Apple Inc. is about to shine a bright spotlight on the parking industry at its annual fall event. Anyone who follows the technology universe, or Apple in particular, knows that the tech world practically comes to a stop on the day of the Apple fall event when the company unveils its new iPhones, Apple Watches, Apple TV, and the operating systems that run them.
The 2018 event will also be a coming out party of sorts for the parking industry. For the first time, Apple will feature a parking app in its presentation when it highlights PayByPhone’s groundbreaking payment app. The app, which was introduced in 2013, is used by more than 17 million people across the globe. Last year the PayByPhone app was used to manage more than 70 million transactions totaling $345 million.
“We are extremely proud that Apple is recognizing us during their fall event,” said PayByPhone. “Apple is the gold standard when it comes to mobile technology, and having the company demonstrate the PayByPhone app on the largest of stages is very exciting and gratifying. It’s an extraordinarily satisfying validation of all of the hard work that went into developing our app.”
In addition to allowing drivers to pay for parking simply and conveniently with an iPhone or Apple Watch, the app also sends notifications to the parker when the session is about to expire and allows them to automatically extend their session if they need more time. The app also sends users smart notices about local events, parking history, and traffic information.
One of the app’s groundbreaking features is map-based parking function that allows drivers to view and locate parking locations with an in-app map. Additionally, the app’s “location” feature automatically generates a list of nearby parking locations to help returning drivers find the garage or lot in which they parked.
PayByPhone also broke new ground with the addition of a Near Field Communication feature that allows drivers to start a parking session by just tapping an NFC-enabled parking meter. NFC is the simplest, quickest, and most convenient way to pay for parking.
The app, which was introduced in 2013, is used by more than 17 million people across the globe.
In recent years PayByPhone has enjoyed extraordinary growth. Last year the app experienced a 31 percent increase in downloads, a 38 percent increase in parking transactions processed, and a 36 percent increase in new users.
“This is a significant achievement for PayByPhone and an exciting event for the parking industry,” said Dan Kupferman, Director of Car Park Management Systems for Walker Consultants, and a nationally-known expert on parking technology. “Parking Today readers know how much easier parking is thanks to wireless communication, but to have Apple recognize and embrace it means that the world will too.”
This won’t be the first time that Apple Inc. highlights the PayByPhone app. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this past June also featured a presentation of the PayByPhone Apple Watch app. The WDC is an annual conference sponsored by Apple Inc. to showcase its new software and technologies for app developers.
Kristin Phillips is a business writer covering the parking industry. She can be reached at kristinlphillips1@gmail.com.
