The capability to pay for Chicago's parking meter via cell phone -- a technology city officials began testing earlier this spring -- is rolling out to the rest of the city's 36,000 parking meters.
So far about 1,600 commuters have used the ParkChicago app during a nearly month-long test in Chicago's West Loop. Others presumably are waiting to use the technology; the app has been downloaded about 3,500 times, city officials said.
With the app, commuters don't have to go to a parking meter box to get a white receipt to place on the dashboard. Users pre-load the app with at least $20 to get started and it subtracts the parking fees from the account once a license plate number and parking zone are put in.
The service will also send a text message to the phone about 10 minutes before time runs out on a meter. Additional time can be purchased with just a few taps.
The app is available for both Apple and Android phones.
