Seattle eliminates street parking app users fee

SEATTLE — Seattle has eliminated the 35 cent transaction fee from the PaybyPhone app for street parking.

The change, which took effect Tuesday, is designed to encourage more people to use the app instead of on-street parking meters.

Right now, the city says about 15 percent of all on-street paid parking transactions are processed through the app, which allows a user to set up payment for multiple vehicles using license plate numbers.

>> Related: Do you use PayByPhone in Seattle? Volkswagen acquires payment app

City officials say the PaybyPhone app is more convenient for drivers, allowing them to add more parking time from a restaurant table, for example, rather than return to the street to print out a new ticket.

"We think PayByPhone is the easiest way for people to pay for parking," said Seattle Transportation Director Scott Kubly.

The city says if more people use the app, there will be less need for expensive parking meters.

As the city finishes replacing 2,100 parking meters, it is putting in about 300 fewer new ones, in some cases moving from two per block to one per block.

The idea is that more people will use the PayByPhone app.

PayByPhone just expanded to Kirkland and hopes to work with more private parking lots.

To use it, you set up an account with your credit card and license plate and enter the number on the pay station sign near your car.

When parking enforcement officers see no parking meter receipt on the window, they run the license plate.

"The first thing I do if I don't see a receipt is I check PayByPhone," said parking enforcement officer Jonathan Skeie.

Seattle officials say the system does not alert enforcement officers when parking expires, so you're not more likely to get a ticket if you use PayByPhone.

In fact, Kubly said, "You're less likely to get a parking ticket because you can fill it from the seat in your restaurant, and you get a notification as soon as you are out of time."

The city decided to eat the cost of the transaction fee, similar to how it absorbs credit card transaction costs at pay stations.

Top stories on KIRO 7

Cox Media Group