Alexandria Living Magazine
A Pango parking meter kiosk in the Carlyle neighborhood.
Alexandria’s paid parking spaces will switch service providers from Pango to ParkMobile on Sept. 1.
The City’s contract with Pango ends Aug. 31.
ParkMobile is the mobile parking system used in Washington, DC and Arlington. It works similarly to Pango — it allows users to pay for parking through a mobile device by entering a license plate and parking zone information.
City officials will not have to replace the physical kiosks drivers are used to using — but the software behind it and the branding will change.
The amount residents pay for parking will also remain the same, but the convenience fee will increase. Rates are $1.75 per hour at pay stations and meters that accept credit cards, and the convenience fee will be 45 cents. (The current system, Pango, charges a 29-cent convenience fee.)
The City does not pay ParkMobile for the system or receive any portion of the convenience fee, City officials noted Thursday in a city-wide email.
The ParkMobile app can store a user’s credit or debit cards for parking payments and charges a small convenience fee. Users pay up front for a set amount of parking (30 minutes, for example) and can add time as needed from their mobile device up to the maximum time allowed. ParkMobile provide text message or email alerts when time is running short.
The City of Alexandria adopted Pango in December 2013 and was the first city in Virginia to roll out Pango’s system. Residents have given it mixed reviews.
ParkMobile boasts more than 1 million parking spots in 3,000 locations, including stadiums, cities, shopping centers and more. ParkMobile, LLC is based in Atlanta.
