Iowa City will switch its mobile parking app from Passport Parking to ParkMobile throughout October.
Drivers can still use Passport until the block or parking ramp transitions to ParkMobile. The new meters will bear the ParkMobile’s green logo.
After downloading the ParkMobile app, users are prompted to create an account. The nearest available zones will appear on the map. After selecting your zone, drivers must add their vehicles or license plate, their preferred payment method (credit/debit card, Apple pay, PayPal or ParkMobile Wallet) and select your duration. Drivers can also pay via their website, through text, by calling or by scanning a QR code.
The app charges a $0.35 fee for each new transaction, excluding parking extensions. In Cedar Rapids, drivers can use either ParkMobile or Passport Parking. Neither app charges a transaction fee. ParkMobile charges $0.25 in Des Moines, $0.40 in Davenport and Sioux City and $0.55 in Ames.
Downtown street meters are limited to 1-2 hours. Parking beyond that limit is illegal. Meters are enforced Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Long-term parking meters are available further from downtown, or drivers can park in one of the downtown cashiered or automated ramps.
The City’s move keeps mobile parking consistent with the University of Iowa, which switched to ParkMobile in August.
ParkMobile is an Atlanta-based company started in 2008. It boasts 40 million users in North America, with over 151,000 users in Iowa.
