When they use parking meters, Montreal motorists should not have to pay for unused parking time, believes Ensemble Montreal. The opposition party at City Hall asks the Plante administration to modernize the system so that the user can indicate that he leaves his parking space and thus obtain a credit for the amount overpaid .
Currently, parking meter terminals and mobile apps mean that if a user plans to park for three hours but leaves after one hour, they are unable to obtain credit for unused time. In addition, the next user will in turn pay to park in the same place, which means that the parking space will be paid for twice by motorists.
In a motion that will be debated at the next city council meeting on June 13, Ensemble Montréal is asking the City to mandate the Sustainable Mobility Agency to modernize its mobile application. This idea was also raised during the 2021 election campaign by former mayoral candidate Denis Coderre.
Upcoming study
“We want to use technology to restore fairness to on-street parking users, based on the user-pay principle,” opposition leader Aref Salem said on Tuesday. “You just have to add a ‘start’ button to the application. Cities like Calgary, Edmonton and Victoria are crediting motorists with overpayments if they leave their parking spot early, he said.
Currently, 76% of on-street parking users pay through the mobile app. For motorists who do not have a smartphone, Ensemble Montréal suggests that the City develop an alternative solution so that they can obtain a refund. They could do this by contacting the Agency, as is the case in Calgary, advises Bordeaux-Cartierville councilor Effie Giannou.
Aref Salem does not believe that such a measure would result in significant financial losses for the City. Rather, he refers to a “stagnation of income”.
The mayor’s office points out that the administration has made significant investments to improve the technology used by the Sustainable Mobility Agency, which should “open many doors to fair pricing and make parking easier and more transparent for motorists. “, we underline. “One thing is certain, we are open to studying the different possibilities. We will discuss the proposal at the next city council. »