On Monday, September 22, the City of Boston announced a new initiative aimed at smoothing out the parking ticket payment system. Boston will be partnering up with locally-based mobile payment platform TicketZen so that people slapped with parking ticket fines can submit the cost using just a smartphone.
TicketZen was conceived out of Terrible Labs and their collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics and the Boston Transportation Department culminates with Monday’s big news, a three-month trial period testing out the mobile app that can be utilized by scanning a computer-generated barcode on city-issued tickets by the BTD.
“The City of Boston continues to innovate around customer service,” said Mayor Walsh in a statement. “Implementing new technology that makes the unpleasant chore of paying a parking ticket more efficient and effective, makes life in the city easier. I’m pleased that we were able to partner with a local tech company to get this app done.”
This new partnership echoes Mayor Walsh’s continued effort to streamline certain municipal processes by implementing a technological component that eliminates useless, time-consuming steps. Though previously people needed only log online and submit a payment through the specified website, mail a check to City Hall or simply show up and pay on the spot, they can simply hover their phone over the ticket and voilŕ, payment made.
There’s also the added benefit of not having to put paying the ticket on the back burner, often resulting in incurred late fees.
The City of Boston added that the three-month trial period will come at no cost to taxpayers, except for the standard credit card processing fee that comes with using The Hub’s online payment portal.
“We are thrilled to partner with Mayor Walsh and Boston’s Transportation Department to ease the process of paying a parking ticket,” continued Cort Johnson, Director of Business Development for Terrible Labs. “Boston continues to be a leader through their sustained efforts to modernize the way its residents and visitors interact with the City and TicketZen is excited to be a part of that plan.”
TicketZen is available to download for free on both iOS and Android devices. If you download it and use it to pay a fine, be sure to let us know your thoughts about the platform in the comment section below.
