Google is a force to be reckoned with in the tech world. It has released a plethora of products that ensure that users stay trapped in its ecosystem much similar to Apple.
The pandemic has influenced every aspect of our lives including travel. While people do not do much traveling these days, public parking is still a part of many people’s daily lives. Google has released a new feature that makes parking hassle-free and a bit safe. The features support parking payments, thanks to direct integration with Passport and ParkMobile, two parking solutions providers.
This feature was first introduced in Austin, Texas and the following statement was made on the occasion. “Thanks to an integration with parking solutions providers Passport and ParkMobile, you can now easily pay your meter right from driving navigation in Maps and avoid touching the meter altogether. 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.”
What to expect?
Last year in September, Google had introduced an option that would enable users to pay for parking fares from within its Android, Google Maps app. The payments were to be made through Google Pay while in cooperation with Passport Parking. This feature is now available in over 400 US cities including Boston, Cincinnati, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C, and coming to iOS users soon.
This year, Google took this a step further; users will now be able to pay transit fares in over 80 transit agencies through Global Pay. At first, this feature will be released in selected cities such as San Francisco. Users will be able to purchase transit credit through the app for hassle-free, swift, and contactless public transport trips. This particular feature is set to be released in the next few weeks.
Bottom Line
Google Maps’ new feature will be of great help especially since to limit the pandemic contact between people needs to be as limited as possible. So far there have no issues and the feature seems to be limited to the USA with no announcements or rumors of implementing it beyond the US borders.
In other news, while the biggest tech feud between Apple and Facebook over data sharing is happening, Google has been just an observer for now. However, if rumors are to be believed Google is working on its version of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature.
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