Boston Parking App Expanding To All Metered Spaces
BOSTON (CBS) - This year, drivers have another option to pay for parking in metered spaces. The ParkBoston app is expanding to cover all 8,000 city spaces.
In January, a small area of the Back Bay was enabled for the app. This week the rest of Back Bay, the Fenway and Kenmore neighborhoods will be added.
The pay stations where you can use the app have signs notifying drivers. Drivers must download the app, register with vehicle's license plate and put in payment information. They then put in the parking zone number into the app and the duration. Officers writing tickets can log into the system and tell if a driver has paid through the app.
Boston's transportation department said it doesn't cost the city anything to roll-out the system. Passport parking pays for the installation and collects a 15-cent fee each time drivers use the service.
John Melas-Kyriazi is well-versed in the idea. He used a similar app when he lived in San Francisco. "You never needed to have your credit card with you. And, you could see when time was running out so you that you could automatically renew on your phone which is super convenient," said Melas-Kyriazi.
WBZ found few people familiar with the app. The Mayor's office said 15,000 people downloaded the app and it has been used 12,000 times.
Samira Lopes said she likes the idea, but thinks it could be even better. "I think if it told you where the (open) spot is," said Lopes.
