ParkRTC

I really like how easy this app works. But the fee structure is not friendly. This app forces you to pay for a minimum of one hour at $3. What if you only need 30 mins? 15 mins? You guessed it, $3. I realized this recently when I dropped my phone off at the Apple store. Had an appointment so it took 10 mins. I had to pay $3 for 10 mins. Why not charge in 15 min increments? Also, unlike physical parking meters, when I left after 10 mins, the next person did not get to use the balance of time I left - 50 mins. Someone on the back end of this app is pocketing a lot of coin at our expense by using this fee structure! I’m all for reasonable profits, but this is egregious and gratuitous!

I set up my account, added my vehicle and made a pin. All I need to do is log in with my pin. If the place I’m visiting validates parking I ask when I walk in before I pay. If not I can pay from wherever I am as long as I remember the zone.

Don't understand why it requires a PIN and zone number, when it already has your plate number. Seems like a better system would be to just have a number for each spot, then they wouldn't have to collect plate numbers at all. The data collection and sharing permitted by the app goes beyond what is necessary to operate the service. This is mentioned in the privacy policy on the ParkRTC site in opaque terms but it's deceptive to not mention it here. Creepy factor is high versus a normal parking system that isn't collecting personal data. Not sure of the reason to require prepayment of parking time instead of paying for time used when you leave -- very unfriendly compared to a normal garage especially given the number of enforcement carts trolling the garages. Took me 5 attempts to connect to the service and about 10 minutes total just to pay $2 for parking. That was even after taking the time to install the app and set up an account in advance. I just want to be able to go to my meeting and pay for parking when I leave, not play virtual meter feeding games with a timer counting down! No idea why they didn't use a reusable, recognized app like ParkMobile that DC people already use. Normal machines with arms that swipe a credit card on the way out would also be lots easier.