Wednesday, May 4, 2011

PayByPhone Approved by San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to Pay for Parking

May 04, 2011 05:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SFMTA Approves PayByPhone for On Street Parking in San Francisco

San Francisco drivers will be able to use their cell phones to pay for parking

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board has approved a contract with PayByPhone (Verrus) to introduce pay-by-phone payment service across approximately 27,000 on-street parking spaces throughout San Francisco.

“Along with the SFpark initiatives, this technology will help improve the customer experience by making it more convenient to pay for parking at locations throughout San Francisco.”

When launched later this year, the service will enable drivers to use their mobile phones to pay for parking. Drivers can also choose to receive a text message reminder before their parking meters expire, add time remotely (subject to time limit restrictions) and receive parking receipts by email.

This program will be available at City meters, including those in SFpark and Port of San Francisco areas. In order to use the service, customers will first establish an account linked to a credit card, either online or by phone. Customers will then make payments by entering the unique parking location number found on each meter. The mobile web, mobile apps or an automated phone system can be used to enter the required information. The total price will include the regular meter rate plus a convenience fee of up to $0.45 per transaction for this optional service.

“The SFMTA is committed to improving parking throughout the city and this is one more tool to improve the driving and parking experience in San Francisco. To this end, we are excited to offer another parking payment option,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA’s Executive Director/CEO. “Along with the SFpark initiatives, this technology will help improve the customer experience by making it more convenient to pay for parking at locations throughout San Francisco.”

Many large cities in North America and Europe have adopted pay-by-phone parking technology. Miami, Vancouver, London and Paris are examples of places that have implemented parking payments by phone with the proven, secure system from PayByPhone.

Founded in 2001, PayByPhone (www.paybyphone.com) is the world leader in mobile phone payment solutions for parking that eliminate the need for parking meters. Deployed with over 120 cities or municipalities around the world, it is the next generation of parking technology. PayByPhone is a division of PayPoint plc (www.paypoint.com) operating through subsidiaries Verrus Mobile Technologies, Inc, Verrus UK Limited and Mobile Payment Services SAS.