UCLA Parking Services releases Parkmobile app for convenient payment
The Parkmobile app will send a reminder to users 15 minutes before parking expires. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Madeleine Pauker
April 3, 2017 9:22 p.m.
Students can now pay for parking in any campus lot through a smartphone app called Parkmobile.
UCLA Parking Services made the Parkmobile app available for all campus parking facilities in March. The app was previously only available for parking near residence halls during winter, said parking services director Lisa Koerbling.
Drivers can download the app from Apple, Google or Windows stores and must pay a 35 cent fee per transaction in additional to campus parking rates.
Users enter the number of their parking area and the amount of time they plan to park, with the option of adding more time later. The app sends a reminder 15 minutes before parking expires.
Koerbling said she expects the app to replace self-service pay stations on campus, but not staffed campus parking kiosks.
Dantong Wang, a first-year sociology student, said she thinks the app would be convenient for people without parking permits. She added she used to park at Hedrick Summit, but she would have to wake up early to move the car because parking expired at 7 a.m.
“If (Parkmobile) could refresh my parking payment automatically, I would definitely use it,” Wang said.
Jacky Lyu, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, said he thinks the concept of the app is useful, but most students would not be able to take advantage of its benefits.
“Most students have parking permits because day-by-day parking is much more expensive,” Lyu said. “I think students would only use the app if it also provided a discount for parking.”
Benita Sadeh, a third-year Near Eastern languages and cultures student, said she thinks the app would be useful for visitors who want an easier parking experience.
Sadeh added she used to work in parking services at UCLA and many people believed parking was free and would leave without making a payment, or fail to pay on time. She said she thinks Parkmobile would serve to remind drivers of due payments.
