With the new meterUp app, Hill residents and visitors are now able to pay parking meters through their smartphones. (Photo by Tyller Moorer)

by Tyller Moorer

A new way to pay your parking meter has come to Germantown Avenue, and it is extremely convenient. Stickers have been plastered on meters all along the avenue encouraging drivers to use the app, meterUP.

MeterUP is an app designed for making parking easier and more suitable in Philadelphia. If residents do not have a smartphone and cannot download the app, there are two others ways to access it. Call the toll-free number, 1-877-727- 5303, and receive personal assistance; or access the signup webpage on meterUP.org.

Each meter has a zone number on it. For those that can access the app there are easy ways to sign up. Create an account, enter the zone number located on the meter, select the time you wish to park and hit, “start parking.”

In Chestnut Hill, there is a two-hour parking limit; that is the max time on the app that you are able to park. The app will notify you 15 minutes before your parking session is about to end. There will be an option to extend if from as low as six minutes to two hours. If desired, there is an option to stop the meter early as well.

It’s important for those using the app to know that the time on the app does not correspond to the time shown on the meter. Instead, the Parking Enforcement Officer is aware that you paid your meter by entering your license plate number into their ticketing device. That device will inform the officer whether or not you’ve paid for the space.

If you still receive a ticket while using the app, contact, PPACustomerService@philapark.org or fill out an online dispute. All that is needed is the parking ticket number and your meterUP receipt.

MeterUP accepts credit and debit cards, Parkmobile Wallet, Visa Checkout and MasterPass as payment methods. All information put into the app is secure because they use industry-standard encryption methods.

Philip Dawson, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business District, said the mobile app system is the first step in modernizing on-street parking in Chestnut Hill.

"The meterUP and Parkmobile apps are welcome new amenities that make it more convenient than ever to pay for parking when visiting Chestnut Hill,” he said. “Their integration with the metered street parking this summer was well-received, and we look forward to offering them on the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation's lots this autumn. The scheduled upgrade of existing street meters to new SmartMeters in spring 2019 will round out these efforts to modernize Chestnut Hill's parking infrastructure."

For more information on meterUP, visit philapark.org. Tyller Moorer is an intern at the Local.