Boston plans to modernize parking meters with new kiosks

By Peyton Benbow

Image courtesy of Pixaby

The city of Boston will revamp parking meters to accommodate multiple spaces and provide modern payment options.

Currently, Boston has approximately 5,600 single and dual-space parking meters and 160 multi-space kiosks. The new project hopes to implement 500 to 700 multi-space kiosks and reduce the number of single and dual-space parking meters to less than 1,000.

Boston’s transportation commissioner Nick Gove told WGBH on Wednesday, “Most of these meters are at or near the end of their useful life, so that’s why we’re taking on the process now.” Gove said the project is expected to begin by the end of this year, and will likely run until 2026.

The new kiosks will continue to accept coins, but they will offer tap-to-pay and pay-by-text options, features Boston hasn’t seen before. Credit card payments make up 90% of meter revenue, so the project seeks to catch up with the technology. Gove pointed out, “Customer point-of-sale preferences have continued to evolve over the last decade – really, the last half decade”. 

As the project will take off through the next two years, Gove noted the city does not plan to increase parking rates with the meter changes.