New Technology to Make Square Parking, Learning about Oxford Easier

Oxford is growing at an unprecedented rate, and new visitors are flooding the town every month. Now, city officials are adding technology into the mix.

Officials approved contracting with Passport Mobile Pay to create an online payment option for the Square parking meters at no cost to the city.

Meters can be paid at the site with change for $1 per hour and credit card or debit card with an additional $.25 fee per transaction. According to Passport’s website, “with Passport’s Wallet system, when a customer pays for parking, the transaction is deducted from a pre-funded account rather than charging their credit/debit card, resulting in lower merchant processing fees. In contrast to other wallet systems, Passport’s system is closed-loop, meaning the money is held by the parking operator, not the mobile pay provider or an escrow service.”

With the new service, users have the ability to refill meters from their phones without running back to the car. Options will be available through a smartphone and tablet app, text messages, phone calls and online web browsers.

Beyond that, the app will also allow visitors to take guided walking tours around Oxford without finding a tour guide, allowing the phone’s GPS to link their location and explain the historical or cultural significance of the property or object being viewed. Local historian Jack Mayfield will lend his voice to the audio tours.

Amelia Camurati is editor of HottyToddy.com and can be reached at amelia.camurati@hottytoddy.com.