Cash-stuffed envelopes on their way out at Minneapolis parking lots

A cash-based honor system at some Minneapolis parking lots is on its way out.

The City Council's regulatory committee on Tuesday voted to eliminate so-called "honor boxes" that require drivers to pay with cash submitted via an envelope at unattended parking lots.

About a quarter of the city's 118 open air commercial parking lots still require this form of payment, according to city estimates.

The primary reason for the change is that drivers have no proof of payment when using the envelopes, leaving them in the lurch if they want to dispute being towed for non-payment. Council Member Jacob Frey, who authored the ordinance, said his office frequently receives complaints.

Unattended lots will be required to install an electronic payment station accepting credit cards, at a cost of between $12,000 and $15,000, or use a lower-cost pay-by-phone system. The rules do not apply to lots with attendants, or those that require an access card to enter.

UPDATE: The change includes an exemption allowing lots to continue using the honor boxes, but preventing them from towing cars unless they have evidence a driver has twice failed to pay for parking within a six month window.

"When you take your money and you put it into some random envelope and then toss it into the abyss, you never know exactly where that money is going," Frey said. "You never know if its necessarily getting to the right person. And you certainly don't have a record you can keep to show that you made the purchase of the space to begin with."

Most of the city's 118 commercial open air parking lots already have electronic payment systems. Around 30 still use the honor box system.