FREDERICK, MD - Paying for parking with coins could soon be a thing of the past in Frederick.
Frederick is the first city in the State of Maryland to take part in a pilot program allowing people to pay for parking with their cell phones.
"Parkmobile is an application that allows you to go online, to parkmobile.com, and download the app for your cell phone. It allows you to pay the meters by cell phone. Once you do that, you can pay any meter in the City of Frederick with your cell phone," said Steve Johnson, superintendent of public parking.
Officials say you put in your parking zone number using a cell phone. They say you can then put in how long you want to park, and you'll get an alert on your cell phone about 15 minutes before the meter expires.
"I think it's a great idea because I'm always fishing around for quarters, and I can never find them. I had to look for some quarters at a Chinese restaurant today. It's kind of a pain, so it makes it a little easier to be able to use your iPhone to do it," George Pappas said.
The app works on BlackBerries, Androids, Windows 7, as well as iPhones.
"We want to be able to make it as convenient as possible for all of our parking guests, whether they're residents or visitors, and this is just another step forward in making that happen," Frederick Mayor Randy McClement said.
About 850 meters throughout downtown Frederick utilize the program. The app is accessible anywhere in the U.S. as long as you see park mobile stickers.
"It's a technological age," Johnson said. "Everyone wants to use their cell phone or their handheld computer for everything, so this allow them to do that. They don't have to carry the money around with them."
Registering for the program is free. You can sign up by clicking here.
