Paying for parking in Hamilton just got easier (and more expensive!)

The price to park in Hamilton has gone up, and to compensate, the City has an app that makes it a lot easier to plug the meter.

The price to park in Hamilton has gone up, and to compensate, the City has an app that makes it a lot easier to plug the meter.

On Monday (July 6), the City announced that it had launched the new “pay-by-phone” parking app that allows users to pay, track and extend parking anytime, on all on-street parking meters and municipal parking lots in Hamilton from a smartphone.

Also on Monday, parking fees went up. In a press release issued Monday afternoon, the City said that, as per council’s approval earlier this year, parking fees for on-street meter rates have increased from $1.50 per hour to $2.00 per hour.

In addition, the temporary 30-minute free on-street parking that was initiated back in March in an effort to support businesses struggling with the pandemic closures will be removed, and enforcement of all meters will return to normal operations.

The new app, called the Passport Parking App, can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play Store and users just have to create an account.

To use the app, park anywhere the Passport Parking App sign is visible and enter the zone number to track or add time to the associated meter.

For those who prefer the old fashioned way of parking, payment by coin at meters and coin/credit card in off-street lots will remain available (though still at the new elevated rates.

The mobile payment application is being provided by Passport Labs Incorporated, who provide similar apps for Kitchener, Windsor, and Toronto.

To learn more about the app and parking in Hamilton, visit the City’s website.