Windsor moves to phone app for parking meter payment
City staff recommended three-year deal for a total of $18,000 per year
Windsor is modernizing its parking meter system by introducing a mobile phone payment app.
Council agreed Monday night to sign a three-year deal with PassportParking Inc. for a total cost of $18,000 per year, which includes new enforcement tools that will actually see the city save several thousand dollars per year going forward.
"Apart from offering customers the convenience of paying for parking electronically from their mobile phone, the speed and accuracy of issuing infraction notices will also improve significantly," according to the report from Fahd Mikhael, manager of traffic operations.
The plan outlined by PassportParking, which offers similar service in Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Victoria, would also charge a user fee of 15 cents every time someone uses the app to pay for parking.
The fee will not be charged when people top up their meter.
This additional fee, when used in other cities, has resulted in fewer people using the app, according to the report that went to council Monday. The app also allows people to pay their fines on their phones, but that service comes with an additional charge of $3.
Even though other cities have eaten the cost of the per-transaction fee, Windsor city staff do not support that model.
"At this time administration recommends that the convenience fee be borne by the customer as absorbing the convenience fees erodes the amount of parking revenue received," the report states.