Image via Creative Commons/ Lisa @ Sierra Tierra (CC BY 2.0)

Back in September the City of Boston announced a lucrative partnership with local payment solution TicketZen so that those unfortunate enough to incur a parking ticket can easily pay their fine by scanning a barcode. Building on this notion of mobile payment platforms is neighboring Somerville, which announced on Friday, November 7, that it is teaming up with Parkmobile so drivers can feed their meters electronically.

The tandem between Somerville and Parkmobile will be made official on November 24 for people with iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry devices. The Parkmobile app will be available for Somerville residents to use and all on- and off-street public parking spaces throughout the entire city and, even better, will give parkers a 15-minute notification of when their time is up so that payments can submitted without the risk of penalties.

“This is a huge benefit to residents, visitors and our business community, bringing the convenience of different payment options that’s already available at multi-space and credit card-accepting meters to every meter in the city through Parkmobile,” said Mayor Joseph Curtatone in a statement. He added:

For people running errands, shopping in our stores, eating in our restaurants and more, it means the end of hoarding quarters in your cup holder, trying to find a place near the meter to break a $1 bill, or rushing out mid-meal to feed the meter. For our businesses, it means that it will be even more convenient for people to visit their stores, offices and restaurants.

Along with bolstering business and affording residents an added convenience, let’s not forget that people scouring for parking spaces constitutes some 30 percent of traffic. This partnership will also help alleviate that.

Each Somerville parking meter will be outfitted with a QR code that users can scan to sync up their space with their phones. Once the app is downloaded and the applicable payment information is registered with the app, they scan the code (or holler at the accompanying toll-free number) and settle on a time limit for which they intend to park.

Parkmobile was chosen, the City of Somerville confirmed with BostInno, because of an already beneficial relationship with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and because of the success the app has seen at over 600 locations across the country.

In order for Parkmobile to generate revenue, it charges a small $0.50 convenience fee charge for every one transaction and a minimum $1 purchase. So if someone wanted to park their car for, say, an hour, it would cost them $1.50 whereas if they wanted to park for three, it would cost $3.50.

All of the price details are available to viewing on the app as to inject an air of transparency in the process and to reassure everyone they won’t be being ripped off.

Parkmobile represents the first of the Greater Boston Area’s foray into a mobile parking solution.