Pay-by-Phone Parking Meters Have Come to DC

When it reaches the point that a quarter buys you a mere seven and a half minutes of parking time at some DC locations, and it takes eight quarters to park for an hour, and sixteeen to park for a full two hours...well, there's got to be a better way.

Now the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has come up with a program that saves us from carrying pounds of quarters in our cars. It's called pay-by-phone parking, and you can now sign up for the program, which will allow you to use your cellphone to pay for parking at any or all of the District's 17,000 metered public parking spaces.

According to DDOT Deputy Director Gloria Jeff, "More than 30,000 people have already signed up and are using their phones to pay for parking.” 

Parkmobile USA, Inc. is the corporation that won the parking administration contract, and it will earn 32 cents for each transaction. To register your cellphone, go to www.parkmobile.com. Once you have an account, you will be able to pay by mobile app, over the internet, or by calling 877-727-5758. You also have the option to receive text message alerts and reminders when your meter is about to expire. 

Albert Bogaard, CEO of Parkmobile, issued a statement about the contract award, which DDOT included in its press release on the pay-by-phone program: “We are very pleased that DDOT has chosen Parkmobile for our ability to create value through our parking payment technologies, while at the same time enhancing the customer experience through our industry-leading pay-by-phone solutions. We believe this alliance is another example of Parkmobile’s position as the leading provider of intelligent transportation systems. Washington, D.C. is Parkmobile’s fifth capital after London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Athens.”