u/Ruddiver

Heads up: ParkEvanston convenience fee change as of July 1st wallet users no longer exempt Effective July 1, 2026, the city quietly changed the ParkEvanston app fee structure:

Convenience fee is now $0.47 for app payments, up from $0.35 The wallet feature which used to be completely exempt from the convenience fee is no longer exempt. If you've been topping up your Evanston Wallet specifically to avoid this fee (like I have, for months), that trick is dead now. Paying with a card at a street paybox now carries its own $0.22 fee.

None of this was flagged anywhere obvious I found out because I got charged and spent half a day going back and forth with Passport Parking's support bots (yes, bots they'll straight up tell you "this answer was composed by Parker Support, Passport Parking's AI Agent") getting non-answers before finally digging up the update buried on the city's parking FAQ page.

So: still advertised as "$2/hour," but now there's no way to pay electronically without an added fee, and the one workaround that existed (wallet) is gone. Just wanted people to know before they get surprised like I did.