The practice of tearing paper parking coupons in Singapore the last 40 years will be no more.

A mobile app Parking.sg will be available for download from October 2017 as replacement.

The app will replace the use of paper coupons at about 1,150 carparks, including kerbside parking spaces.

How it works

The app will be linked to a credit card and charges are on a per-minute basis.

Motorists just need to key in their vehicle number, select the carpark and indicate their intended parking duration.

One license plate can be keyed into one app at one time.

Extension of parking sessions can be done remotely.

This will prevent overpaying, but will also minimise time cheats as no longer can one parking coupon be used to park for more than 30 minutes.

Refunds will be given if motorists park for a shorter period than they initially intended to.

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Trial period

A month-long trial for Parking.sg took place in May and involved 2,300 public officers and nearly 100 public carparks.

A new alert feature has been included to warn users before their parking session expires.

Paper parking coupons will still be in use but will eventually be phased out.

Parking.sg is developed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Housing Board and GovTech.

It will pave the way for satellite Electronic Road Pricing system, expected to be introduced in 2020.

Satellites will monitor vehicles to calculate road usage and parking fees, and charge motorists electronically, saving on enforcement costs.

The app was highlighted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally on Sunday, Aug. 20.

He said: "It will save motorists a lot of unnecessary parking hassles."

Top photo via Lawrence Wong

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