Recently, Google has rolled out an option that lets users throughout the US pay for street parking and transit fares right from Google Maps, without ever taking out your wallet or leaving the app.
Google has partnered with parking solutions providers Passport and ParkMobile that will link Google Maps to street parking meters. According to Vishal Dutta, Google Maps product manager, this new feature aims to help users pay for parking without having to touch a meter.
When people are using Google Maps to navigate to a destination, the app will automatically prompt them to pay for parking. All users need to do is tap “Pay for Parking,” enter meter number, the amount of time you want to park for and tap “Pay.” Also, there are options to easily extend parking sessions. Notably, the user has to set up a Google Pay account, which is linked to a credit or debit card.
Pay for parking starts rolling out today on Android in 400+ cities in the U.S, (including Boston, Cincinnati, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C, and more) with iOS coming soon. The ability to pay for transit from Google Maps expands to 80 agencies globally on Android in the coming weeks.
In places like the San Francisco Bay Area, users will be able to buy a digital Clipper card directly from Google Maps. Once users purchased their fare, all they need to do is tap on the phone on the reader or show your digital ticket to breeze on board.