GALVESTON — The Galveston City Council has approved updates to the city’s paid parking program that will affect drivers in the downtown and UTMB areas.

According to a press release, the downtown paid parking district includes the area from 20th Street to 25th Street and from Harborside Drive to Church Street. The UTMB district covers 14th Street to Holiday Drive and from Harborside Drive to Broadway.

Under the new ordinance, drivers will be able to purchase parking in 30-minute increments after the first hour, rather than in full-hour increments only. The hourly rate will remain $2.25, and the 30-minute rate will be $1.25.

The ordinance also adds a transaction fee for payments made by phone or through the PayByPhone app. The current transaction fee is $0.30 per purchase and is subject to change. Payments made at one of the 17 downtown pay stations will not include the transaction fee.

Each parking purchase is considered a separate transaction.

City Manager Brian Maxwell said the changes were requested by council members to provide more flexibility for drivers.

The city is working with its paid parking vendor to implement the updates and expects the changes to take effect within the next four weeks. Officials said the public will be notified once a start date is confirmed.