“Steel City” expands touchless payment options this Spring
Moorestown, NJ — The Pittsburgh Parking Authority has announced the launch of the Flowbird app to make it easier for motorists to find and pay for parking downtown. At a time when touchless payments are increasingly popular, the Flowbird App offers peace-of-mind for both the City of Pittsburgh and its drivers.
The City of Pittsburgh is no stranger to innovation, known in the parking industry as the first major city in the country to make the change to Pay-by-Plate in 2012 with Flowbird’s elite smart parking kiosks. Now, in its 9th year of their contract with Flowbird, the Pittsburgh Parking Authority (PPA) takes the next step by adding Flowbird’s mobile parking application as a quick and convenient payment option. The app allows users to pay for parking from their mobile devices, receive text notifications when time is about to expire and extend their time without having to run to a meter.
Designed as a true mobility app, the Flowbird app features a map-based user interface, integrated with Waze and other navigation systems to guide users to their preferred parking location. The GPS-enabled map also allows users to select their parking location without manually inputting a zone code.
Setting up an account is quick and simple after the app is downloaded to a mobile device from the App Store or Google Play Store. Accounts can be set up for individual motorists or for businesses to manage their fleets.
“It’s all about expanding touchless payment options and giving users more choices,” said David Onorato, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.
The PPA will benefit from Flowbird’s powerful data hub. All parking activity information from Flowbird pay stations, the Flowbird mobile app, and 3rd party mobile apps are aggregated into Flowbird’s back-office system to allow Parking Authority staff to have a global view of all parking activity.
The Flowbird system is integrated with the Authority’s Gtechna citation issuance solution for fast, effective enforcement based on the motorists’ license plates.
The PPA will still continue to offer payments by credit card or coin at over 1,000 Flowbird parking kiosks throughout the Downtown area for non-app users.
The Flowbird app will be available this Spring, according to the PPA. Promotional stickers, printed and supplied by Flowbird, will be installed on all parking kiosks to inform motorists about the new app and corresponding zone numbers.
The City of Pittsburgh joins many other cities across the country utilizing the Flowbird app, including Atlanta, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Tacoma, and Virginia Beach. The Flowbird app is now available in over 100 parking locations across the United States, and the company’s mobile applications generate over 50 million transactions per year.