ParkBoston app earns its keep with usage up

The city’s ParkBoston app pulled in $7.5 million on 240,000 transactions a month last year, and parking experts say the city should consider more cutting edge payment methods to boost that tally even higher.

“Suddenly there’s been this great flowering of technology ... the world is moving away from quarters to bits,” said UCLA professor Donald Shoup, a parking expert. “And I think cities need the money. Cities have to fend for themselves now.”

Boston has been experimenting with new parking meter technology for the past several years, introducing the ParkBoston app in 2015. Usage has increased from 100,000 payments a month to 240,000 payments a month, parking officials said, and app payments accounted for $7.5 million of the $20.2 million in meter receipts from the last fiscal year.

And after winning state approval to change rates, the city has started a pilot program in the Seaport to adjust meter rates based on use, with spots currently costing between $1 and $2 an hour.

Shoup praised that program and said Boston could take cues from other cities such as Miami Beach, which charges out-of-towners $4 an hour but gives residents a discounted $1 rate.

“It makes the parking meters politically more popular,” Shoup said, saying users pay by entering their license plate numbers at a kiosk, which recognizes residents by registration. “Politically it’s much more appealing if residents know they’re getting a discount.”

City Chief of Streets Chris Osgood said officials have “not examined” that option, but are on the lookout for new parking tech.

Mark Chase, a lecturer at Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Department, said changing rates made non-cash payment options more appealing for users concerned about lugging quarters around for meters. He said Boston officials should look to the city’s universities and industries to come up with more ideas.

He added: “Boston’s a tech hub, I think where they are now seems like a respectable place to be, but I’m sure they can do more.”

STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN WILCOX ‘FLOWERING OF TECHNOLOGY’: The ParkBoston app, above, which allows users to pay to park via a credit card instead of loose change, reached a new high for monthly transactions last year.