Fort Collins to implement use of new parking app July 1

Editor’s note: This report was updated to correct how the convenience fee is collected. BizWest received incorrect information.

FORT COLLINS — The city of Fort Collins has signed an agreement with a new parking fee collection provider — ParkMobile — that will ease the process of paying for parking and, if drivers want, help them find available parking spots.

Jeff Perkins, CEO of Atlanta-based ParkMobile, told BizWest that the service is a parking application that people can load onto their cell phones. It will enable drivers to pay for parking as they pull up to a parking space or enter a parking garage or reserve a spot in a garage ahead of time if they know they’ll be attending an event or concert at a particular time.

SPONSORED CONTENT

The many benefits of simple, coordinated healthcare

Kaiser Permanente combines health care and coverage in one connected system to maximize employee health and minimize employer costs.

“It’s the number one parking app in the United States with 36 million users,” Perkins said. Eight of the 10 major cities in the country use the app. Among smaller cities, Boulder is a client. 

“Boulder is one of our top locations by users and transaction volume,” he said, because it is used by both the city and the University of Colorado.

In Fort Collins, CSU is already a client.

What makes the app particularly useful, he said, is that users can use the same app when traveling around Colorado and the nation if the destination has signed with ParkMobile. Denver is not among ParkMobile users.

“The number one feature people like is the ‘extend time’ feature. You’ve paid for two hours and you’re running late. You can extend the time from your phone and avoid getting a ticket,” he said.

For people who don’t want more apps on their phones, they can access a web-based version, enter a zone number, time and pay. “You can also check out as a guest,” he said, for those who don’t want an account.

ParkMobile has an opt-in feature that users can purchase for $1 per month that helps them locate available parking. It shows a street map marked in green where parking is likely to be available, he said.

Some communities have gotten more sophisticated with parking availability features, he said, noting that Columbus, Ohio, created its own algorithm that it uses to feed parking spot availability to ParkMobile. El Paso, Texas, put sensors in the ground under every parking spot to provide real-time data on what spaces are open.

“We expect to see a lot more of that in the future,” he said.

The city will collect the parking fees; ParkMobile’s 30 cents per transaction convenience fee is included in the standard parking rates and is not in addition to the rates.

The deal with ParkMobile begins July 1, according to a city press release. The previous app will not work after that time. Drivers can continue to park and pay manually through kiosks if they choose.

The ParkMobile app is available through the Apple store for iOS devices and Google Play store for Android devices.