Cambridge Expands Mobile Parking Payment Options

In order to give drivers greater flexibility and improve the City's service offerings, Cambridge has added PayByPhone to its suite of parking payment options.

People will now be able to choose from the PayByPhone or Passport Parking apps when paying for parking at meters and City-owned parking lots. Other payment options include paying with coins (at meters) and using major debit/credit cards at pay stations (at City-owned parking lots).

"This expanded mobile parking payment option gives drivers more flexibility when it comes to parking," said Transportation Commissioner Brooke McKenna. "People who live in and visit Cambridge have high expectations for the services we provide, and adding another parking payment option helps make parking more convenient."

Staff have already started updating thousands of signs and meter stickers throughout the City to advertise the two app choices. However, people can start using PayByPhone at every City of Cambridge meter and parking lot immediately - there will be no need to wait for the signage to change. The parking zone number will be the same no matter which app parkers use.

The base price the City charges to park will be the same for those paying with Passport Parking, PayByPhone, coins, and at pay stations. This price varies in different zones throughout the city. However, both Passport Parking and PayByPhone charge an additional transaction fee.

"We're adding more ways to pay for parking, but all existing parking rules and regulations, including time limits and lockouts, will still apply," said Assistant Commissioner for Parking Management, Stephanie McAuliffe. "Coordinating parking enforcement across two apps has been one of the most complex parts of this project. PayByPhone, Passport Parking, and Trellint, our Parking Management Information System vendor, have been great partners in helping us make this new option a reality."

If a parking session expires, the parker may not begin a new session in the same zone with the same license plate until the lockout period has ended.

Both PayByPhone and Passport Parking are available to download for iOS and Android.

Don't want to download an app? You can pay for parking online at m.paybyphone.com for PayByPhone or park.passportparking.com for Passport Parking.

App-based and online parking payments are not accepted at City-owned garages (First Street Garage and Green Street Garage). Instead, parkers should continue to pay with cash or major debit/credit cards when exiting the garage.