New payment system for public parking spaces These are the best offers for parking using your mobile phone
Bonn · The city and Smartparking are introducing mobile phone parking to Bonn. The app providers will charge an additional service fee of between ten and 25 cents per ticket. However, the conventional ticket machines will remain.
Since Monday, car drivers in Bonn have been able to buy and pay for their parking tickets for public parking spaces by smartphone. The city’s civil engineering office and the Smartparking association have introduced the new method of payment. Using a so-called multi-operator model, instead of one central provider, drivers can choose between seven providers through whom the parking charges can be paid by mobile phone. This model does not carry additional costs for the city. To control tickets, the city employees enter the registration number into a central online system to verify whether the fee has been paid.
Smartparking employees are currently putting stickers advising of the new system on the around 120 ticket machines in the Bonn city area. There is a choice of apps from Deutsche Telekom/T-Systems (Park and Joy), Easypark, ParkNow, Stadtraum (MoBilet), Sunhill (Travipay), TrafficPass (Park.Me) and Yellowbrick. However, car drivers can still get a ticket from the ticket machine - and save money.
Number plates must be registered
Registration: with all seven providers, the user must first download an app and then register. With some providers, an email address, credit card and account number as well as an address must be entered in addition to a mobile number and car registration number. Travipay is the only app that does not require drivers to set up an account. Users of Park.Me and ParkNow can also book a parking ticket on the website or by phone via a service centre.
Function: the apps mainly use GPS to determine the location. The Telekom app, for example, suggests the nearest parking options to the driver and shows opening times, costs and maximum length of stay. The user can specify his parking time to the minute using a digital parking meter and receives a cost estimate. Easypark, ParkNow and Travipay also use maps to show the location. Park.Me also uses the location to determine the correct parking zone.
Those who can do without the additional functions such as the location display can use the MoBilet app. The display is similar to that of a traditional ticket machine. Time periods from 30 minutes to four hours are available. Users can also enter an individual parking time. The apps also have the ability to extend or shorten the parking time while on the move.
Monthly rates worthwhile for frequent parkers
Costs: the parking fees are the same with all providers and are generally calculated to the minute. However, users also pay a service fee per ticket, which varies from provider to provider: ten cents (MoBilet), 19 cents (Park and Joy and Mark.Me) and 25 cents (Yellowbrick and ParkNow). Easypark charges 30 per cent of the parking charge as a processing fee. Travipay offers a limited but free option.
For frequent parkers, monthly rates are worthwhile, where the user pays a monthly fee and can buy any number of tickets. The package costs 1.99 Euro with Telekom, 2.49 Euro with Travipay, 2.99 Euro with ParkNow and Euro 4.99 with Easypark. With Yellowbrick, users can also book weekly for 50 cents. Providers offer various additional functions. Easypark and ParkNow charge a processing fee of 15 cents per message for a reminder via SMS that your parking ticket is due to expire.
Payment: the apps allow several payment options, which can also carry additional charges. ParkNow charges by mobile phone bill, credit card, direct debit or PayPal. However, payments using PayPal carry an additional fee of 1.5 per cent. These four payment options are also available with Travipay. Park and Joy requires a credit card. The Park.Me app can be paid for from a credit balance or by direct debit but charges an annual fee of Euro 4.90. For MoBilet, you must first top up a credit account, either using PayPal or PayU.
Additional options: With ParkNow, the driver can agree to registration number recognition with the car park operator and start and stop the parking time on entry and exit. Travipay and Park.Me each store the location of the vehicle so that the owner can be navigated back to his car.
Further information is available on the internet at: www.smartparking.de
