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City’s parking app is now easier to use for one-time needs

Residents or visitors to Moose Jaw who want to park downtown but don’t have cash can use the HotSpot parking app for one-time needs without needing to pre-load the money.
New parking app
New stickers on parking meters are part of the City of Moose Jaw's new parking meter app program. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Residents or visitors to Moose Jaw who want to park downtown but don’t have cash can use the HotSpot parking app for one-time needs without needing to pre-load the money.

Motorists can use the app’s Park & Go option to pay for their stall via a credit card or debit Visa without the need to download a digital wallet. They will also receive alerts to add time to their stall if necessary. 

Users will also be given a grace period of three minutes to cancel a session if they park in the same spot and need to correct their spot number or length of time. 

However, this option means they will lose the ability to acquire refunds to a credit card/debit Visa on any remaining time. This is similar to putting change into a meter and not needing all that time.

The company added this temporary Park & Go feature to the app this past August.

“Users asked and we listened. The number one request from our users is the ability to pay with a credit card/debit Visa and not upload funds to a wallet,” the company said in an update.

Existing members will not see any changes to the offered features and can continue using a digital wallet. Typically, increments of $5 or $10 are used to avoid multiple credit card transaction fees when loading the wallet. 

Meanwhile, new app users will be asked if they want to join the HotSpot community and given the option to become a member or register for the Park & Go service with direct credit card/debit Visa payment.

The fee structure is 20 cents per transaction, while a monthly membership is $2 and a yearly membership is $20. There is also a credit card transaction fee of 2.99 per cent. 

City administration presented this information during the Jan. 9 regular city council meeting after Coun. Jamey Logan inquired during the Dec. 12 meeting about whether the app can be used for one-time parking. 

“That’s great news that you don’t have to pre-load the money, but you do have to pay a monthly fee,” he said. “If someone is interested in using the app, get online and see the brochure. It looks like it’s getting easier and easier to use.

The next regular council meeting is Monday, Jan. 23. 

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