The Parking Division is asking City Council to approve their recommendation for a pay parking by cell phone system.  Currently, in the downtown area, motorists have the option to park on the street, in the lots, or in the parking garages. Many motorists prefer parking on the street because of the added convenience, however, they become frustrated when their allotted time expires and they risk receiving a parking ticket.  The pay parking by cell phone system would alert the motorist when their time was about to expire and would provide the option for the motorist to add time to their meter up to the maximum time allowed.  The cell phone system would interface with the new credit card parking meters allowing Parking Enforcement Officers to visually enforce the parking from the street. The system will also be used on the digital coin operated meters, however, the Enforcement Officers will need to use our smart devices to regulate the parking at those particular meters.  The pay parking by cell phone system has the potential to be used for off-street parking as well.

There are 3 ways to pay parking by cell phone system.  The motorist can pay by app available through using their IOS or Android device, access the website for people who do not like to download apps or call a phone number for people who do not have a smart phone. 

Five companies responded to the RFP which were the following:  PayByPhone, ParkMobile, Passport, Pango and Flowbird.  The RFP committee narrowed the selection to two vendors before opening the sealed price matrixes from PayByCell and ParkMobile.

City Council may:

• Approve the recommended pay by phone vendor, or;
• Disapprove and staff continues to search for parking payment options.

There will be no initial costs to the Parking Division for the pay parking by cell phone system with the exception of the credit card convenience fee of 3% per transaction from our merchant processor. The mobile app convenience fee of .19 cents per transaction, will be paid by the motorist who would use one of the three methods described above to pay for parking. The installation of the signs and decals is provided by the vendor. Future replacement of the signs or decals will be covered by the Parking Division.

The use of the mobile pay option will reduce the wear and tear on the parking meters, limiting maintenance costs.  Receiving expiry alerts via text message or email may reduce the number of parking citations a motorist may receive by giving them the option to extend time to the maximum allotted time.  Allowing the motorist to extend their parking from anywhere may encourage them to stay downtown longer than planned to visit local businesses.

Staff recommends that City Council approve PayByPhone as the pay parking by cell phone system provider.  PayByPhone is being recommended because of their less expensive rate, their ability to interface with the CivicSmart, their ability to integrate with our merchant processor, their educating/marketing plan and they already provide services in Billings with Diamond Parking.