Pay by phone parking launches
Instead of searching through their pockets for loose change, residents will now be able to pay for their parking spot using a smartphone app. Oshawa becomes the first municipality in the province to implement such a system.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
Observant residents may have noticed some new signage appearing around the streets of Oshawa this past week.
The signs are part of a new system that will allow users to pay for parking downtown by using their smartphones.
“It’s going to help both…those people who park downtown and the City of Oshawa,” said Councillor Bob Chapman during the Monday morning announcement earlier this week.
Oshawa has partnered with HonkMobile to become the first city in Ontario to launch mobile payment and also makes Oshawa the first city in Canada to offer payment through a bank account. The app allows users to pay using a PayPal account.
“This is one of those amazing things that makes our municipality a first in Ontario,” said Mayor John Henry.
Once parked, users can pay for the chosen amount of time. As the time runs down, users will receive a notification that their payment will expire in 15 minutes and offer the option to extend the time.
This prevents people from having to dash outside to refill payment through the city’s on-street machines, a known problem for those attending Oshawa’s courthouse.
“The days of us getting complaints around the courthouse are over today,” Henry said.
The free app is available on iPhone and Android devices. It will also function on Blackberry devices through the web browser.
The app also makes life easier for Oshawa’s municipal law enforcement officers, who can check a car’s remaining time simply by checking their own device.
It will not allow offers to give a ticket when time is still remaining on the car.
As well, the app will not allow users to purchase time after hours when parking is free on city streets.