PAID PARKING THROUGH SMS

RTA to allow parking fees to be paid via SMS service

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) on Sunday launched the mParking service enabling motorists pay parking fees of their vehicles by simply sending an SMS.
The service was launched in some areas including Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai Media City and Internet City while it will be available in Bur Dubai in August and in Deira by October this year.

As reported by Gulf News last week, the aim of the mPark service is to provide more options to motorists. Currently, parking fee can be paid by using coins and parking cards.

The best thing about the system is that a person can extend the parking time from anywhere if he is unable to go to his vehicle before his purchased parking time expires. The customer will be charged 30 fils for the SMS in addition to the parking fee. For example if a parking fee is Dh2, a mParking user will be charged Dh2.30.
Owner of the vehicles registered in Dubai can use the service without any hassle by simply sending an SMS including the vehicle number, zone number and the duration for parking.
However, owner of vehicles registered outside Dubai need to first register on the given website to get a user number to able to pay parking fee using their mobile phones. The owner must have etisalat mobile number.
The system is easy to use. A user has to check the parking zone code written on the boards in every parking zone. Then send an SMS to the number 7275 (corresponding to the word PARK) including vehicle number plate, parking zone code, and the required parking period.
The control room will send an SMS confirming the payment and automatically transmit the number plate of the vehicle to the parking warden stating that the parking fee chargeable to a particular vehicle has been paid. The electronic system will not allow the parking warden to issue fine to a vehicle if the payment is done through mobile phone.
Engineer Maitha Obaid Bin Udai, Chief Executive Officer of the RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency said: “The mParking service launched by the RTA in cooperation with etisalat is the first of its kind in the UAE. It aims at easing the use of public parking for Dubai residents and visitors.” For registration and more details visit http://www.mpark.rta.ae.