City offers meter parking by cell phone

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- The city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, has launched a new service where drivers can top up their parking meter time from anywhere using a cell phone.

A four-month pilot project worked successfully, and the city rolled out the high-tech plan citywide on Wednesday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., reported.

Users must create an account with the city with their personal and credit information, along with the vehicle description. Once parked, users dial a number and enter a location code and leave.

When the time is down to a few minutes, the system text messages the driver, who can then punch in a payment extension without having to return to the vehicle, said Colin Stewart of the Winnipeg Parking Authority.

"It's very hard to leave that meeting and go ... buy another receipt and put that on your dash," Stewart said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.