Cell phones to mate with parking meters

BURLINGTON, Mass.-ParkMagic is partnering with Verizon’s SkyTel to allow users to pay municipal parking fees with their phones.
The Ireland-based company announced the U.S. debut of its mobile parking service, which uses an in-car display to alert city officials that the user has paid for parking at city meters. Motorists call into the ParkMagic system with their phones to access a prepaid account, and the message is wirelessly transmitted over SkyTel’s network.
The service launched in Europe in 2005; the company counts the Irish city of Limerick as a customer. Other wireless developers are testing text-message based parking payment systems in Europe and several U.S. cities.
“The on-street parking marketing the United States is currently undergoing a revolution as older meters and mechanical devices are replaced with newer technologies,” said Paul Fitzgerald, ParkMagic’s chief executive. “It’s about convenience and cost-convenience for the motorist and cost-effectiveness for the city.”
Interestingly, Bell Industries recently announced a deal to purchase Verizon’s SkyTel business.