The District has been testing pay-by-phone parking meters in D.C., albiet not in our neighborhood. However, WeLoveDC now reports that they are rolling the service out to all of the District by this summer.
Here is how it works: You pull into the spot, then call in or use a mobile app to enter the meter number. Your credit card is charged and you're off to your destination. You get a text 15 minutes before the meter expires.
Presumably, you can add money to the meter even after you leave it; meaning less over-paying for parking.
Hopefully one day they will be able to tell us via our mobile phones where there is free parking - that would be a life-changer.
I've tried the pay by phone service and it doesn't work very well. In fact, where I was parking, it doesn't work at all during certain hours. So, what's the point of it - particularly if it is effectively turned off during prime hours? After several minutes on the phone trying to pay before rushing off to a dinner reservation, I gave up and parked a block and a half away - for free. This system is definitely not all it's cracked up to be.
ReplyDeleteI hope they will get rid of those horrible machines that spit out the paper receipts that you put on your dashboard. The credit card readers never work and see those little pieces of paper blowing all over the city.
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