THESE SMARTPHONES KEEP GETTING BIGGER. The Passport Parking app can now be used to pay for your spot at the North Barstow Street ramp in Eau Claire, as well as the city-owned ramp at Farwell and Gibson Streets.

Just like crossing an international border, parking in one of downtown Eau Claire’s two parking ramps now requires a Passport. No, not one of those official documents from the U.S. State Department, but a smartphone app called Passport Parking. The app and the hardware to accompany it went live on April 15 in the Farwell/Gibson and North Barstow street parking ramps, and they allow ramp users to pay for parking spots without having to worry about making correct change, losing tiny slips of paper, or hoping the automated gate operates correctly.

The existing equipment used at the two ramps was aging, and replacing failed components would have cost more than the systems generated in parking fees, said Todd Bohrer, parking administrator for the City of Eau Claire. In recent months, this meant that parking was free at both ramps while the city waited for the next generation of equipment to be installed. That changed when the new system became operational, and now parkers are back to paying 50 cents per hour to park (with a maximum charge of $10 a day).

Unlike the previous generation of technology, the new Passport system does away with little paper tickets and mechanical arms that prevent vehicles from pulling away without paying. Instead, ramp users can pay in one of two ways: either by making a payment through the Parking Passport app (available on iPhone or Android) or by paying with coins or cards at one of the kiosks by the exit. Either way, they’ll have to know their license plate numbers: The new system includes cameras that take still images of license plates as they enter the ramps.

Drivers have a five-minute grace period to pay for parking; after that, the system alerts parking enforcement that no one has paid for a particular vehicle. (In other words, if you’re tempted not to pay, you’ve been warned: You could easily get a parking ticket.)

App users can prepay for their parking, but they don’t have to worry about overstaying their welcome or watching the clock. “The app will notify you on your phone when your parking session will expire,” Bohrer explained. “You can go add time from wherever you are, whether you’re sitting at a restaurant or at a show.”

In addition to simplifying the payment process, the new system can also prevent bottlenecks when many drivers are leaving the ramp at the same time. With the old equipment, even if everything ran perfectly, it could take a driver 30 seconds to pay and exit the ramp, Bohrer estimated. If 50 drivers were leaving at once, the last car would pull out 25 minutes later. Now, drivers can simply drive away.

“This should be a great improvement with the entry and exiting,” Bohrer said.

While Bohrer stressed that the new system is still in its infancy in Eau Claire, he said so far most feedback from the public has been positive. Passport is one of the larger players in the field: The firm already serves 800 cities and private parking operators across North America, and it's also the parent company of the business that handles parking citation payments for the city.

Want to learn more about Passport Parking? Just download the app or visit public-parking-eauclaire.hub.arcgis.com. You can also pay for a long-term city parking pass online at eauclairewi.cmrpay.com.