You know that feeling w
hen you look forward to something, it arrives, and it’s so right it just seems like it’s always been there?
Pay-by-phone parking has hit Newton. And, it just works.
Took me under a minute to download the app, get set up, and buy an hour’s parking. (Your mileage may vary.) What’s your experience?
The planning and preparation must have been enormous, so kudos to city staff for what appears to be a very smooth rollout. (See what I said about seeming like it’s always been there.)
The convenience is great, but I’m really looking forward to the collateral benefits:
- Reduced cost of collecting and counting coins
- Space-by-space usage data
- Enormous flexibility in setting rates
The last point is the most interesting. Market-rate parking fees hold out a lot of promise for making better use of parking spaces (from the perspective of local merchants) and reducing traffic in our commercial areas. If the city were to increase the cost of a prime space by a relatively small amount during periods of peak demand, spaces open up for folks most likely to patronize nearby shops. (Employees and other non-shoppers have an incentive to walk a little farther to a cheaper spot.) With pay-by-phone, it’s a lot easier to trial and then implement market-rate pricing (though it may require first phasing out the coins).
Love it. And, zones = zip codes. Cool.
But Sean, you didn’t have to pay for the bike parking!
But seriously, it’s good stuff, however we won’t see most of those collateral benefits unless/until the city eliminates the not-so-smart meters.
I love it too.
It’s the first step towards getting rid of those dinosaurs; Broken, unsightly, intrusive, high maintenance, antiquated meters. Hopefully, no old style meter will ever be installed again.
Next step- operate like EZ pass. Each space has a number and a chip. If you don’t have an EZ pass transmiter you use a small kiosk at the end of the block.
This reminds me of that old saying about putting lipstick on a pig. On one hand, the City is employing this excellent new technology. On the other hand, they can’t even keep the damn parking meters in good repair. I’d love to know the lost revenue from meters that stay broken for weeks on end, or how many people have been wrongly ticketed for meters that don’t work properly. I see a neglected, poorly managed system that’s now adding a new layer of technology without fixing the old problems first. I can almost guarantee, the consumer gets screwed in this transition.
I’m with you, Mike.
Let’s optimize the out-dated technology, then introduce its replacement!
I love these, Boston has had them for a while and they are super convenient.
One thing to watch out for: While you can refill these from your phone, doing so won’t protect you from going past the maximum stay. The app will let you keep refilling but you will still get a ticket.
Hopefully these devices will be able to either rebate you for time not used or credit you for the next time you park. There is no reason why we should be paying the city for a service we do not use.
I believe I saw these meters in the lot across from The Local. If I read it correctly, it was a flat rate of $4. I wonder if that’s because it’s intended for commuter rail use. If you’re just having dinner or picking up food at Blue Ribbon, it’s a bit much. Luckily a spot opened up in front of the local and I used the gold-plated buggy whip of a meter, with three quarters and I was good to go.
After all his long months out at sea it’s good to have Sean Roche posting again on Village14.
This is great (when the Mayor announced it at his budget speech, I let out a little “yaass” that was slightly more audible than I had intended). It is easy to download and set up your profile. I cannot wait until it comes to West Newton.
Dan Foley, the parking lot across from The Local as well as the one inside the loop at the Exit 16 off ramp are commuter rail parking lots, which have a flat $4 fee for all-day parking.
I suppose it’s too much to hope for that they’ll support phones that don’t use iOS or Android? Do they take credit cards?
@Mike and @Sean – if there’s new technology that has already been used fairly widely with good results, it doesn’t make sense to spend money optimizing the problems with the previous technology. Much more cost effective to just replace the older meters with the new ones.
Sorry, Mike, mgwa has convinced me. We should NOT optimize the obsolete technology.
On to the future!