Get in touch with HotSpot support

Our friendly team is always here to chat.

Email

Our friendly team is here to help.
support@htsp.ca

Phone

Call to speak to a live agent.
+1 (855) 712-5888

Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know about the product and billing.
How do I get started?
Getting started is easy! Download the HotSpot app on your smartphone from the App Store or GooglePlay. To learn how to park with HotSpot, watch this video: How to Park with HotSpot. Now you are ready to park with HotSpot!
How do I add my vehicle to my account?
Parking enforcement is based on plate numbers, so you need to add your vehicle to your account.
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Some points to ponder before you start adding your vehicle:
- If you drive more than one vehicle, we recommend that you add all vehicles you might park with. For example, if you have two vehicles in your household and might drive the other vehicle, even on a random day, you’ll save time and possibly a ticket if you add both vehicles now.
- If you rent a car and park with it, either with your permit or street-side parking, we recommend that you add the rental vehicle’s plate.
- If you add more than one vehicle, you can make one of the vehicles the default vehicle.

Adding Your Vehicle on your HotSpot Mobile App:
- Open the app and click on the icon in the upper left hand corner.
- Press Manage My Vehicles.
- Press Add Vehicle.
- Enter your vehicle’s details.
- Press Add Vehicle.

Adding Your Vehicle using the HotSpot Web Dashboard:
- Open a browser window.
- Go to https://www.htsp.ca and click Log in.
- Click the Vehicles tab.
- Enter the information and hit Save.
- Enter your vehicle’s details in the right panel, and click Save Vehicle.
What are the membership options?
Our memberships are broken down into premium and basic:
$30 Annual Membership (Premium) – BEST VALUE
$3.00 Monthly (Premium)
Park and Go (Basic) - no commitment option that adds a service charge per parking session ranging from 10-25 cents.
- Available in select cities.
- Some features are limited by city.

In the following municipalities, the memberships above will vary: Halifax Regional Municipality, The City of Barrie, and the City of Ottawa.

Are you a CAA member?
- Classic and Plus Members are eligible for a discounted annual subscription for $27/year.
- CAA Atlantic Premier Members are now eligible for a FREE* annual HotSpot Parking Transit Taxis subscription.
*Valid CAA Membership required. Premier benefit available to CAA Atlantic Members in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador.
What are the benefits of a Premium membership?
Premium members have more control and convenience when parking by:
- Having the ability to save money by cancelling parking sessions early and obtain refunds for any unused time.
- Access to real time parking maps to easily find available parking spaces and view related parking information. (Available in selected cities)
- Providing users with a parking extender feature that allows your parking session to be automatically extended to avoid a parking ticket if your plate is scanned within 30 minutes of expiry.
- Saving money by eliminating convenience fees on parking sessions.
How do I pay for my membership?
If you are a new user, it will prompt you to select a membership plan as part of the registration process.

If already registered:
- Press the hamburger icon.
- Press Manage My Account.
- Select My Membership Plan, the plans will be displayed on the following page for you to select from.

Your membership will be charged to the credit card associated with your account. Your next billing date and cost will be displayed on the next page, you can cancel your membership at any time to avoid a charge on your next billing date by clicking on ‘Cancel membership’.
How do I know where I can use my HotSpot membership?
We can be found in many Canadian cities, towns, airports and lots as well as some American cities. You will see HotSpot signs at lots that have partnered with us. All HotSpot Parking connected meters will have a HotSpot Parking sticker on the side of the meter.
I am a Park and Go member, can I still get refunds on my parking sessions?
Refunds are available only to Premium members however we do understand that mistakes happen, that is why we have implemented a 3 minute grace period for cancellation. Once a session is started, a 3:00 minute timer will appear on screen, if your session is cancelled within that time frame, you will be issued a full refund to your wallet.
Do I need a membership to use transit or buy parking permits?
No, the membership is used only for hourly parking, if you are using HotSpot for transit or permit services, no membership is required.
I want to charge my wallet but it keeps taking funds from my credit card?
On the parking screen, under the city selection field there is a section that reads ‘This session will be charged to your’ with two options to select from, Wallet and Credit Card. If you want to use wallet funds to pay for your parking, make sure you select ‘Wallet’ as your method of payment.
What is the wallet used for?
The wallet is used primarily for hourly parking however you can also use wallet funds to pay for parking permits or make membership payments. To use the wallet, you will need to turn on the ‘Use wallet’ feature by selecting the icon on the upper left hand corner and clicking on App Settings from the drop down menu, there will be a ‘Use Wallet’ feature available to toggle on.
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When a parking session cost is less than $1.00, our payment processor will not be able to charge a credit card directly for this transaction therefore it will need to be paid for using wallet funds.
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Wallet funds cannot be used to purchase transit passes, this can only be done using a credit card directly.
How do I add more funds to my wallet?
1. Press the hamburger icon.
2. Press Manage My Account.
3. Press Add/Manage Funds.
4. Press Add Funds.
5. Choose a pre-set amount.
6. Press Add Funds.
7. Press Use This Card to use the credit card on your file.
8. If you want to use a different card, press Add Card and follow the instructions.

Press Yes and then Okay to confirm.
Do you accept VISA debit cards?
Yes, we accept VISA debit cards, we also accept prepaid credit cards.
How do I change my credit card on file?
1. Press the hamburger icon.
2. Press Manage My Account.
3. Press Add/Manage Funds.
4. To add a credit card, press Add Card and follow the instructions to add a card.
5. If you have more than one credit card, you can select Default for the card you want to use.

To remove a credit card, press Remove under the tile for the card you want removed.
Why does the parking payment show on my app, but not the meter?
Don’t worry! Parking paid with HotSpot won’t appear on the meters and the parking officers know this. If a parking officer is checking your vehicle and sees that the meter is flashing “0:00”, they will check your license plate to see if you’re a HotSpot user. To ensure that you don’t get a ticket, double check that your license plate on your HotSpot account doesn’t have any typos.
How to access my total savings?
The total savings is an indicative total of how much you have saved since using the app, it is not an accessible pool of funds. Each time you refund a session, the unused time is refunded into your wallet, when you start a new parking session, these recycled funds are used to cover the cost.
How do I access my transaction receipts?
In the HotSpot mobile app:
- Press the hamburger icon.
- Press Manage My Account.
- Press History.
- Press the transaction for which you want a receipt.
- Press Email Receipt, and then Okay.

On the HotSpot website:
- Log into your account at htsp.ca.
- In the Transactions section of the Wallet tab, select the date range for transactions you want to access.
- For each receipt you want to print, click the printer icon in the Email column.

The receipts are emailed to the email address that is associated with your account.
How do I pay for Transit with my mobile phone?
Using transit with HotSpot is easy, just follow these steps:
- Select Transit from the bottom menu.
- Select your city and Hit Purchase.
- Select a bus pass/ticket type from the options provided.
- Review the details of the selection on the next screen, hit Purchase to finalize. (Can only be charged to a credit card directly, the wallet cannot be used.)
- Next, select a route by hitting Continue.
- Click on the route by selecting the gear icon on the top of the page, once you have found your route, click on Select Route.
- Once you are ready to board the bus, hit the Board Bus button.
- Confirm this action by hitting Yes.
- A screen will appear of an animated bus moving across a screen, that is the screen you show to your driver. This screen expires within 15 minutes of activation so it is suggested to hit the board bus button just before you are about to enter.
Why can’t I add more time to the meter that has a max time?
The max time on metered parking is enforced by your city to keep traffic moving through busy downtown areas. Parking longer than the max time is considered to be meter feeding and is a violation of the Motor Vehicle Act. You can contact either HotSpot support or your city to dispute a ticket you feel was issued in error.
Can I park multiple cars at one time on one HotSpot account?
You can add multiple cars to your HotSpot account, but can only park one car at a time per each account. If you have more than one car on your account, ensure that the Parking screen on the mobile app shows the license plate for the car you are trying to park. If it is not correct, please change it. Parking enforcement is based on plate numbers.