Having to scrounge for coins to feed parking meters around Dupont Circle will soon be a thing of the past.
The District Department of Transportation is readying a pilot program that will put in place a pay-by-phone parking meter system allowing commuters to curb their cars with a simple phone call.
The city is looking at number of different plans for the test run. One, which would require a small fee be paid to the service provider, would allow drivers to enter their meter number over the phone, followed by the amount of money they want to put on that meter. They would then receive a text message when their time is nearly up.
Another proposal would require customers to purchase an in-car meter that they would place on their dashboard and then charge with cash using their cell phone.
No phone is necessary for a third option, which involves an in-car meter preloaded with money.
Karyn LeBlanc of DDOT said the pilot programs will be cost-free to the city.
There’s no roll-out date yet set for the test-run.
If it’s successful, the pay-by-phone system could “eliminate the need for coin operated meters altogether,” DDOT Director Gabe Klein told D.C. Council members earlier this year.
The District is eyeing the experience of neighboring Arlington County with its coin-free public parking technology. Arlington uses an in-car meter called iPark that costs $20 plus a $2 fee for every time it is reloaded. Phuong Duong of the County Treasurer’s office said Arlington chose this method because it allows the county to receive the funds up front, as the in-car meters can be loaded only in increments of $25, $50, and $100.
Four years after its introduction, 3,000 iPark meter are in use in Arlington. However, Duong concedes that number could go up if the in-car meter system was better advertised.
