Smarter Pay Stations

WCU uses T2 Pay Stations integrated directly into Flex. Officers even see pay station transactions from their handhelds.

“Having pay station info right in the enforcement app is a lifesaver. Officers don’t have to guess anymore.”

Flex also connects to multiple campuses and parking technologies. Its open API and file-based data exchange allow WCU to integrate systems for:

• Campus payments
• HR/payroll deduced permits
• ID verification systems
• Multiple transient parking partners

“T2 Flex really is the hub. Everything connects through it.”

Results

Fast, Accurate, Consistent Enforcement Since moving to T2

• Enforcement is faster
• Citations are clearer and backed by evidence
• Shared or misused permits are quickly flagged
• Data is always current
• LPR handles most of the heavy lifting
• Officers waste zero time on faulty devices

“Reliable hardware and real-time data changed our entire operation.”

A Better Student and Staff Experience

With Flex, students enjoy:

• Online permit purchasing
• Easy citation payments
• A straightforward appeals process
• Access to complete vehicle and citation history
• Billing integrated into their existing campus payment system

“Students love it. Everything is online, everything is clean, everything is transparent.”

A Modern System That Scales With Campus Growth

WCU continues to expand and build new lots. Flex adapts with ease.

“Flex evolves with us. That’s one of the reasons we stay with T2.”

Every new technology that WCU brings online—LPR, pay stations, transient apps—ties into Flex.

A Partnership Built on Trust

WCU repeatedly praised T2’s responsiveness and support.

“T2 has been great to us. Anytime we need something, you’re responsive and supportive. I would recommend T2 to anyone. The system, the user-friendliness, the customer service—it’s all worth it.”

Western Carolina University Today

With T2 Flex, LPR, rugged mobile enforcement, and connected T2 Pay Stations, WCU has transformed its parking operation into a modern, unified, future-ready system that meets the needs of a growing campus.

Join universities like Western Carolina University in optimizing parking operations.

Watch the on-demand webinar to see how Western Carolina University is using T2 Flex and LPR to streamline operations. Watch the webinar.

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.