MBTA to make life a little easier for people who park in commuter lots - and have a cell phone
Starting late next month, the T will start to supplement those sometimes annoying parking boxes (you know the ones with the little pusher thingees) with automated systems that will let commuters pay for spaces:
Beginning July 23rd, customers parking in MBTA-owned and operated lots with existing cash honor boxes will be able to pay for parking online or via phone while in their cars or once they board a train, bus, or commuter boat.
As part of a new partnership with Parkmobile USA, customers can visit www.parkmobile.com and enroll in the new program for free, and have access to their on-line accounts 24 hours a day/7 days a week. T riders can also download a mobile app.
Once registered, customers can use the mobile app, the internet, a text message or a phone call to pay for parking.
Comments
What about customers who don't have cell phones?
How are they supposed to pay for parking now?
same way they do now Ron
same way they do now Ron
Same as now, I guess
Sorry for the stupid, sloppy writing. The T doesn't say it's going to replace those boxes, just add to them with the new system. So if you have a cell phone, great, if not, don't forget how to fold a dollar bill into a tiny flattened tube.
Or maybe they'll have to start living in this century?
I'm thinking they'll be in a similar situation to people who insist on not having a phone or a mailbox or an e-mail address or electricity or running water. Sure, of course it's your right to not have these things, but other people aren't going to go out of their way to accommodate you.
Cool Way of Utilizing Mobile Technology!
Awesome! This sounds like a great idea. I must applaud the MBTA for recently making the T more accessible & convenient for drivers--and bikers with the recent new bike cages. I'm sure that many people own a mobile phone and will most likely join this program to save the time and hassle of having to pull out bills and coins. Something else everyone wants to save is money--I recently learned about saving up to 40% on my commuter with commuter benefits through my employer. Check out www.commuternation.com. There'll be a sweepstakes starting in July where you can win up to 2 months of free parking!
Wasn't one of the original goals of the Charlie Card
system was to allow commuters to pay for parking as well? But I guess it's better to introduce an entirely separate system rather than build on a system already in place. After all, it's technology-based, so it must be good for you. Despite the fact that people will still have to go out to the stations to empty the boxes anyway.
And I guess it's somehow the T's fault if commuters aren't responsible enough to get to the station with enough time to pay their parking fee.
Now, if T management spent half the time and effort on actually improving the frequency and reliability of the transportation service as they did on implementing these "necessary" Johnny Science experiments in technology, we might have a fairly decent transit system.
the DC Metro System
require their SmarTrip (DC version of the Charlie Card) to get cars out of the parking lots. And they make people PAY $5 for the cards that can then have value added to them. People use them to get out of the parking lots. They don't have a choice. But in Massachusetts people have a handful of different options to pay for parking and for the fare, and none of them seem to work together.
Instead of one card to get you parked and on the train, you could conceivably pay for parking with your cell phone, your commuter rail in cash, and then get around Boston with a Carlie Card all day.
Given a multitude of choices,
the average consumer will just get confused.
When I choose to drive to the commuter rail (I'm within walking distance of Wakefield Station), I usually park at either Melrose Highlands or Cedar Park - both lots (which are off-street) are run by the City of Melrose, not the T.
Several years ago, the City replaced the slot boxes with parking 'ticket' machines. The downside is that they require quarters, dollar coins, or City-issued tokens, and don't take dollar bills or credit cards. The upside is that the City will sell you a monthly parking pass. I've never bought a pass because I don't park there enough to justify the cost, but it's a pretty good deal for those who use the lot on a daily basis.
Perhaps the T could institute something like that instead. Although admittedly low-tech, it seems to be it would be a cost-effective solution to the issue. Plus, the T would get more of the parking fees up front.