Portland will test pay-by-phone street parking starting in August
Photo courtesy of The Oregonian.
An Atlanta company bets Portland residents and visitors will pay more to park if it means greater convenience.
Starting next month, Pearl District drivers will test technology that allows people to pay for street parking with a cell phone. No more walking to the meter in the middle of the block. No more fishing out coins or a credit card while juggling a toddler and an umbrella. And no more messy window stickers.
Instead, a few taps on a cell phone will authorize a credit card payment of the meter rate -- plus a 35-cent fee. And if your time is running out while you sit in a meeting or finish some shopping? Just pull out your phone and, for another 35 cents, add more.
The 3-year-old system, by Atlanta company Parkmobile, is already running in about 100 U.S. jurisdictions. Parkmobile will offer it in the Pearl for 90 days. If it catches on -- as it did in Washington, D.C., this summer -- the program could expand to other parts of Portland.
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