Slow Adoption For SF's Pay-By-Phone Parking Meters

The city has outfitted more than 1,000 parking meters with new technology to allow motorists to pay over the phone. Yet most of them haven't noticed.

1 minute read

April 5, 2008, 1:00 PM PDT

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"As Elio Sciacqua raced from his work truck on Geary and 15th Avenue to pump change into his parking meter Thursday, one important detail scribed on the 4-foot post managed to miss his attention.

On the meter, surrounded by bright green borders, read the phrase, "Pay by phone & go! 1-866-490-PARK."

"I had no idea you could pay for meters with your cell phone," Sciacqua said. "I'm usually too busy to take the time to look."

With Muni officials proposing a $10 increase in fines for overstaying meters - raising the cost to $60 in the downtown core and $50 everywhere else - convenient payment practices should be a top concern for city drivers, but like Sciacqua, many residents are unaware of a new pilot program that allows the purchase of meter minutes via cell phones."

Friday, April 4, 2008 in The Examiner

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