Appleton Approves Mobile Parking App
This article originally appeared on Wbay
April 5, 2017
Appleton, WS —
Drivers would no longer be forced to dig for loose change to park in downtown Appleton under a proposal approved Wednesday night by the City Council.
Instead of racing to feed the meter with coins every 40 minutes (which is still an option), the city will invest in an app letting people pay through their smartphone.
Drivers would download an app called “Passport Parking Mobile Pay.” Users enter the location code and space number on the meter and the expected duration of parking.
Need more time? Users can add it through the app.
“There’s that benefit of, ‘I’m four blocks away at a business down the street and I’m not done here, but my meter’s going to run out, I don’t really want to run all the way back to plug change,'” says Chad Doran, Appleton Communications Director. “Now you can just pull out your phone and it’s right there. It takes two seconds.”
There is a 15 cent fee when using the app.
The City of Green Bay is currently using the app at its parking meters. The city says it’s helping to reduce the number of parking tickets without reducing revenue.
Green Bay started using the passport last September. Since then, they’ve recorded about 14,000 transactions through the app.
If Appleton’s City Council hopes to have it ready for this summer.
The program would come with an initial cost of $2,500. Supporters say it will be a cost-effective option in the long run.
Drivers will still be able to use coins if they prefer.
