Montreal’s mobile parking app is changing providers

Montreal’s P$ Mobile Service parking app, which lets people pay from afar, will have a new provider by spring 2017, following a call for tenders put out by Stationnement de Montréal in May 2016.

Passport Inc. was announced as the new provider, replacing TC Media.

READ MORE: Hampstead resident calls on Montreal to make parking easier for people with disabilities

“The contract has been signed,” said Sophie Charette, spokesperson for Stationnement de Montréal.

“Until then, it’s still TC Media.”

READ MORE: Need to find parking in Montreal? There’s an app for that

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Already operating in Toronto and Vancouver, Passport is a mobile technology company that uses mobile payments for parking and transit.

“Payments made using the P$ Mobile Service app now represent 45 per cent of all on-street parking revenues,” said Charles Auger, general manager of Stationnement de Montréal.

READ MORE: Montreal tests new digital parking signs in pilot project

The app already allows for real-time parking rates and regulatory data, a timer and parking space pre-payment.

After transferring to the new provider in 2017, Montreal’s parking app will include new features for users, including:

• Map-based parking space locator
• An inter-service payment option
• Compensation for parking through a retailer program
• A discount during special events using a promotional code

“A map where people will be able to find parking available near their location,” Charette said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A map where people will be able to find parking available near their location," Charette said.

“It’s just an indicator of where we could find a parking spot available.”

READ MORE: Montreal promises to fix notoriously confusing parking signs

Users of the app currently pay a 20-cent service fee each time they use the app; the charge may be lowered depending on popularity.

“When we launched in 2012, it was 40 cents and we made a promise as soon as we would have more transactions we would reduce the fee,” Charette said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When we launched in 2012, it was 40 cents and we made a promise as soon as we would have more transactions we would reduce the fee," Charette said.

“We would like to reduce it again, maybe to 10 cents.”

In Montreal, there are currently over 584,300 users who have the P$ Mobile Service app.