The City of Toronto has launched an upgraded smartphone application that now allows users to pay for parking, as well as locate it. The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), a self-sustaining public corporation owned by the City, has announced the roll out of the new ‘Green P App’, which replaces the existing Green P parking location app. A key feature of the updated app is Green P Mobile Pay, a new initiative being introduced as an easy and convenient way to pay for parking in Green P lots with pay and display machines. After downloading the free app for Apple and Android devices, and creating an account, customers will be able to purchase parking time, track their parking history, and extend their parking time remotely. There is also an alert reminder to advise consumers when their parking session is about to expire.
The TPA developed the updated Green P App in collaboration with Passport, North America’s largest provider of mobile payment services for parking and transit, which supports programs in over 1,000 locations across 43 states and Canadian provinces. To ensure an effective roll out of the Mobile Pay option, the TPA will introduce it in phases, in order to ensure the compliance of all parking payment equipment and machines, while making it a seamless transition for parkers. Effective shortly, smartphone payment will be available in select non-gated lots (pay and display lots) across the city, with signage to clearly identify them as mobile payment areas. The number of facilities where the new service is in effect will increase weekly until all non-gated lots are covered under the new platform, which is expected to occur in late spring of this year. Current pay and display machines will remain in place as a payment option.
“The new Green P App is an example of how the City is bringing its operations into the 21st century,” said Toronto’s Mayor, John Tory. “As Mayor, I am committed to modernizing both the services the City offers and the way they are delivered for Toronto residents. Our role is not to fight the future, but to make Toronto a more future-ready city. I applaud the efforts of the Toronto Parking Authority for delivering a payment option that is both convenient and cutting-edge.”
