Travel
TicketZen, The Easiest Way to Pay a Boston Parking Ticket
CEO/Multimedia Storyteller
Peacock Media, LLC.
As a commuter into Boston I confess I’m subject to the occasional parking ticket. Instead of being at the mercy of finding parking in Boston while trying to avoid late appointment arrivals, sometimes it actually makes more sense for me to park and pay the fine later. The next day when the violation is registered at City Hall, I typically log onto the City of Boston.gov website to pay the fine. However, I’ve now found a new way to repent for my parking sins by using the ZenTicket mobile app to pay my fee on the spot.
TicketZen via TicketZen, LLC and the Developers at Terrible Labs.
Price: Free App Download. $1 per parking ticket paid w/ TicketZen.
Platforms: Compatible w/ iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Optimized for iPhone5. TicketZen for Android is currently limited to Boston, MA for now. It’s also important to note TicketZen is only available in select cities.*
Should you get it? TicketZen made it to my iPhone home screen.
TicketZen is a mobile app that allows users to pay for parking violations quickly and conveniently, moments after collecting the ticket from their windshield.
“Citizens who have a Boston parking ticket, can download the TicketZen app (for iOS and Android) and use it to scan and pay their ticket in a few taps, said Cort Johnson.
Johnson is one of the founders of Terrible Labs, a small team of website and mobile application developers who created TicketZen after Kayak co-founder Paul English tweeted about wanting an easier way to pay Boston parking tickets.
To use, choose a city and scan the barcode on your ticket with your smartphone camera. Next select a payment option and TicketZen submits your payment to the city for approval.
This process costs $1, and takes up to 24 hours pending on when the parking employee uploads your ticket into the city’s database.
Through this partnership with city officials, TicketZen accesses Boston’s ticket database and notifies TicketZen users when the violation is available for payment. Users also receive a confirmation email from the city when their mobile payment is accepted and settled.
Repeat offender? The TicketZen app stores a user’s credit card information, negating the need to re-enter that string of digitals every time a payment is in order.
*TicketZen is currently available in Boston, Cambridge, MA, Washington, DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and State College, PA, with support for 100+ cities across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia to be announced soon.
“Over the next year, we plan to roll out TicketZen to many other cities across the US,” cooed Johnson.
To see if your city is in the TicketZen launch roadmap, email hi@TicketZen.com.
@TicketZen The app was so easy to use, just scan the barcode, enter your card info and boom. Got email confirmation within seconds. #genius
— Michael Novaria (@MJNovaria) December 12, 2013The city of Boston should thank @ticketzen. Decided it was easier to pay with my phone than waste my time fighting a bogus ticket.
— Tom Boates Everybody (@tomboates) December 22, 2013Now to your Most Downloaded iPhone and iPad Mobile Apps of the Week.
