Paying for parking in Hamilton? Now you can use your phone
Street parking has also increased from $1.50 to $2 an hour
Hamilton residents will no longer have to dig through their wallet, pockets or car for loose change if they want to pay for parking. Now they can use their smart phone.
The city has introduced a new "pay-by-phone" parking app called Passport Parking (by Passport Labs Incorporated).
The downloadable application allows drivers to pay, track and extend their parking any time on all on-street parking meters and municipal parking lots. Drivers have to pay a 15 cent transaction fee each time they pay for parking.
Anyone who wants to use the app must create an account.
The Convention Centre Garage and the York Parkade are not included as areas in the app.
Those who don't want to go digital can still use coins at meters and coins or credit cards in off-street lots.
Street parking price hike
The cost of street parking has also increased from $1.50 per hour to $2.00 per hour. And the temporary 30-minute free on-street parking will be removed as enforcement of all meters returns to normal.
Overall, the city owns 61 surface parking lots and 2,700 parking meters. This is according to the parking master plan review, which city council's planning committee will receive Tuesday.
In 2019, the city grossed about $14.7 million for parking, which includes annual permits and plate denial fees through the Ministry of Transportation. It cost the city $12.2 million to deliver the service. The surplus typically goes into a parking reserve, and also offsets property taxes.
In a recent survey, the plan says, respondents said they wanted more places to park, reasonable parking rates and the ability to pay by phone.