San Francisco: Google Maps is adding the ability to pay for street parking and transit fares right from the app. The initiative is being rolled out in collaboration with Google Pay, the company said on Wednesday. Google Maps said it is adding two mobile parking payment solutions providers, Passport and ParkMobile, to its app. ISRO, MapmyIndia Team Up To Take on Google Maps in India.
"Simply tap on the 'Pay for Parking' button that appears as you near your destination. Then enter your meter number, the amount of time you want to park for, and tap 'Pay.' Need to add more time to your meter? Easily extend your parking session with just a few taps," Vishal Dutta, Product Manager, Google Maps; and Fausto Araujo, Product Manager, Google Pay wrote in a blog post.
Google said it is expanding the ability to pay for transit fares for over 80 transit agencies around the world. When users get transit directions, they will see the option to pay with your phone with the credit or debit cards already linked to your Google Pay account. And in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, users will also be able to buy a digital Clipper card directly from Google Maps.
"Now you'll be able to plan your trip, buy your fare, and start riding without needing to toggle between multiple apps," Dutta and Araujo wrote. "You can understand how to pay in advance and even get your fare ready to go before you arrive at the station -- which is helpful when you're not sure what payment options a transit agency supports."
Pay for parking started rolling out on Wednesday on Android in 400+ cities in the U.S, (including Boston, Cincinnati, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C, and more) with iOS coming soon. The ability to pay for transit from Google Maps is expanding to 80 agencies globally on Android in the coming weeks, the company said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2021 08:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).