VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The City of Vancouver says a quarter of us are using cell phones to feed parking meters these days, and that figure is growing every year.

The City recognizes this and is looking at improving its pay-by-phone system to include more advanced technology to make things convenient for drivers.

Director of Transportation Jerry Dobrovolny tells us by this time next year, you could be able to pay for parking over the phone in a different language or by clicking a button. “Using something like QR codes — quick response codes where, with a smartphone, you can snap a picture [of it] on the meter and it can enter the data for you so it knows where you are.”

It’s not just how you pay that may be tweaked. Depending on the time of day, finding parking in Vancouver can be a tough task but the city hopes to provide some relief for frustrated drivers looking for a free spot.  

“We are also looking for the opportunity for our ‘smart meters,’ [which have] technology and cell phone communication in them, to show up in Google to show them where vacant parking spaces are in the city,” explains Dobrovolny.

He notes the movement away from coins would also take a load off of city workers. “You have to appreciate that we are processing tons of coins everyday.”
        
The contract for the city’s current parking system is up in October. Staff are looking at finding the right company to work with them on the technical improvements.

If and when the changes will happen are unknown. However, if all things go as planned for the city, improvements can be seen sometime next year.