PETALING JAYA: Digital apps seem to have penetrated every aspect of life. From banking to spending, apps have replaced cold hard cash. Among the conveniences that are slowly but surely seeing the adoption of digital payment is parking.
In many urban municipalities, parking coupons are being replaced by parking apps. The advantage is that it makes paying for parking easier, especially for those born in the digital age who loathe the inconvenience of having to buy parking coupons.
Subang Jaya, which will soon be a city, went digital last year. People can now pay parking fees through several apps, such as Smart Selangor, Parkbyphone, Touch ‘n Go, eWallet, Flexi Parking and Boost.
Subang Jaya Municipal Council deputy director of corporate and strategic management Azfarizal Abdul Rashid said 45% of those who were using coupons or parking meters have now switched to digital payment apps.
There has been no increase in the parking fee collected.
He said the council monitors those who use apps to pay parking fees through dashboard settings that are part of the app.
Tech expert Fong Choong Fook noted that senior citizens still prefer to use coupons or parking meters.
“That leaves a gap in the adoption of digital parking.”
He said it would be difficult to get everyone to go digital without a unifying app to serve all local councils.
Chong said based on best practices, that would require the federal government to endorse a nationwide rollout of a single app for all parking payments.
But a unified app has to be subjected to stringent security tests and this could mean the need for verification from users, he said.
“(It has to be ensured that) they are safe and secure for the public to use.”
Read the story on our iPaper: Parking apps gaining traction among motorists
