Parking in downtown Fresno is finally making the leap into the smartphone era.
City Hall says drivers can now use a mobile phone app to locate and pay for metered parking downtown. The ParkMobile app is live and will soon offer online access to over 2,000 metered spaces, according to a city news release.
“This is the first of many exciting improvements for parking in Downtown Fresno,” said city parking manager Thomas Gaffery. He said credit-card enabled parking meters will be coming soon, as well.
ParkMobile is available for free for iPhone and Android devices, or by registering at parkmobile.io.
App Used in Other California Cities
The ParkMobile app is used in other California cities including San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
“We’re thrilled to expand our network to Fresno,” said company CEO Jon Ziglar.
39 Cent Transaction Fee
After downloading, users can activate an account by providing their vehicle license plate number and a payment method. ParkMobile users pay a 39 cent transaction fee for the service in addition to the posted meter rates.
Connected meters will be identified with “zone number,” which the user enters into the app, along with an anticipated length of parking time. If additional time is needed, users can add minutes from their mobile devices without returning to the meter.
Gaffery said the parking meter’s red or green notification flag will not change when time is purchased on the mobile app. But he said the city’s parking meter enforcement staff has real-time access to payment information from ParkMobile to prevent tickets from being issued erroneously.
so the meter is $0.25 and we’ll pay a $0.39 cent transaction fee to pay for it? Does the city make all of its decisions based on what is worst for consumers?