You start a parking session from the map: tap the zone you are in, check the details, pick your vehicle and an end time, and start. From that moment your licence plate is registered and the meter runs. Below is the full route, with the checks that prevent most mistakes.
How to start
- Park your car and open the app on the Map tab.
- Tap the zone you are in. A card with the zone code appears at the bottom; tap Start action on it.
- The zone screen opens. Compare the code in the top right with the code on the sign or machine next to your car.
- In the Parking action block, tap the strip showing your vehicle and pick the plate you are parking for in Vehicle.
- Tap Set end time, choose a moment in Until what time do you want to park? and tap Next.
- Tap Start.
Your session is now running. You see the timer, the zone and the plate, and on the map your running session sits at the bottom.
Why there is always an end time
The Parking action block immediately shows a proposed end time, as "Until" followed by a time. It is not an extra option you switch on: an end time is required for every parking session, whatever way you pay. Without one the app refuses the start. With Set end time you choose another moment, in steps of five minutes and up to 24 hours ahead. See Setting an end time in advance.
What the zone screen shows
At the top is the zone's name, with the code from the sign beside it. Below that are any warnings about the zone, then the Parking action block, and at the bottom the Rates per day with buttons for the Previous day and the Next day. If a line like "*You pay per 15 minutes" sits under the rates, that is the unit the zone bills in. In a day-pass zone the app says: "This is a day card zone. Once you start parking, you pay a fixed day rate."
What happens behind the scenes
When you start, we register your plate, the zone and the start time in the national parking register. Enforcement sees within seconds that your plate is paid for. When you stop, we register the end time and settle against your credit: the municipality's rate plus a € 0.29 service fee.
Enough credit?
If your balance is too low for the first period in this zone, the app replaces the start block with the message Insufficient balance: "You need at least … for the first … minutes in this zone." In a day-pass zone that block carries the button Top up balance; in other zones you use Set end time to pick a shorter period your balance does cover. With direct debit you pay afterwards and do not need to top up.
If starting fails
No zone, no start button, or a message on screen? The causes range from a missing location permission to a zone we do not support. All of them, with solutions, are in Why can I not start a session here?.