The University of Iowa and the city of Iowa City are rolling out the mobile parking service PassportParking, which allows drivers to pay for parking at meters on campus and around the city using smartphones, tablets, or any other electronic device. For no additional charge, PassportParking users can pay electronically or continue to pay via traditional methods of coin or credit card.

“This is a win-win,” says Jim Sayre, associate director of UI Parking and Transportation. “Not only will this make parking easier for our campus and community, it will give us real-time, historical data that can help with future planning. It also will open new opportunities to communicate about important announcements like holiday hours or space closures.”

Signs on or near parking meters identify where drivers can pay using the app. That includes 2,000 city meters, the Chauncey Swan and Harrison Street parking ramps, and 800 university meters.

Customers will not need to be physically near the parking meter to make a payment via the app, and they also can remotely check their time remaining.

The parking meter itself will not display payments made through the app; however, PassportParking feeds information immediately to both UI and city of Iowa City systems, so parking enforcement officers can instantly verify if a payment has been made.

Users must download the app (from the Apple App Store, Android Google Play, or by visiting ppprk.com), then create an account, select a PIN, and enter credit card information.

To learn more about PassportParking, go to https://transportation.uiowa.edu/ParkingApp.