APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The City of Appleton has implemented a new program that allows drivers to leave their coins at home.
A parking app unvieled Wednesday lets people pay via credit or debit card.
“People need to look at the sticker that’s on the meter, and they’ll punch in what’s called a ‘zone number.’ Then there’s a specific meter number associated with each meter. You punch that in, pick how much time they want to stay.”
City Spokesman Chad Doran touts one of the app’s conveniences.
“Let’s say you’re staying at one of the meters on College Avenue that has a two-hour limit. You run into a couple of shops and only put an hour on there. Then you decide you want to stop somewhere for lunch. You can open up the app and add another hour to your time and stay and have lunch without ever having to go back to your car.”
Doran notes the cost associated with the Passport Parking app.
“It was about a $2,500 investment for us to have them set up the app to our city (plus a 2.9% fee per transaction) and then there’s a $0.15 per transaction convenience fee that Passport charges to people when they use the app.”
Doran believes people will find the convenience outweighs the cost.
“It just so happens on the day we launched the app, it’s been raining down here in Appleton pretty much all day long. So I think there are probably plenty of people who appreciated that opportunity to not have to run back out into the rain and dig some change out of their pocket to fill the meter.”
Doran says people still have the option of paying with change, if they prefer.
The app is available for both Apple and Android devices and is already used in the cities of Green Bay and Fond du Lac.
