Brookline Parking Meters Just Got A Little More Expensive
BROOKLINE, MA — If you pay a parking meter in Brookline with a credit card, parking just got a little more expensive on Oct. 1.
Earlier this year, the Select Board approved a convenience fee policy to pass credit card transaction costs to the consumer. A $0.30 fee will be charged to credit card transactions at the parking meters.
This fee is equal to the convenience fee assessed to parking meter transactions via the Passport and ParkBoston Apps, according to the town.
And lest you think the town is making money off the fee, they say the convenience fee is directly deposited to the credit card processor.
In 2016 all two-, three- and five-hour meters across town saw a 25 cents increase, going from $1 to $1.25 per hour. The 13-hour meters on Brookline Avenue, Longwood MBTA area and Chapel Street went up from $1.50 to $2, the rest of the 13-hour meters increased by 25 cents.
At the time the Select Board talked about adding a convenience fee similar to Boston's at a later date rather than swallowing it with the increase and it became part of the meter increase phase in over the past three to five year period.
Parking and Court Fines are the second largest local source of revenue for Brookline. Approximately 85 percent of that category revenue comes from parking tickets for expired meters, violation of the town’s overnight parking ban, and violation of two-hour parking restrictions.
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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff
