New 4G-enabled parking meters being installed across Honolulu

The city has started to install about 4,200 newly upgraded, 4G-enabled parking meters across Honolulu.

The upgraded parking meters accept coins, credit and debit cards or payments via a phone app. They will also allow customers to use Apple Pay and Google Pay.

App payments will be accepted via Park Smarter, a mobile payment system accessible by scanning the QR code on the meter, according to officials.

Park Smarter offers users real-time expiration alerts, finder tools with directions to open stalls, and the ability to pay and extend parking sessions remotely.

The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services has dealt with a number of challenges relating to its parking meters.

In January, about 2,200 of the city’s wireless credit-card parking meters — which used 2G and 3G technology — went offline when carrier Verizon implemented a 4G upgrade. As a result the city offered free parking at affected meters for about six months.

Then in April, DTS dealt with fraudulent payment stickers on city meters, which took users to a web page instead of the official app or app stores.

The city says roughly 2,100 of existing digital meters will be replaced first, followed by others, including coins-only meters. All 4,200 new meters should be installed by the end of this year.

In addition to the Park Smarter app, meter users will be able to access their parking transaction history and get automatic email receipts from city meters via MyParkingReceipts.com.

For more information visit www.honolulu.gov/transportation/resources/parking.