Smartphone, credit card payments coming to Mt. Prospect commuter lots

Paying for parking by smartphone, credit card or debit card soon will be an option in Mount Prospect's commuter lots, as part of upgrades to the automated pay stations approved this week by village trustees.

The village board accepted a $99,000 bid from Parkeon Inc. to install new machines that collect daily parking fees at the east, west and Maple Street commuter lots and for commuter parking areas on Prospect Avenue.

The existing pay stations, which serve about 500 commuters a day, were installed in 2004 and have reached the end of their 10-year life expectancy, officials say,

Unlike those machines, which accepted cash and coins or a proprietary debit card purchased at the train station, the eight new machines also will take credit and debit cards, while the proprietary cards will go away. The smartphone app, which carries a 35-cent transaction fee, will allow commuters to pay while waiting for, or even riding, a train.

"The machines were breaking down all the time, and the lines were getting long," said Trustee Paul Hoefert, a regular Metra rider. "It's either I wait for the next train, or I just don't pay and I'll try to figure it out with the village later."

Public Works Director Sean Dorsey said the long lines have been a frequent complaint. With the new system, that should be come less of a problem, he said.