By snoadmin
Long Beach residents need not rush to the nearest cash register to grab quarters for parking meters anymore, because now they can pay the fee through their phones.
Parkmobile, the new cell phone app available for iPhones, Androids and BlackBerries, allows users to pay for meter parking with their phones. Payments on the app go through the online paying site PayPal.
According to the Parkmobile website, the app can be used to pay parking meters surrounding City Hall in Long Beach.
Morgan Kepler-Telling, a senior theatre arts major at Cal State Long Beach, said she would use the new app because it sounds like a convenient way for people to run errands without having to worry about their meter expiring.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Kepler-Telling said. “I know that I have been in a bind once or twice where I had to leave class to go refill the meter, so I would love to see this on campus. When I’m late I definitely only park in meter parking, so it would be convenient.”
Kepler-Telling said the Parkmobile app would also be convenient for the more crowded areas of Long Beach, like Downtown Long Beach and Second Street.
Senior biochemistry major Chody Black said this would be the perfect app for the on-the-go CSULB student.
“I think it would be a great idea to bring [the app], because if you put the option out there people will use it,” Black said. “I know that some of my friends would love the idea and would start to get it on their iPhones and try to make good use of this.”
The app also features an opt-in push notification for iPhone users, which sends users a message 15 minutes before their meter expires.
Undeclared sophomore Azeala Young said that she wishes there could be an app like this for CSULB students in the future.
“Using the meters here [at CSULB] can be very stressful,” Young said. “I often find myself having to estimate the time I paid for and factoring how long it takes me to walk to and from class.”
Young said that students also have to factor in campus parking security, who often check meters throughout the day. She said this could add to the stress of paying the meter on time without getting a ticket.
