Google Maps Adding Tools to Pay for Parking and Transit in App

As part of Google’s continued efforts to expand the features of its popular mapping app, today Google announced the ability to pay for both parking and transit fares directly in Google Maps.

With the pandemic making people even warier of touching public surfaces, the ability to pay for parking in Google Maps is not only a bit of added convenience but also a helpful safety precaution. To start, Google will be partnering with two parking solution providers (Passport and Park Mobile) in more than 400 cities across the U.S. including Boston, Cincinnati, L.A., NYC, and Washington D.C.

The way it works is that once you find a parking spot, all you have to do is enter the meter number, set the amount of time you need, and then hit the Pay button. And as an added bonus, if you need to add more time to the meter before you get back, you can extend your time inside Google Maps too.

As for public transit, people will now be able to pay for public transit fares inside Google Maps for more than 80 different transit agencies across the world. By making it possible to plan and pay for a trip in Google Maps, Google is hoping to reduce the hassle of switching between multiple apps and eliminate the confusion of having to find a physical ticket machine. And in certain places like San Francisco Bay Area, you’ll even be able to buy a digital Clipper card, so you can get past the turnstiles just by scanning your phone.

The one important thing to know is that it seems payments for transit fares will come from a credit card or debit card linked to your Google Pay account, so if you don’t use Google Pay, you’ll likely need to set it up before being able to use Google Map’s new transit payment features.

Google says support for parking payments in Google Maps will begin rolling out on Android today with support for iOS “coming soon.” Meanwhile paying for transit fares in Google Maps will become available on Android sometime “in the coming weeks.”