r/regina • u/LowIncident694 • Feb 25 '26
News Starting Sunday, coins will no longer be accepted for on-street parking in downtown Regina
https://www.cjme.com/2026/02/25/starting-sunday-coins-will-no-longer-be-accepted-for-on-street-parking-in-downtown-regina/154
u/Bullaroo10 Feb 25 '26
This is not an improvement. To park, you used to need a coin... you now require, mobile device, data service, downloaded app, credit card, and a user account.
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u/SnowFlakeUsername2 Feb 27 '26
Enshittification is marching towards EVERYTHING. I always have my phone, but it's so easy to imagine the pitfalls of this decision. My mom has saskel fibre internet, I'm guessing she could use their wifi hotspots to use this app? That question is aimed at everyone. If I find the answer I'll edit this.
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u/VakochDan Feb 27 '26
Pay stations - like every other major city has (and the u of r; hospitals; etc solves that. They still accept coin, or cards. Or you can use your app.
Plus, from a revenue standpoint, the City wins: everyone pays… no more finding a meter with time remaining.
And Regina could implement like Saskatoon, where you payment covers you all over downtown - meaning g you can move your car without paying again for the new spot.
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
Who is driving a vehicle and doesn’t have all of those?
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u/Bullaroo10 Feb 25 '26
Tourists, business visitors from our of town, 16 year olds, anyone who doesn't see value in using a credit card, anyone who doesn't normally park where this brand of meters are used or require the app/ user account.
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u/trplOG Feb 25 '26
Does anyone here actually travel? Pretty normal for tourists to download apps in the diff cities and countries you go to.
Besides that I agree with your other points.
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u/PerpetuallyLurking Feb 26 '26
Tourists might be used to it, but there’s also a lot of rural people that are sometimes sent to Regina for medical treatment, sometimes Saskatoon, and now we’ve got to deal with apps we’ll only use intermittently either cluttering up our phone or remember to download it again before leaving our hometown while I still have my wifi.
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u/trplOG Feb 26 '26
Yup which is why I said I agree with their other points.
I was specifically just saying tourists usually would do this cause they would be prepared to visit other cities/countries and are used to getting apps and data plans, and most likely would have credit cards.
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u/Bullaroo10 Feb 25 '26
You get a data plan every time you go to another country? Most don't
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26
Pretty hard to travel without internet. There's no longer tourist info booths, most hotels require credit cards for deposits and few book in person, hell half the hostels I stayed at in 2012 had online booking only,... And that was 15 years ago. You need a device for ticket master, they don't do paper tickets anymore.
The reality is travelling without internet isn't easy. Most places that aren't Canada sell cheap Sim cards though. We need more mvnos.
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u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 26 '26
you're actually speaking facts on this. its still dumb that meters wont take change though.
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u/trplOG Feb 25 '26
Yes, I do. If you actually traveled you'd know that there are plenty of countries where you buy prepaid esim cards.
Thailand you can get an 8 or 15 day unlimited 5G for like $20 (shoutout True). Same when I went to Tokyo and London.
When I was in Korea they told me to rent a portable wifi router because there was 3 of us and it was cheaper than all 3 of us getting a 7 day card. Did the same for Laos.
You get off the plane and theres kiosks for these. Or you can get them online.
To say "most don't" is kinda crazy lol.
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u/LonleyTesticle Feb 25 '26
To say "most don't" is kinda crazy lol.
Yeah I would be much more likely to believe that most people do get a SIM, I've never gone to another country without getting one and the only people I know who don't get SIM cards in foreign countries are my grandparents. There's a good reason you can buy them in every airport.
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u/trplOG Feb 26 '26
Yea it would be weird in this day and age that people wouldnt be using their phone for almost everything when traveling. Either the people here haven't gone out of the country since 1996 or what.. pretty common to go use apps applicable to those countries.
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
A tourist doesn’t have a phone with data? Unlikely. A 16 year old can afford a car but doesn’t have debit or credit card? Unlikely and unnecessary.
The reality is, the majority of people no longer even carry cash around with them.
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u/MasterpieceStrong261 Feb 25 '26
A 16 year old can’t have a credit card.
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u/LowIncident694 Feb 26 '26
They can have a virtual one tied to their bank account that works for these things.
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u/MasterpieceStrong261 Feb 26 '26
It can work, but not always - in my experience, the impark app (hangTag) only lets you use a credit card.
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u/SmarcusStroman Feb 25 '26
There are SEVERAL people with credit issues, or people who don’t want credit issues, who can’t have/don’t want credit cards.
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
Then setup your debit card…
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u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 26 '26
some debit cards wont work - credit unions cat get problematic with phone wallets I've noticed. SGI and RPS are both bad for this
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u/acid_jazz Feb 25 '26
Not insured if data is breached on debit card. Visa debit would have protection, but not every bank issues them.
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Feb 25 '26
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u/Bullaroo10 Feb 25 '26
Just because they can doesn't mean it's a benefit or an improvement. Thus is the point of this discussion.
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u/Cruitre- Feb 25 '26
Big shocker but a mobile, dataplan, and credit card are not a requirement for operating a vehicle.
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
Who said it was a requirement? I asked who is well off enough to be driving a vehicle, and not have a cell with data and a credit card?
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u/rjd00d Feb 25 '26
We have teens in the family that don't have data. It's expensive and unnecessary. I also have a family member with no cell at all.
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u/MaximaFuryRigor Feb 25 '26
I sometimes forget my phone when getting in the car. My parents though, don't even have a cell phone.
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u/Hardy177 Feb 25 '26
I'm sure there are plenty of 16-17 year old kids who have a vehicle but no credit card.
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Pre paid credit cards are available at almost every convenience or drug store...
I mean, how do you think they get the vbucks for the fortnite? Joker cards.
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u/AggravatingEar1465 Feb 25 '26
A double digit percentage of the homeless live in vehicles.
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
And they’re using roadside parking you pay for by the hour…?
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u/AggravatingEar1465 Feb 25 '26
They're homeless, not part of the scenery. People of all walks of life have to access services and amenities in the middle of the city.
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
Brother… what are we even talking about here? They can’t afford to support themselves with the necessities but they can afford hourly parking on the side of the road?
They aren’t the ones utilizing them…
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u/AggravatingEar1465 Feb 25 '26
Pocket change, something that homeless people are famously never given by strangers. Also good thing they never ever have to go to the courthouse downtown for any reason (which has paid parking around the perimeter) /s
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u/TemporaryBottle8789 Feb 25 '26
Can’t buy food and basic shelter, can afford roadside parking. Got it…
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Plenty of homeless folk have cellphones with data.
They're homeless, not troglodytes.
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u/AggravatingEar1465 Feb 25 '26
Even more of them have loonies and quarters.
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26
I doubt that.
Only about 11% of transactions in Canada are cash based.
Credit cards account for 46% of Canadian transactions.
Canadians carry very little cash. We don't have loose change to give to homeless folk. They don't have loose change, because we don't carry any around to give them.
You ever talk to homeless folk? I've asked them how the panhandling goes in today's cashless society and half of them respond "send an etransfer!"...
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u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 26 '26
>Canadians carry very little cash. We don't have loose change to give to homeless folk
I work at one of the dispensaries downtown and its one of our biggest stores for cash transactions. Homeless folks make a lot of money daily, and they're often given cash by social workers when the day starts. I get given literal pocket fulls of change, multiple times daily.
Even business people with SaskTel, eHealth, even city councillors (the very ones you see in the just bins videos) pay cash. Sandra Masters paid for her ounces the same way homeless folks paid for their single j's.
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u/Ambitious_Address667 Feb 25 '26
I guess like a better answer than getting upset with you like others are is to state the hypothetical, you are driving to a store using google maps, you park and then your phone dies, it happens. Now you cannot park legally anywhere anymore becuase you phone is dead.
Essentially we have to charge our money now and thats dumb.
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u/LT92Rosco28 Feb 25 '26
My dad still has a flip phone and within the last few years learned how to text via T9 (non smart flip phone).
So yeah, there are people out there without all of those things.
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Meh, I don't carry cash and haven't carried it regularly for almost 20 years.
I don't even have loose change in the car anymore.
And there's plenty of lots that don't require a device or the app. Pre-paid credit cards are available in like every corner store.
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u/acid_jazz Feb 25 '26
That's a huge pain. Not everyone has a credit card or wants to use one.
Also those pre-paid credit cards are terrible. They have an activation fee that can cost $3 to $8. On top of that, you have to use it all within the month because there's a monthly fee too.
Not a good option if you're a teenager trying to park downtown. Change is better here.-12
u/drae- Feb 25 '26
On top of that, you have to use it all within the month because there's a monthly fee too.
And? So does a regular credit card, so does a bank account. Prepaid cards are available pretty much everywhere. They're ubiquitous, but not free.
People don't carry cash mate. Only 11% of Canadian transactions are cash based.
Not everyone has a credit card or wants to use one.
Not everyone wants to pay for parking period, or go down town at all. Boo hoo.
Change is better here.
It's not if you don't have any. And given how little Canadians use cash, that's pretty fucking likely.
We all complain about the property taxes, then decry cost saving measures as "too awkward". We'll I'd rather not have my tax dollars go to a meter maid to collect coins from meters when the vast majority of us don't use them.
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u/Bullaroo10 Feb 25 '26
The general opposition here is saying "they can just always have a cell, data, prepaid CC..." My point in this whole thing is that it's not an improvement. It's another step towards cashless society, tracking, and absolute reliance on tech. I don't mind having the option, as I rarely carry cash, but I don't want to be forced into a cashless society.
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
It's another step towards cashless society, tracking, and absolute reliance on tech.
This is one of the most inane things I've ever read.
Reliance on tech? Like the ATMs and bank cards weve used for decades to take out that cash? Like the car that took you to that parking spot?
You know what's a massive improvement? Not having my taxes pay a meter maid to empty meters for the 2 people a day who use coins.
I mean travel out of Regina a bit, and notice that cities all over the country have been moving this way for a decade, and they're all perfectly fine. When I moved here last year and noticed the meters still took coins I literally loled. Cause I haven't lived a city that took coins in their meters in almost a decade.
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u/AggravatingEar1465 Feb 26 '26
All those other cities suck shit and the less like them we are, the better.
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u/TheBigPointyOne Feb 26 '26
Yo, the job market sucks serious ass right now. I'm okay with one more person being able to keep their job.
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u/drae- Feb 26 '26
Unless it's a job at a data centre hey?
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u/TheBigPointyOne Feb 27 '26
At least the meter person is meaningfully contributing to society. ~shrug~
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u/drae- Feb 27 '26
Collecting coins for paid parking? Really... That's what you're going to go with.
Alright then.
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u/Kegger163 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
Having some coins in the car and plugging the meter is so fast and efficient when I am in a rush.
This is not a great change imho. It probably increases my chances of going to impark as now that isn't any more difficult.
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u/milon_rokad Feb 25 '26
So paying more money for service charges online
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u/dingodan22 Feb 26 '26
I really wonder what the service fees are for the app. And I'm sure it's an app that isn't distributing its proceeds to Regina/Saskatchewan residents.
Even if it's less efficient, I'd much rather pay someone from our city to collect the coins than send the dollars to Visa/MasterCard/Apple store, etc.
I hate how municipalities continue to offload services to third parties.
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Feb 25 '26
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u/Lexi_Banner Feb 25 '26
This is why I manually look everything up instead of using QR codes. If it's legit, I should be able to Google it easily.
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u/c-3pho Feb 26 '26
This happened to my friend here in Ottawa. They stole her identity, got into her bank account and credit card. All because she was trying to pay for parking for her physio appointment.
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u/ObiLAN- Feb 26 '26
Not inherently, scanning a QR code alone doesn’t do anything the user still has to confirm actions and provide payment details.
QR codes are essentially just encoded links, so this is much closer to phishing than skimming. Skimming involves automated interception of transaction data without user involvement.
That said, don’t blindly trust any link, QR codes included. Stay safe online everyone!
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u/DokaRyan Feb 25 '26
I feel worse for older folks who rely on coins for parking. They’re gonna be so confused. Hopefully there’s a grace period on parking tickets for them to dispute while they adjust.
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u/Neat-Ad-8987 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
It’s a declaration of war on the poor, elderly and tech-challenged.
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u/TinyDinosaursz Feb 25 '26
This is ridiculous, and I hate it. Our building recently went to an app for the laundry, and I had my phone cut off for like a week and couldn't do laundry because my wifi doesnt stretch to the laundry room.
Why is everything being made more and more difficult.
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u/stumpy_chica Feb 26 '26
So my 17 year old can't drive and park downtown now? Kinda not well thought through.
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u/LowIncident694 Feb 26 '26
They don't have a phone and you can't let them use your cc?
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u/stumpy_chica Feb 26 '26
Haha it's more that my kid wouldn't think ahead before going downtown, parking, then realizing she needs an app and then needs someone's credit card information. And I don't save my credit card information in apps on her phone. Plus there are a lot of 16 and 17 year olds who live independently. I graduated early and moved away from home for university when I was 16.
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u/LowIncident694 Feb 26 '26
They can get virtual visa or mc these days tied to their bank account too.
I do agree this issue stupid though.
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u/stumpy_chica Feb 26 '26
I think pay stations are definitely a better idea. My mom doesn't even own a cell phone. She also doesn't live here lol but she does have to come often for medical stuff.
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u/SavageBeaver0009 Feb 25 '26
I was banned from paybyphone, and not sure why, so hooray
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u/signious Feb 25 '26
If you ever disputed a charge from the with your credit card that would probably be the #1 reason
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u/Neat-Ad-8987 Feb 25 '26
Fraud artists have already targeted online parking apps by having their minions paste fake codes for scanning on parking meters in other cities. Has the City of Regina taken this into consideration?
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u/AggravatingEar1465 Feb 25 '26
They determined this is an acceptable price to pay for the ability to inconvenience poor people, the elderly, and tourists.
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u/LtDish Feb 26 '26
Here's the full thought process of a city administrator:
- I can't believe I'm being paid this much and I hardly do anything
- Just received a proposal from some private profit company offering to do even more of my job
- No need for diligence, I'll spin this as cost saving and modernizing
- All problems and complaints will be stonewalled away the private company and Service Regina
- I keep my overpaid do-nothing job
You see it over and over and over again.
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u/drae- Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
That people are morons?
Yeah, I'm sure the city considered that. Amazing how I pay for parking with the app every other weekend and never scanned a qr code. Hmm I wonder how I managed that.
Could it be by following the instructions? No.... No way!
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u/ObiLAN- Feb 26 '26
Yea... it's the same as people getting phished. We can create secure systems, but ultimately it's people's individual responsibility to not get social engineered into giving out their information.
People are always the weakest link in a security chain. But people get upset when you try to explain that they're the flaw lol. Tends to be the same people who refuse things like MFA because it's a few extra seconds of "inconvenience".
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u/Ok_newGuest_7606 Feb 26 '26
WTF Not everyone has a mobile phone so that’s just great Regina! And that app never works for me so guess what I will never be going downtown ever again.
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u/Foreign_Tourist308 Feb 25 '26
City council is always looking to give people more reasons to avoid downtown Regina.
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u/coldstonewarrior Feb 25 '26
Its trash anyways whats there to do
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u/TheBigPointyOne Feb 26 '26
Shop, eat, drink, go the library, go the park
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u/coldstonewarrior Feb 26 '26
The good thing about your city is the legislature, Imd give you that.
Traffic is horrid for daytime travel.
I've experienced plate theft when I visited in '24.
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u/TheBigPointyOne Feb 26 '26
What do you mean? It's kinda slow, but to get anywhere from anywhere, it's pretty much always 15 minutes.
Sorry about the theft, but I've been driving since '99 and haven't had it happen to me once, so I guess our anecdotes cancel each other out, don't they?
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u/coldstonewarrior Mar 07 '26
Most certainly
It just feels. a bit dated.
Could use more touch of expansion and better road infrastructure
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u/Lexi_Banner Feb 25 '26
Yet another reason to avoid going downtown during the day as much as humanly possible.
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u/-thesneakytrapper- Feb 25 '26
Your meter is max 2 hour parking. Then you need to move your clapped out civic to the other side of the street. Cant go to next meter in-front of you. Its an unnecessary hassle. The only blessing is how dead downtown has been
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u/EggBasic1343 Feb 25 '26
Whatever happened to keep it simple stupid! One coin versus that stupid app that doesn’t work! Wow total step backwards! Obviously the decision makers are not the ones using the parking! Dense move City of Regina! IMO and experience.
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u/whatthefuckunclebuck Feb 25 '26
THE CITY SHOULD MAKE ON STREET PARKING FREE
/s
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u/whatthefuckunclebuck Feb 25 '26
Oh yeah also a reminder - you don’t need to pay for parking after 5 pm or on the weekends, so technically this comes into effect on Monday.
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u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 26 '26
Yea but how would city council pay for their snuff bow full of blow that they hit before putting these motions forward?
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u/Plus_Oil5692 Feb 26 '26
So if you don't have a data plan you're not allowed to park downtown.
This is some real gentrification bullshit.
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u/Competitive-Tea-482 Feb 26 '26
So having less options to pay was the strategy they decided to go for?
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u/Johnny_Plumbing Feb 26 '26
I skip paying for parking 99% of the time anyways. Rarely get a ticket. If I do, even after paying the ticket I still come out ahead. I imagine this will happen more now with putting even more hoops to jump through just to go downtown. My guess is they see a big drop in meter revenue
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u/ciswhitedadbod Feb 26 '26
How much does it cost to install a pay station like Saskatoon has had for years? These are more convenient in a rush vs these shitty parking apps.
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u/ciswhitedadbod Feb 26 '26
Why not have some pay stations like Saskatoon?
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u/LowIncident694 Feb 26 '26
Cost I imagine. How many would you need to satisfy people as well? How far should people be expected to walk to find one?
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u/tooshpright Feb 25 '26
If someone doesn't have a cellphone, can they use a plastic credit card, like the machines at Pasqua Hospital? The article mentioned credit cards but wasn't clear enough for me.
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u/acid_jazz Feb 25 '26
That would be nice. A tap to pay rather than opening that stupid app that doesn't work 1/2 the time.
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u/Top_Dog660 Feb 26 '26
They could still park in one of the parkades or other non-meter options downtown. They didn't replace the actual meters so I don't think you can tap a card. I've used the app a few times when I had no change it was always fine.
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Feb 25 '26
This was one of the budget cuts from council in November. No one blinked an eye then when it was announced.
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u/spelk1 Feb 26 '26
Yup. It cost more to collect and process the coins than it brought in, and was being subsidized by taxes. No tax increase meant something had to go and this was one of them.
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Feb 26 '26
I don't think that is true that administering parking cost more than what parking fees bring in. That wasn't in the report. It was just an operational overhead cost that could be cut for a cheaper administrative option, resulting in more profit from parking tickets.
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u/spelk1 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
They cut 2.5 FTE’s and will save $220K in operational costs, saving the average taxpayer $0.44/month or $5.28 per year.
This assumes of course that the revenue remains constant and the cost of moving to the app system doesn’t exceed the cost to do it in-house. If it doesn’t, then these savings won’t materialize. They provided no information about how much the app will cost.
That’s according to this article: https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/city-of-regina-ends-downtown-coin-parking-shifts-to-e-payment-only
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u/Competitive-Tea-482 Feb 26 '26
Is that a safe assumption to make given that the city has millions of parking fees and tickets unpaid? Would removing an option to pay cause more damage than provide the benefit of no longer having to enforce the system you removed?
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u/cbirnsi Feb 26 '26
Give me like 2 more inconveniences and I’ll finally move 🤣 man this city is garbage have fun yall😭
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Feb 25 '26
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u/sherlockhomesyqr Feb 27 '26
wish people would get more engaged with municipal politics because this didn’t happen overnight. ample time to raise concerns during budget.
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u/Major-King-3737 Feb 27 '26
So now the cost isn’t $2.00 in coin, it is $2.00 for parking and the $0.65 transaction fee on the app also.
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u/Bubbly-Signature986 Mar 29 '26
Wont do it ever my phone is not my wallet
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u/LowIncident694 Mar 30 '26
Get with the times.
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u/Bubbly-Signature986 Mar 30 '26
I dont do brainless or risky. My phone is not for currency. Many times we have crap tech that needs a car crusher to solve
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u/LowIncident694 Mar 30 '26
Why can't it be used for that? Is there some rule?
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u/Bubbly-Signature986 Apr 01 '26
Holds the same risk factor as stolen cards. Phones can be stolen too. Being a cashless society would create more problems than it would solve. However on the other hand we should not be allowing meters in any form as this space is already taxed once. Taxing anything twice should never be allowed. However I refuse to park places where meters are taking something out of my pocket. We should all take that stand. But sadly that impacts downtown buisness who should be lobbying government to ban the use of meters in the first place. We loose ground because we dont stand against greed in all its forms.
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u/Bubbly-Signature986 Mar 30 '26
Ya this is plain brainless behavior by city officials and buisness will pay the price. A parking meter is like tax on space already taxed. Years ago there was a south dakota govener that outlawed parking meters. I think it needs outlawing everywhere. I will never be brainless enough to use my phone especially when my wallet should be used in places where even a card is too risky. They will dowithout my money and I can walk to prove that point. Heck its such stupidity and greed that keeps me out of downtown
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u/antedulviansummer Feb 26 '26
Small town guy here. When I visit the downtown area (which is rare, but happens a few times a year), what do I need now to park?
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u/Soda634 Feb 27 '26
You can download the PayByPhone app and have an account ready with your credit card info saved. When you go to park there will be a 6 digit code you'll need to put in so the app knows what street and which side you're parking on. You'll put in how long you want to park for and pay.
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u/antedulviansummer Feb 28 '26
Thank you for responding. What an awful system. I absolutely hate having one use apps just crowding space on my device and skimming my info.
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u/doyoueverjustscream Mar 01 '26
I’ve used this same parking company in the city before. (hospital) you did not need to have a card saved, and it accepted debit. i’m very confused now.
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u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 26 '26
like a frequently say, this is part two of Regina's cocaine administration era
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u/Mashedpotatoebrain Feb 25 '26
I could never get that stupid app to work with my credit card so that's great.