New service lets downtown visitors phone in parking fees

Now this little multi-tasking communications device will let you pay for parking from inside your car. Or from anywhere, really -- boardroom to bathroom.

Starting Monday, eight municipal downtown parking lots operated by the Anchorage Community Development Authority will offer the Verrus Pay by Phone option in addition to its current digital pay stations.

And, should you choose, when your time is about to expire, you'll get a heads-up via text message. So instead of sprinting down the sidewalk in a race against the parking meanies, you can lean back, prop your feet up and add more time by phone.

"It's kind of exciting," said Rick Onstott, city parking director. "It's just a real convenient option for folks."

This service is being offered as a 90-day trial, but Onstott is confident it will be a hit.

Here's how it works:

First, you set up a free account at www.paybyphone.com, or by calling 1-866-234-7275. First-time users enter credit card, license plate and other information. The next time you call, the service will recognize you by your cell number, or, if using a different phone, by a PIN code.

Each of these eight downtown lots will have a location number posted. You call the service and, following prompts, enter the location number, how much time you want to buy and your parking space number. The parking fees will be billed to your Visa or Mastercard. A complete transaction history, including downloadable receipts, will be available through your on-line account.

Verrus charges 35 cents per transaction.

If you pay for two hours and are back at your car in one, too bad. It's no different than over-plugging a parking meter. Plus the 35 cents.

If you pay for two hours and are back at your car in three, don't be surprised if there's a parking ticket tucked under a windshield wiper. With the new option and the current digital one, when time expires the violation is logged at the pay stations, producing a notification for parking enforcement.

Paying by cell phone is a vast improvement over the old honor box system, Onstott said. Stuffing rolled up bills into little slots at public parking lots is destined to go the way of the horse and buggy.

The muni's ACDA, not to be confused with the private operator, Diamond Parking, replaced the last of its honor boxes in October with the digital pay system called the Luke.

The Luke?

It was named by its inventor after the movie "Cool Hand Luke," in which Luke Jackson (Paul Newman) goes to prison for decapitating parking meters. Anyhow, that's what Digital Payment Technologies told Onstott when he asked how the system got its name.

At these multi-space stations, parkers punch in their space numbers and other information, following prompts on the screen. The Luke accepts coins, bills up to $10 and Visa and Mastercard.

"There were a bunch of reasons to get rid of the honor boxes," Onstott said. "It was just an archaic system that didn't work for us or our customers."

They were a pain for parkers, especially in winter as they tried to cram bills into little slots with freezing cold hands. They didn't take credit cards or give receipts.

"Another thing is they were susceptible to folks with tweezers and coat hangers."

Verrus Mobile Technologies provides cell-phone parking services in about 100 cities and towns in North America and the United Kingdom, according to Chris Morisawa, marketing coordinator. Verrus also allows baseball fans to text-in food orders at Seattle Mariners games without leaving their seats and will soon offer a system for paying taxi cab fares.

Find Debra McKinney online at adn.com/contact/dmckinney or call 257-4465.