The City of Rochester offers convenient on-the-go payment options for parking on downtown streets.
The city has signed a contract with the technology company Flowbird to offer the option of paying via app and SMS via mobile devices at selected payment stations and parking meters.
The service also allows drivers to set customizable notifications to alert them when their parking time is about to expire. Additional time can be purchased through Flowtime without having to return to the vehicle.
If a driver has business elsewhere in the city center, the unexpired parking time can be transferred to another valid parking space because the system records the vehicle’s license plate and not a specific parking machine or payment station.
“We continue to modernize our parking meter technologies and this new app takes us further into the digital age,” Mayor Malik Evans said in a press release. “This is just the latest improvement our parking team has made to increase flexibility and convenience for those who work, play and visit our city.”
A blue sticker with instructions is attached to payment stations and parking meters equipped with this technology.
How to pay via app:
Users download the Flowbird app from the Apple Store or Google Play or visit flowbirdapp.com.
After registering and logging in, users enter their license plate number, length of stay and encrypted payment information. There is a processing fee of 35 cents.
How to pay by SMS:
Users send an SMS to the number displayed on the pay machine or parking machine. The system responds via SMS and forwards them to a secure link containing the vehicle registration document, length of stay and encrypted payment information. There is a fee of 35 cents.
Since Flowbird users do not receive a printed receipt, parking enforcement personnel scan the vehicle’s registration to verify compliance with parking regulations.
Credit cards and coins can still be used at payment machines and parking meters. The printed receipt from the payment machines must be displayed on the vehicle’s dashboard.
Flowbird is headquartered in France, with a U.S. office in Moorestown, New Jersey. The service is available in nearly 300 locations across the country, most of them in the Northeast.
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