REGINA — Regina residents are concerned as the city is shifting away from paying with coins for parking.
Effective March 1, payment for the meters can only be made via the PayByPhone app, website or number. This change came from the city cutting $220,000 in operations during the 2026/2027 budget deliberations.
Tyler Prokopiuk said he was trying to pay for the meter through the app, but encountered some issues.
“I tried to pay with my phone through the app, right? And I mean, it didn’t work, so I used change for it.”
Prokopiuk said he’s had several issues in the past paying for the ticket through the app, as he often works downtown.
“When my phone locks, I notice it messes up the payment method.”
“I’ve gotten a few tickets from that happening. And I mean, you don’t have any luck when you actually go to court and try to get out of it.”
Calvin Bergquist, who was using the app to pay for his meter, questioned how people who aren’t tech-savvy will adapt to the change.
“It’s all fine and dandy until you get some old-timers that don’t care to learn some of the new technology. I don’t blame them. What are they supposed to go back to school and relearn all this stuff?”
Prokopiuk noted that a lot of people still use cash as their payment method.
“They’re always saying cash is king, cash is king, right? They don’t want to go to a virtual kind of tap.”
City’s response
The city acknowledged that people could have issues paying with only the app.
“[You should] contact the city, and we will certainly help you out as much as within our power. This isn’t a brand new system that we’re dealing [with] or onboarding right now, and we do have some experience with some of the issues people have had,” said Faisal Kalim, City of Regina director of community standards
Kalim said the city is also aware of the accessibility issue the changes will cause.
“Certainly we’re aware of those, and we’ll consider [and] continue to consider, how we’re going to move forward with that.”
People can validate their parking, noted Kalim, by calling 1-888-680-7275.
In the coming days, the city will place bags on about 1,250 parking meters outlining the new payment options.
