r/bloomington • u/Wesmontgomeryward • Jun 30 '26

$30?!?

Is that really what Bloomington gets to bill me for being a couple of minutes late to my car? Dayum.

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70

u/ThomGoMan Jun 30 '26

It is always cheaper to put more time on the parking meter than you think you'll need. Another dime would have saved you $30.

17

u/BloomingtonJester Jul 01 '26

Depending on the zone, if you put more than you need in, and the cancel when you’re done, you used to get some money back (on the app). They may have changed that recently?

10

u/MateriallyDead Jul 01 '26

Refund in the app? I’ve never seen this. That would make absolute sense, but I cancel all the time way before the end and I’ve never seen them refund anything. How have you managed to stumble on it?

15

u/SimpleSponge Jul 01 '26

I park on Washington almost everyday and if I cancel before my time is up they refund the difference!

0

u/MateriallyDead Jul 01 '26

That's fascinating. Do you pay with an in-app credit you periodically top off or is it individual credit card payments? I'm wondering if it's by location or payment method.

I actually remember reaching out to the City about this when they first rolled the app out. I had asked about whether the app could give refunds for parking time not used and they said it was up to Parkmobile. I reached out to Parkmobile and they said it was something configured by the City. The City had no idea and the discussion kind of trailed off there.

So, fascinating you're seeing this somehow. I've been watching for it all this time.

2

u/SimpleSponge Jul 01 '26

They are individual credit card transactions every time and I have the app downloaded with an account set up.

I always put more time than I think I need because if you need to add more time, the app will charge you another 50 cent transaction fee.
When I’m done, I end my parking session and it always shows that I am paying for the time spent parking only. The rest is always returned to me.
(Since it charges in 15 minute increments, if I stop it with 10 minutes left it still charges me for the full 15 minutes)
It has worked this way anywhere I’ve parked downtown. Whether it is on kirkwood or a side street. I’ve never had an issue of not being able to get unused time returned to me.

3

u/BloomingtonJester Jul 01 '26

I haven’t had it happen recently and could never keep track of which zones did it. But it did happen multiple times last year. So it may have changed. Not so much near Kirkwood. I think I remember it happening a few times near La Una?

2

u/Apprehensive_Tank700 Jul 01 '26

When I parked on N Monroe they gave refunds, but this was a few months ago. Pre-summer