Dublin City Council today introduced a wireless parking payment solution.
Motorists in the capital city will now be able to pay for on-street parking using their mobile phones following the installation of Irish software company, Itsmobile’s m-parking technology solution.
The new system, known as mPark, was launched this morning by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, councillor Dermot Lacey.
MPark will be available in the high tariff area in Dublin City Centre, which extends from Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square through Stephen’s Green to Parnell Square.
Parking meters outside of this area may be upgraded to accept mobile phone payments in the near future depending on the popularity of the scheme.
The new service will allow users of Pay & Display machines to bill the cost of parking to either their mobile phone bill or credit card.
Motorists call a prescribed number (01- 449 9000) and enter the Pay & Display machine’s ID number.
An instruction is then sent to the parking meter, activating it with a personalised greeting.
The machine prints out the parking ticket which is displayed in the usual manner as proof of payment for on-street parking. The parking costs will then appear on the customer’s next credit card or mobile phone bill.
Kieran McCrea, Director of Itsmobile explained: “The flexible billing system also allows corporate users to bill the cost of parking during business hours to their corporate phone bills and to bill their personal credit card other times.”
Owen Keegan, Director of Traffic, Dublin City Council said “We’re delighted to offer this new service to our customers in the city centre area. It forms part of our commitment to serving the traffic needs of all Dublin citizens both in terms of convenience and compliance.The flexibility of being able to pay for parking using a mobile phone should make it very popular with motorists.”
Dublin City Council and Itsmobile tested the new technology intensively for the past year and have established commercial agreements with Vodafone and O2 in Ireland to allow their subscribers to avail of the service.
By Dick O’Brien
