The Honk Mobile payment app linked to a driver's license plate is making it possible for drivers in the Canadian city of London to pay for parking spots in municipal lots and on the street through their smartphones or tablets.
City officials in London are rolling out the Honk Mobile service to allow users to search for parking spots, pay for the parking and top-up their Honk account through the app.
Transactions with the Honk app are registered to the driver's license plate to allow real-time updates to be sent to parking enforcement officers monitoring whether a driver has completed payment.
The app also notifies users when their parking spot time is about to expire and allows them to add additional time through their phones.
Once the Honk Mobile app is downloaded and registered with the user e-mail address, mobile phone number, license plate and payment information, users can link payments through Visa, Mastercard, Visa debit, Masterpass or PayPal accounts. Users can add as many payment options as they want.
Drivers do not need a printed receipt or ticket stub on their dashboards if they have paid through Honk Mobile, city officials said.
"From the parking enforcement side, officers have a real-time list of compliant license plates," Annette Drost, manager of law enforcement services, said in a May 10 press release. "There is no need to print or display a receipt in the vehicle because the entire transaction is done through the app.
Mobile pay parking apps are becoming increasingly common worldwide, but Toronto became another Canadian city offering the service late last year with the
