New Payment Option For Downtown Parking

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Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — For commuters in downtown Columbia, metered parking can sometimes be a headache. “If you forget change for the day it’s like you don‘t really have anything to do so you have to ask somebody for change or go into another business and hopefully you won‘t get a ticket for going into the business to get change for cash, it can be a little obnoxious,” explained motorist Daniel Johnson. However, soon that will change. The city of Columbia is teaming up with mobile app provider Passport to roll out the Passport Parking App that will allow drivers to feed the meter or pay for additional time right from their fingertips using a smartphone or computer. “It will certainly make things more convenient, instead of having to have quarters you‘ll be able to use a credit card,” explained Nathan Berry, Passport Vice President of Sales. Officials said once motorists download the app and find a parking spot downtown all they have to do is enter the parking zone number on the decal along with their license plate number and then specify how long they plan to be there. The parking rates will remain the same with an additional convenience fee of 35 cents, which will be charged directly to the credit card on the account. “It’s just a different time and different generation, people don‘t carry around change and cash as much anymore so it’s just that much better of an idea,” said Johnson. Users of the app will be able to pay for the maximum amount of time on the meter and will be notified if their time is about to expire. Officials said the only time you can‘t re-feed the meter is in designated areas like parts of Main Street. The app will make it‘s debut in Columbia the first week of August.