Mayor Thomas Menino announced on Tuesday that Boston drivers can now pay for metered parking using a Boston Meter Card, according to a Nov. 22 press release.
“We want to make it as convenient as possible for Boston residents and visitors to patronize our neighborhood business districts,” the mayor said in the press release.
Menino introduced the cards as part of Boston’s annual Holidays on Main Streets campaign, in which he encouraged residents to shop locally to support Boston retailers, according to the press release. The cards are designed to work like debit cards to replace the use of coins at meters.
Boston drivers can buy the cards at City Hall for anywhere from $5 to $100, according to the City of Boston’s website.
In an article published on Tuesday, The Boston Globe reported that drivers will not be able to reload the card from home, unlike the MBTA’s CharlieCard. Menino’s administration, however, aims to address that and also to sell the cards in stores.
The card will first be available for use at the more than 7,000 single-space meters in business and entertainment districts throughout Boston, including in Faneuil Hall, the Financial District, Downtown Crossing, the South End, the North End and Waterfront and the Allston/Brighton Business District, among other areas, Boston’s website said.
The 1,000 parking spaces with multi-space meters, however, will not accept the cards, which include areas such as the Back Bay retail district, the website said. The meter card will also not be available for use at 144 single-space meters near Government Center, particularly in Cambridge, Devonshire, Union and New Chardon Streets, as the Boston Transportation Department continues to test the new technology.
The transportation department plans to promote the cards by offering drivers a 20 percent discount if they purchase the cards by Dec. 31, the Globe reported. The department will also offer them from its mobile command center and online at Office of the Parking Clerk website throughout the holiday season.
The Office of the Parking Clerk website listed a number of other locations where the cards will be available until the end of the year, including Summer Street in Downtown Crossing on Saturday, Faneuil Hall Plaza on Dec. 10 and in front of the Prudential Center on Dec. 17.
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