Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Montgomery County is launching a new system to make it even easier to pay for parking with your cell phone.
The new system uses QR (Quick Response) codes – those little black and white squares that look somewhat similar to bar codes.
Under the new system, drivers can pay for a parking session with a smart phone by scanning a QR code on a parking meter. The code identifies the space number, which eliminates the risk of human error based on manual entry. The QR code can be scanned using the ParkNOW! app, available free from iTunes, Android Market and soon, Blackberry App World, according to county transportation officials.
The new service has already been tested in a pilot program that began July 27 in the Woodmont Triangle Garage at St. Elmo and Cordell Avenues in downtown Bethesda.
“The Pay- By-Cell program has already proven to be tremendously popular with our customers -- more than 163,000 transactions have occurred already this year by folks using their cell phones to pay for their parking,” said Arthur Holmes, Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director. “This latest feature just makes it that much faster and easier to use.”
The new service is provided by the contractor Mobile NOW, LLC. It’s believed to be the first application of this technology to parking payment programs, county transportation officials said.
Additional information is available at Mobile NOW’s website at www.goparknow.com or www.mc.goparknow.com or by visiting MCDOT’s Division of Parking Services’ website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot.
