Chattanooga: Pay by Phone Extended to Downtown Parking Meters

There is a new way to pay for parking in downtown Chattanooga. With the investment by the Chattanooga Parking Authority of 40 new solar-powered parking pay stations (replacing 286 older meters) and 600 new solar-powered single meters, Chattanoogans now have the added options of paying with coins (nickels, dimes, quarters and dollars) as before, paying by credit cards, or even paying by smart phone on 60% of the downtown parking meters.

The program is administered by Parkmobile, USA, Inc. In order to use Parkmobile, first time users need to set up a free account at www.parkmobile.com or by calling 1-877-727-5015. From then on they are able to pay by using a mobile phone app (available for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry smart phones), internet, or by toll free phone.

The benefits of Pay by Phone are:

• no need for cash or credit cards at the meter
• ability to receive text message alerts and reminders when parking time is almost up
• ability to extend parking time remotely from any phone to avoid tickets – up to 2 hour maximum
• no need to display parking receipt on your dashboard (especially helpful during inclement weather)
• pay for parking from the comfort and safety of you vehicle
• a history of parking transactions is viewable any time the user logs into their account

Help relieve your Parking Stress and register at www.parkmobile.com or visit Parkmobile on www.chattanoogaparking.org . Registration is free, quick and easy.

There is a $0.35 fee for each transaction, which covers the credit-card-processing charge and other program costs. This fee goes to Parkmobile. Your credit card is encrypted when you sign up and is never entered, displayed, or spoken during a transaction to insure security. When you pay for parking by phone, your license plate and parking time are automatically displayed on handheld devices used by Chattanooga parking ambassadors.

A history of your parking transactions is viewable any time the user logs into their account. When paying by phone, motorists may also select the option to receive a text message reminder minutes before their time expires and can also call back to add additional parking time remotely from any phone, provided they won’t exceed the parking time limit. That feature greatly reduces the chance of a parking violation.

3 Easy Ways To Register with Parkmobile:

1. Download the Parkmobile application at www.parkmobile.com or at your cell phone OS app store.
2. Online at www.parkmobile.com
3. Call 1-877-727-5015

“This pay-by-phone technology was introduced to Chattanooga in mid 2011 but at that time could only be used for a few downtown parking lots. Now we are expanding the pay by cell to all downtown and North Shore meters which accept credit cards”, said CARTA Director of Parking Brent Matthews.