Dual Vendor Mobile Payment Program

About the Program

Category: Transportation (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

The purpose of this Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) Division of Parking Management program is to respond to the growing use of mobile technology in the parking marketplace and to further encourage its use. Mobile payment technology in a municipality-managed parking environment is a win-win. For customers, it is a convenient, cashless solution. For parking management agencies, it requires little financial investment or continual operating costs. In 2010, the County introduced a mobile payment program partnering with a single vendor, MobileNOW! The County however serves a multi-jurisdictional consumer base (primarily Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.) that use various pay by phone vendors. To ensure mobile payment maximization, the County decided to undertake the challenge of offering multiple mobile payment vendors. After a solicitation process, the County renewed its partnership with MobileNOW! while simultaneously beginning a new partnership with Parkmobile, a nationally recognized mobile payment vendor. Following an incremental rollout in 2017 and 2018, over 14,000 on and offstreet parking spaces now have a two-vendor mobile payment solution. Success can be seen with the high adoption rates and positive customer feedback following implementation. The program has over 13 million sessions and generated over $36 million in revenue since its inception.