Pay machines | Calgary Parking
ParkPlus pay machines are conveniently located all over the city in on-street parking zones, in Calgary Parking lots and parkades. You’ll also find them in partner lots we manage such as The Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park and Telus Spark.
All machines allow you to pay by coin or with card, and some machines are coin and “tap payment” only. On pay machines, you must pre-pay for the amount of time you think you’ll be parked. If you don’t park for as long as you paid for, you won’t get credited for unused time. If you need to park longer, you may start another session afterwards as long as it’s within the maximum parking time posted.
Once you have parked your vehicle in a parking zone, note the ParkPlus zone number on signs lining the street or lot. Your vehicle and the pay machine you use must be in the same pricing area.
You can use our mobile app or your phone instead of a pay machine.
How to use a ParkPlus pay machine
- Enter the four-digit zone number on the sign posted in the area you've parked (not the ID number on the machine). An event code may be used in place of a zone number, if one has been provided to you.
- Enter your license plate.
- Choose a payment option:
- Insert coins up to the maximum time allowed. Pay machines do not provide change.
- To pay by card, insert your card then remove when prompted. Select your desired time by pressing the +(add), -(subtract), or "Max Time" buttons.
- To pay by tap, press the gold button located underneath the word "Tap", then tap your card. Select your desired time by pressing the +(add), -(subtract), or "Max Time" buttons.
- Press the green checkmark button once the desired timeframe has been reached to complete the transaction.
- A printed receipt is not required for parking, but if you need one for personal records, press the button within ten seconds of being prompted.
Methods of payment
- Coins (Canadian coins only)
- Visa debit/credit
- MasterCard debit/credit
- AMEX
- Discover
- Apple Pay and Android Smartpay (Tap machines only)
Troubleshooting a pay machine
In the rare case that a pay machine doesn't work, we apologize for the inconvenience. To ensure you have a valid parking payment, proceed to another pay machine within the same pricing area. You can also pay by:
- Virtual Pay Machine (no ParkPlus account required)
- ParkPlus account:
To report a pay machine problem, email parkplus@calgary.ca. Please include the machine ID on the top left of the display, zone number and description of the issue. Please note that you may receive a ticket if no payment was made because of a machine issue if other forms of payment were available.
Minimum charges
There is a $0.50 minimum purchase for on-street parking. The minimum purchase in parkade and surface lots is equal to the 30-minute rate of that lot or parkade.
Parking rates
Rates are displayed on the pay machines and vary based on time of day and pricing area.
Request a receipt
To reduce paper, ParkPlus System machines only produce a receipt by request. You may request a receipt at the end of your transaction.
If you didn’t receive a receipt, you may request a copy by emailing parkplus@calgary.ca with the following information:
- Date of transaction
- Licence plate number
- Amount of transaction
- Machine ID (found at the top right of the pay machine)
- Payment type (i.e. coin or the first and last 4 digits of the payment card used)
- Contact information
We will need at least two hours from the transaction time to process the request, as we do not have real time access to payments. Our Customer Service Representatives will verify the transaction and provide a receipt within 48 hours.
Request a refund
You can request a refund via an email. We will need the following details:
- Date and time of transaction
- How you paid: by app, ParkPlus account, VPM, or Pay Machine
- Pay machine ID or Zone number, or approximate location
- Licence plate number
- Contact name
- Contact phone number
- Amount of transaction (please attach a receipt, if possible)
- Payment type
- First and last 4 digits of card used
- Reason for the refund
You can also fill out a Customer Refund form and email it to parkplus@calgary.ca.
We can only process refunds on requests we receive within one month of the ParkPlus transaction date. We provide refunds of less than $5 as a ParkPlus account credit. We will return refunds of more than $5 via a credit card refund or ParkPlus account credit. We are unable to issue cheques for parking payment refunds.
We will not process refunds for the following situations:
- Forgetting to end a parking session
- Starting a parking session in error or starting multiple overlapping sessions
Contact us
403-537-7000 (option 2)
parkplus@calgary.ca
