Passport Parking
Pay for street parking from your phone
by Passport Labs, Inc.
About this app
Passport Parking is a mobile payment app for on-street parking used by over 800 cities and municipalities across the US and Canada. Pay for metered parking from your phone, extend your session remotely, and get notifications before your time expires. The app works with your city's existing parking infrastructure — just enter the zone number posted on the meter or sign, set your duration, and pay. No coins needed. If a meeting runs long, extend your session from anywhere without running back to the meter. Passport Parking also supports parking permits, citation payments, and garage access in select cities.
Key Features
Pay by phone
Pay for metered parking without coins or cards
Remote extend
Add more time from anywhere before your session expires
Expiration alerts
Get notified before your parking time runs out
Zone lookup
Enter the zone number or use GPS to find your spot
Parking history
Track all past sessions and receipts
Permits & citations
Manage parking permits and pay citations in-app
How It Works
Enter your zone
Find the zone number on the meter or nearby sign
Set duration & pay
Choose your parking time and pay with stored card
Extend if needed
Get alerts and add time remotely before expiry
Detailed Review
Passport Parking is the utility player of parking apps. Unlike ParkWhiz (reservations) or SpotHero (discounted lots), Passport focuses solely on paying for municipal metered parking from your phone. It's the app your city might mandate for mobile parking payments.
The setup is simple. Create an account, add a payment method, and enter your license plate. When you park, look for the zone number on the meter or nearby sign, enter it in the app, select your duration, and pay. The whole process takes about 20 seconds.
The killer feature is remote session extension. Imagine you're in a meeting that's running 30 minutes long, and your meter is about to expire. With Passport, you tap 'Extend' on your phone, add time, and avoid a $75 parking ticket. The app sends push notifications 15 minutes before expiry, giving you time to act. In our testing, this feature alone justified the app — one avoided ticket pays for years of convenience fees.
The convenience fee ($0.25-0.35 per session) is the trade-off for not carrying coins. Some users dislike the principle of paying to pay, but the practical value of remote management and expiration alerts far outweighs the cost.
City coverage is Passport's main limitation. The app only works where the city has contracted with Passport Labs for parking payment processing. Major cities like Charlotte, Toronto, Chicago (some areas), and hundreds of smaller municipalities use the system. If your city uses ParkMobile instead, Passport won't work there.
The interface is utilitarian but effective. It's not trying to be flashy — it's trying to get you parked and paid in 20 seconds. The zone entry screen is prominent, recent zones are saved, and GPS can suggest nearby zones. Receipt history is clean and exportable for expense reports.
For parking enforcement, the system works seamlessly. Officers check your plate against the database in real-time, so there's no physical proof of payment needed on your dashboard.
Passport Parking won't help you find parking or get discounts, but for the simple act of paying for metered parking and managing your sessions remotely, it's an essential tool in supported cities.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Our Verdict
If your city uses Passport Parking, it's a must-have. The remote extension feature alone saves you from parking tickets. The app does one thing — parking payment — and does it well.