You won’t need to fish for pocket change the next time you park downtown. No need to feed the meter a few quarters to add time to your parking spot. And those annoying pay-and-display receipts? You can say goodbye to those, too.
Toronto drivers can now pay for most of their parking needs with a new mobile phone app from Green P Parking.
The free Green P Mobile Pay app allows users to pay for parking using their phone at any ungated pay-and-display Green P lot in the city. The app allows customers to add time to their parking meter from a distance, and offers 10-minute alerts when that time is about to expire.
Toronto Mayor John Tory praised the Toronto Parking Authority on Thursday for leading the charge to modernize the city’s payment system.
“It’s going to make lives easier for people in the city,” Tory said at a news conference to announce the app.
He said the city has been “frozen in time” and steps need to be taken to modernize its many public services.
“Our role at city hall isn’t to fight the future,” Tory said. “It is to embrace the future.”
The app is available free for Apple iOS and Android smartphones. It is not currently offered for Blackberry devices.
A mobile phone number is required to set up an account.
Customers add money to their Green P account online at the company’s website and use those funds to pay for parking through the app. Each parking lot has a clearly visible location ID sign, so users can properly identify which parking spot they’re paying for.
The mobile app allows users to register their vehicles, so parking staff will recognize a license plate and know the parking spot has been paid for online. No pay-and-display receipt is required.
The app also helps users find Green P parking locations throughout the city.
Customers will still have the option to use coins or credit cards to pay for their parking under the pay-and-display system.
