Mobile Payments An Option At Some Existing Parking Meters
New parking meters are be coming to St. Louis; they’ll accept coins, credit cards, and mobile payments. The mobile payments aspect isn’t waiting on the new meters though, the Treasurer’s office is busy assigning “zones” to blocks so parkers have the option of paying with the Parkmobile app with the existing meters.
When you set up the app you can add your vehicle(s) to your list. You include the license plate number for each vehicle. Parking enforcement now coordinates with Parkmobile so it’ll see your plate is paid for that zone.
It remains to be seen how willing the public is to paying 35¢ for every transaction. When the rates go up this summer it’ll be a good alternative for someone who doesn’t have $3 in coins to park for 2 hours. The app only allows you to pay for the maximum time allowed, usually 2 hours. If you pay for an hour ($1.35 w/fee at current rates) you can be notified 15 minutes before it expires, you’ll have the option to add another hour (another $1.35). Want to stay longer than two hours? Just start a new entry for parking in the same zone. Given the 35¢ fee I don’t think we’ll see downtown workers parking at meters all day and using the app to avoid adding coins every two hours. The new rates should make more consider off-street lots and garages.
The Parkmobile app is available for many mobile devices (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and soon Amazon), a web app is also available. Click here for information on downloading an app. Even if you prefer to pay cash, or swipe your credit card once the new meters arrive, having the app on your smartphone as a backup is a good idea.
— Steve Patterson
Even though many people do it, I thought that “feeding the meter” (exceeding the posted time limit) was (and remains) illegal, and this appears to legitimize the practice. The primary purpose for installing meters is to encourage turnover, to open up spaces for new customers, not to have them monopolized by whomever arrives first. But I guess I’m being naive – it is only about generating revenue . . . .
I asked about that, they’ll be able to monitor if someone is doing more than one 2 hour session in the same zone. Plus, in the future, they’ll be chalking tires to see which vehicles are parked in the same spot longer than the maximum.