PayByPhone parking

[PLS]

Hi

I was ticketed last month in Pioneer Square for expired parking – $44. I paid by the PayByPhone app and had a ONE MINUTE gap. First half hour from 11:27 to 11:57, then I refilled at 11:58 due to no cell signal in the basement.

I’m guessing the enforcement officer was standing there watching the clock because the ticket was signed at 11:57 – the minute my parking had expired.

Anyone else have issues with this app? I plan to test whether one actually receives 30 minutes of parking through PayByPhone or 29 and some seconds (or even less), especially vis-à-vis traditional coin meters and the current kiosk methods. Users of this app may not be allotted the same amount of time as other parking purchasers and could be targeted by the enforcement officers due to the availability of the real-time database of expiring vehicles. It will be interesting to learn how many tickets are written based upon which method of payment.

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[yes2ws]

PLS, I haven’t used pay by phone parking, but after reading your post, I googled it to learn more about it for future use. In reading about it, I ran across the following;

“PayByPhone users can also receive a text message reminding them when their parking time is about to expire. If their meter hasn’t expired, they can add time remotely.

To encourage parking turnover, the system will have a waiting period so users can’t pay with the same location code right after their time expires.”

Hope this helps.

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[PLS]

Interesting find – thanks, yes2ws!

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[trickycoolj]

They sure do hover over spots don’t they? I was down a block fiddling with the pay machine (I always forget the order time first or card first and the instructions are usually graffitied over) by the time it actually decided to read my card the officer was examining my car about 3-4 lengths down the block and didn’t look up until I uttered a string of loud expletives at the machine for not adding time correctly and finally the officer says with ticket machine in hand looking at my plates (probably wondering how the hell to type in the UW special plate) and asks “Is this your Honda?” Good grief man, I’ve only been here about 3 minutes! Not to mention I think it was only about 45 min until the end of the paid parking day anyway. Almost annoying when they’re on you like a hawk when you’re trying to do right by the convoluted system. I haven’t even bothered with the app, probably would have taken too long to set up before he got there!

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