DC Testing Parking Payment Methods

• July 19th 2010

by Mark Wellborn

Starting today, drivers in certain sections of downtown DC will not have to worry about having quarters when they find an open parking space. A variety of new ways to pay for parking will be tested across the District for the next three months.

Those looking to park in select areas of the city will be met by a variety of options to pay for parking this morning including pay-by-phone, pay-by-space and pay-by-license-plate methods.

Back in April, we reported that the District Department of Transportation had rolled out a new pilot system around Dupont Circle, Union Station, and along certain stretches of K Street, I Street, and New York Avenue NW that allowed drivers to pay for parking by phone.

Here is how it worked:

1. Users signed up at paybyphone.com using their phone number, license plate number and credit card.
2. After the account is established, a user can call 1-888-510-PARK (7275) once they have found one of the designated parking spaces, enter the location number and how many minutes they will be there. The appropriate amount is then charged to the card.

The best thing about the pilot service (in our opinion) is that a text message is sent to a user’s phone when time is about to expire and the user can add time automatically from his/her phone.

We do not know if this is the same pay-by-phone method available today, but we do know that it will be tested in the 900 to 1200 blocks of Independence Avenue SW, and in certain areas of Foggy Bottom, on Reservoir Road in Georgetown, and around Nationals Park. The pay-by-plate method will be tested in the 1300 block of U Street NW and the pay-by-space option will be tested in Friendship Heights.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_testing_parking_payment_methods/2276.