Editor’s Note: This article was inspired by questions submitted by Miami Herald readers, Nicky Zarchen and Barby Perego, via Curious305, our community-powered reporting series that solicit questions readers on Miami-Dade, Broward, the Florida Keys and the rest of the Sunshine State. Submit your question here or scroll down to fill out our form.
Hey, Curious305: Where does the PayByPhone/ParkMobile money go? Is it going to our city or to a private company?
The days of checking your wallet (and under your sofa cushion) for change to fuel the meter on your next outing are mostly over.
Many counters, parking lots, and garages in South Florida now accept credit cards or use parking apps.
But don’t expect to use the same app everywhere you go.
Just like the different apps to send money to family and friends – Venmo, Zelle, Cash App – there are several parking apps on the market. Which one you’ll need depends on where you’re going. And it can get confusing.
Your checklist:
▪ PayByPhone is used in Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Surfside, Coral Gables, South Miami and Miami, including Little Havana and Wynwood.
▪ In Miami Beach, Hollywood, and Boca Raton, expect to pay with ParcMobile.
▪ PayByPhone’s Vancouver-based parent company is volkswagen Financial services. Atlanta-based ParkMobile was acquired last year by the European mobility company EasyParkGroup. It was formerly part of the PARK NOW Group mobility joint venture of BMW and Daimler.
Cities have contracts with mobile parking application companies. The cost of parking – and how long you can stay parked in a spot – varies by location and is determined by the city. Some places like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami Beach also offer a resident discount.
Where does the PayByPhone and ParkMobile money go?
So where does all the money go and what is it used for?
Every time you pay for parking with PayByPhone or ParkMobile, whether through the app, on the web, or by calling the number on the sign, your total is made up of the parking fee plus the service fee. The service charge goes to the parking app, in this case PayByPhone or ParkMobile. It’s like a convenience fee, similar to what theaters charge when you buy tickets online.
Actual parking costs accrue to the city.
For example: if parking costs $4 on a lot in Fort Lauderdale and the service charge is 27 cents, your total will be $4.27. The $4 will go to the city and the 27 cents will go to PayByPhone.
How much you pay in service fees, if any, depends on where you are going. In Miami, for example, the Miami Parking Authority covers the PayByPhone transaction fees for drivers since 2014. Hollywood also covers the ParkMobile transaction fees for residents.
Spokespeople for Miami Beach, which has about 160,000 monthly ParkMobile users, and Coral Gables, where about 90% of its parking customers use PayByPhone, say the cities use parking revenue collected to support parking operations. parking, including maintenance and repair of grounds and garages.
In the 2021-22 fiscal year, for example, Coral Gables had three million customers using PayByPhone to pay for parking and raised $10 million, according to Martha Pantin, a spokeswoman for Coral Gables.
“Any revenue generated and not used in parking operations goes into the city’s general fund and offsets the need for additional tax revenue,” Pantin said in an email to the Miami Herald.
Where do you need to use parking apps and online services in South Florida?
Businesses, schools and other places have also turned to mobile parking payments.
Fort Lauderdale’s DRV PNK Stadium, home to Inter Miami soccer team, uses ParkMobile to reserve seats in its yellow field. At LoanDepot Park, the Little Havana home to the Miami Marlins, pilots with a parking card register a vehicle’s license plate via ParkWhiz. All others must pay for their parking with PayByPhone or at a pay station.
Visitors to Florida International University and the University of Miami can pay for metered parking with PayByPhone. It is also one of the ways of pay for Metrorail parking in Miami-Dade County.
And while PayByPhone and ParkMobile seem to be the most popular choices for metered parking in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, you’ll occasionally come across other mobile payment services.
Most parking lots Dadeland shopping center, The falls and Dolphin mall is free, although for some “premium” parking spaces you will have to book and pay with the MyPark app. Mercy Hospital Miami’s visitor garage uses a PayByPlate service called Metropolis. In downtown Doral, you will use ParkingPayments.com. (Don’t worry about remembering those names; just scan the QR code at your parking spot.)
While South Florida clearly followed Miami’s lead in embrace mobile parking paymentsnot all places you will visit are just for apps.
In Coral Gables, although PayByPhone is used for metered parking, parking lots on Miracle Mile, the main shopping street, still require you to pay cash or card at a pay station. The garage at Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami also has a pay station.
Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport allow you pay for parking cash, credit cards, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. FLL also accepts SunPass Plus.
And at Zoo Miami, parking is free. Other malls, businesses and attractions in South Florida also offer free parking. But if you live in South Florida, you’ll soon need to download an app or two to pay for parking.
Now, what was the password again?
