The app is free to download on iOS and Android. In addition to paying for parking through the app, it also lets users:
• Monitor parking sessions electronically
• Receive notifications for parking sessions ending soon
• Extend parking sessions remotely
• View payment history
• Receive email receipts
Three quarters of parking spaces used by LIRR customers are controlled by municipalities or private companies, but if the app proves successful, it could be expanded to LIRR-owned garages that are managed by Allpro parking, which works with the PassportParking app.
If the app proves popular at Mineola, the LIRR envisions extending it to 920-space garage at Wyandanch, which is also owned by the LIRR and managed by Allpro.
“Whether it’s reconfiguring our on-platform displays to provide information that our customers have asked for, adding GPS to our trains to provide more accurate real-time arrival estimates for customers, or simplifying and speeding the parking process, we are harnessing technology to make our customers’ experience with us easier and more pleasant wherever we can,” Eng said. “This new app creates new functionality to make interactions with our system easier. If it proves successful I hope we can roll it out elsewhere.”
“We are excited to be offering our state of the art technology to commuters using AllPro - Long Island Rail Road facilities as part of their daily commute,” said Mollie Bolin, sales account executive at Passport. “Gone are the days of missing your train because you were waiting in line to pay at the pay station, or having to stand at the paystation on a cold day, everything can now be paid via app saving time and hassle.”
In addition to making parking easier, the LIRR is also working to increase the supply and availability of parking, building hundreds of new spaces along the Main Line, at New Hyde Park, Mineola, Westbury and Hicksville, as part of the Main Line Expansion Project.
