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Roanoke parking kiosks trial mobile payments

Roanoke, Virginia, will soon have new parking kiosks that will enable multiple forms of payment including credit, debit and mobile payments.

December 9, 2015

Roanoke, Virginia, will soon have new parking kiosks that will enable multiple forms of payment including credit, debit and mobile payments. The city council plans to deploy these kiosks in January as part of a pilot program, according to a report by Roanoke.com.

Currently, Roanoke has no parking meters, but instead relies on "honor boxes" for patrons to place their coins and bills into. The council plans to deploy multiple versions of parking kiosks at different places to allow users to give feedback on which version they prefer. The kiosks will enable multi-space parking and will accept multiple forms of payment, according to the report.

Since Roanokers are used to free parking, it may be difficult to make the transition. "Roanokers really do like the idea of pulling up right in front of where they’re going," Councilman Ray Ferris said. "We need to gently shift that expectation."

If the pilot program is approved, the kiosks will be deployed from June through August.