Mobile application ParkMe, which allows users to find and secure parking spots, now features a payment feature in Dallas for added value.

The move was made for Dallas users to ease the process in finding parking spots. The new solution goes through third-party payment providers.

“Mobile payments weren’t a direct request from our users but early on, we realized it would be a must-have feature,” said Mark Braibanti, director of marketing and business development at ParkMe, Los Angeles. “Since our company focuses on helping people who are on the go, we provide tremendous value by offering ParkMe’s users the ability to make mobile payments.

“We think that as the parking industry adapts to the mobile revolution and becomes more technologically advanced, then mobile payments will make up a larger percentage of their revenues,” he said.

Beep beep
The ParkMe app is available to New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles residents, among hundreds of other cities. However, the payment capability is currently limited to Dallas drivers.

Drivers in Dallas using the app can now access information on parking meter locations and can find, secure and pay for available parking. The app includes a visual display of meter locations and provides direct routing to parking garage entrances, a parking rate calculator that helps users find the cheapest option and a timer that integrates with PayByPhone.

PayByPhone allows drivers to pay for their parking spot directly through their mobile devices at participating parking meters.

ParkMe is giving new users a 10 percent discount when they use the promo code “2015” and is currently available for free download on iOS, Android and Windows phones.

ParkMe claims to save users 75 percent and claims to be the only app that has both parking lots and meters. The online service also has data on 60,000 worldwide locations in more than 1,800 cities, 40 countries and seven continents, Mr. Braibanti said.

Pay up
Transportation companies are increasingly tapping mobile payment capabilities, because consumers are increasingly demanding them.

For example, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency recently announced that it will pilot a new smartphone application for purchasing and using transit fares across the Municipal Railway system, becoming the latest public transportation provider to embrace mobile.

Starting this summer, users of the app will no longer be required to have exact change or rely on fare vending machines to ride. The move underscores mobile’s ability to give customers a more convenient option in transit fare payments (see story).

Also, Barclays Pingit is giving riders of Britain’s First West Yorkshire bus service a mobile payment option, one of the latest examples of a public transportation organization making it easy for riders to purchase and use tickets from their smartphones.

The adoption of Barclays’ mobile payment system by First West Yorkshire was reported by the Halifax Courier. The move points to how demand is influencing transportation companies to get up to speed on mobile after lagging other sectors (see story).

“Drivers are mobile and on-the-go so its natural that we offer a way to pay via mobile device,” Mr. Braibanti said. “It also adds another level of convenience for our users.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York