Reston Town Center Releases 'Fact Sheet' on ParkRTC

RESTON, VA — Reston Town Center has released a fact sheet on its new ParkRTC app in advance of paid parking this January in the hopes of settling fears Reston residents have about their privacy.

The initial proposal, which would have resulted in a launch of paid parking in mid-September, was met with public outcry due both to dislike of paid parking as well as concerns about perceived privacy issues with the ParkRTC app. Since then, developer Boston Properties opted to bump the event to January 2017 in order to "allow additional time to educate customers about Reston Town Center’s long-term paid parking policies and technologies," according to a prior statement.

The "Mobile Pay Parking Privacy & Security Fact Sheet" released Monday attempts to address the privacy concerns, going into detail on why the developer believes the app is secure for customers.

"Both Passport Inc. and Reston Town Center take the important responsibility to protect credit card information very seriously," the statement reads. "Passport conducts regular audits of its information security systems to ensure there are no vulnerabilities – data security is core to their business. In fact, Passport employs a two factor authentication (2FA) process that requires first-time users to verify their identity by entering a text authorization sent to verify device ownership in addition to a pin number. Passport also holds compliance with PCI DSS Level 1 certification, the most stringent data security framework administered by the PCI Security Standards Council. Passport will never sell or distribute ParkRTC user information to third parties."

As far as why the app requests access to the GPS on a user's mobile device, Boston Properties says that is done "at the discretion and convenience to the parker," and is meant to help quickly find open parking spaces, identify retailers with special offers and help incorporate LiveSafe technology, another part of the app.

"Guests can turn off locations services for the app or pay at pay stations if they prefer," the statement reads.

The statement also indicates that allowing camera access is also optional on the app, and it is used if the customer wants to photograph their credit card.

Addressing the "Find Your Car" feature, the statement says that sensors are not live-monitored and they do not function as surveillance cameras. The sensors take a micro image of a license plate, which it then discards after the car departs, the statement claims.

To prevent other people from accessing this information, parkers must search for the location of their car via one of the four "Find Your Car" kiosks using an 8- or 9-digit unique parking session ID code received through the app.