Automated Daily Parking at Sharon Station Getting Closer

Commuters buying daily parking passes for the Sharon MBTA commuter rail station will soon pick a card first.

Credit or smart.

Sharon is buying pay stations for daily pass use at the 1 Upland Road station.

Selectmen have taken the next step in installing the pay stations, awarding the bid to Ven-Tek International of Petaluma, Calif., the low bidder at $48,537.

The figure includes the equipment and all first-year maintenance, warranty and services, Town Engineer Peter O'Cain told selectmen in a June 7 memo.

on June 12.

The pay stations will allow commuters to buy daily passes by inserting credit cards or smart cards, O'Cain wrote. Commuters may also buy them using their cell phone. The Sharon Department of Public Works also will sell smart cards.

"Purchase of the pay stations will eliminate the need for the DPW to collect and count money and will allow residents to purchase parking passes without having to have cash on hand," O'Cain wrote.

This is Sharon's latest recent parking change at the train station.

On June 4, Sharon sold quarterly parking passes online for the first time, and it was "very successful," Public Works Superintendent Eric Hooper said at the June 12 meeting. Town Administrator Benjamin Puritz said 300 passes were sold over the first 10 minutes.

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