Text-to-Pay available for downtown parking
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – It's now easier to pay with your phone when you park in downtown Sioux Falls.
On April 23, the city of Sioux Falls applied new labels on some parking meters along Phillips Ave. that explain the city's newest payment option: Text-to-Pay.
'Text-to-Pay is kind of the emerging trend and we like some of the security features built into it,' Matthew Nelson, public parking manager for the city of Sioux Falls, said.
Nelson said the Text-to-Pay feature is simple and convenient:
Text the code on the parking meter to receive a secured link to pay with a credit card.
Remotely extend parking time from a phone.
Saved payment and car information will be under the phone number used for texting, no need to fill-in information every time for repeated parking.
Nelson said Text-to-Pay doesn't pay for the physical meter, 'you're actually paying for your license plate.' This means that parking enforcers will identify vehicles based on the license plate number and not based on time from the meter, Nelson explained.
'If there's ever an issue, we can just go back and look at your plate number and easily find your payments,' Nelson said.
Nelson said the overall system cost the city $1,000 to install, for all the configuration and integration on the system.
Text-to-Pay includes a 45 cent convenience fee. Nelson explained the convenience fee covers all the credit card charges and the software cost to run that transaction, and it's a user-based fee.
'It's a low cost option and if people want to avoid that fee, they can certainly still pay with coins,' Nelson said. 'But, we do see it as a great option, an additional add-on service to our customers.'
Nelson said there's still many free ways to park downtown if people desire more options.
To pay to park downtown, the city of Sioux Falls offers three total options:
Text-to-Pay
Payment Kiosks: pay with cash, coins, or credit card at the parking meter.
Park Smarter App: log in to an account for mobile payments, available in the Apple or Google Play stores.
According to the city's website, the current standard parking rate is $1.50 per hour 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. As of April 23, parking ramps and lots are free after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.
Starting May 1, parking fees will apply on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city of Sioux Falls offers an updated, detailed parking map for availability, rates, parking locations.
Even though you can still use the Park Smarter App now, the city of Sioux Falls will phase out the app over time, according to Nelson.
'We've had some compatibility issues with that app and it is getting dated,' Nelson said. 'So, just to make it more convenient for our staff and for customers to avoid issues, this is the best fully-integrated solution that we can bring.'
QR codes won't be phased out, Nelson explained, but its use will be limited in the future. QR codes on downtown parking meters referred individuals to two options: a site to download the Park Smarter App, or a meter number to use inside the app.
'We're very careful about using QR codes in a place where they could easily be scammed or duplicate,' Nelson said.
As of April 23, Nelson said there's been no verified reports of fraud, duplication, or scams on downtown parking meters.
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