“The August 1 date was the optimal date,” Eberhard said. “We wanted it to jive well with the NAU schedule, and with the August 1 date the system would have been in place by the time the school year started.”

Eberhard said the new rollout schedule is not ideal, but City Manager Josh Copley has given clear directions that he would like the system in place and functioning by the first week of October.

Some citizens have expressed concerns to Eberhard about the meters’ security for credit card information. However, he said it is no more or less secure than using a credit card at a store or a gas station. Patrons who would like to use cash can do so at the kiosk on the steps of City Hall and the City Hall Customer Service counter. Some businesses will also offer the option of paying cash in the business and business employees will then use the mobile app to pay for the patron’s parking.

Patrons who want to use the mobile app to pay can download the Whoosh app in their device’s app store. The app can store the user’s license plate number and credit card information, so whenever the user wants to use the parking system, they can just input the amount of time they would like to spend parked downtown. The app charges a fee of 35 cents per transaction, meaning parking for one hour using the app will cost $1.35, but paying at the kiosks will cost $1.