Paying for parking in the City of Buffalo could someday look vastly different.
The Buffalo Common Council will consider a proposal Tuesday to launch a pilot program for "virtual parking."
The program would require drivers to pay for parking using the "Buffalo Roam" app instead of a meter or Pay and Display machine.
The pilot program would encompass one block of High Street between Main and Ellicott Street.
The city's Parking Department's Division of Parking Enforcement is asking the city to consider the "virtual parking" pilot program to eliminate the cost of introducing parking to this block. There will be eight parking spots, and officials estimate installing meters would cost the city $3,000 per machine and installing a Pay and Display machine could cost as much as $10,000.
The city already has a contract with Passport Parking, Inc. for the Buffalo Roam app and city officials estimate people are using the app to pay for more than 20 percent of all meter usage in the city.
