Mayor Walsh Announces Partnership with TicketZen
Today Mayor Walsh announced the City of Boston’s partnership with a Boston tech company to encourage parking ticket recipients to pay their fines using their smart phones. The new customer service improvement is the result of a request for proposals issued by the City, which invited entities to propose a mobile parking ticket payment solution for City-issued parking tickets. The resulting partnership is between the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Boston Transportation Department (BTD), and TicketZen, Inc., a company created by Boston-based Terrible Labs. For a three month pilot period, beginning on Tuesday, September 23, a reference to the mobile app TicketZen will be featured at the bottom of every computer-generated parking ticket issued by the Boston Transportation Department and will guide those with parking tickets through this new option for making payments.
“The City of Boston continues to innovate around customer service,” said Mayor Walsh. “Implementing new technology that makes the unpleasant chore of paying a parking ticket more efficient and effective, makes life in the city easier. I’m pleased that we were able to partner with a local tech company to get this app done.”
TicketZen, a smart phone app available for both Android and Apple devices, utilizes the smart phone camera to scan the barcode on a parking ticket and connect the user’s payment details with the City of Boston’s payment network. The app provides a smoother user experience than navigating to the City’s parking ticket payment website from a mobile phone. In addition, by prompting users to make timely payments, it helps them to avoid late fees that are routinely added to the original fine after 21 days. During the pilot period, the TicketZen service will be provided at no cost to Boston users beyond the standard credit card processing fee associated with the City’s payment portal.
“BTD is excited to have this opportunity to work with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics and a local technology start-up on this parking ticket payment app,” said Interim Boston Transportation Department Commissioner James E. Gillooly. “We intend to continue to aggressively research and pursue new technology available to us that can help drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to navigate our local transportation systems, to enhance the customer service experience that we provide to our constituents.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Mayor Walsh and Boston’s Transportation Department to ease the process of paying a parking ticket,” said Cort Johnson, Director of Business Development for Terrible Labs. “Boston continues to be a leader through their sustained efforts to modernize the way its residents and visitors interact with the City and TicketZen is excited to be a part of that plan.”
The City of Boston continues to innovate to make government processes more accessible through digital channels. Recent efforts include: HubHacks, a civic-minded Hackathon to reinvent the City’s online permitting experience; the installation of digital kiosks at several agencies across the City to connect constituents within two business days to City of Boston business development specialists; and the expansion of Wicked Free WiFi, providing free wireless internet across Boston’s Main Street districts.
Smart phone users with questions or comments about the new app are encouraged to contact the Mayor’s Hotline at 617-635-4500.
