NYC parking system doing away with paper receipts
An existing pay-and-display meter, left, next to a pay-by-plate meter that will be rolled out next month. Credit: NYC DOT
New York City residents and visitors: Say goodbye to those paper parking meter receipts you've displayed on your dashboard for years.
Starting next month, the city Department of Transportation will begin rolling out an upgraded and fully automated pay-by-plate parking meter system in the five boroughs.
The new meters “will make short-term parking easier for everyone,” city Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said. “Drivers will no longer need to worry about leaving a paper receipt on their dashboard and can use the convenience of the ParkNYC app to pay the meter while on the go.”
Here's how the new system will work:
Motorists will enter their license plate into a digital kiosk — a full-color, retrofitted version of the city's old parking meters — to pay for a metered spot, either with cash or by tap-and-pay credit or debit card. The meters will have multiple language options.
Instead of displaying a receipt on their dashboard, the information will be automatically synced with NYPD parking enforcement systems, allowing traffic agents with handheld enforcement devices to identify which drivers have paid, the DOT said. The new system, officials said, will also prevent motorists from transferring their parking time to a different zone or vehicle through use of a paper receipt.
A nearly identical system is already in place for motorists who pay for their parking spots online through the ParkNYC app, which city officials said has 1.8 million users and eliminates the need to utilize meters altogether.
“Incorporating evolving, smart technology into New York City's parking management system will enhance drivers’ experiences,” NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said. “This will be achieved by maximizing space availability and increasing turnover.”
The program will begin rolling out May 8 on meters in upper Manhattan before progressing south and then continuing gradually across the rest of the city and its 80,000 paid meter spots through the spring of 2025.
Each year, department officials said, city parking meters print about 2,500 miles worth of receipts — enough to stretch from New York City to Las Vegas.
Last year, the city hiked parking meter rates by about 20%. Parking rates range from $1.50 to $5.50 for the first hour for noncommercial vehicles.
The move came as the city moves forward with a congestion pricing plan that will charge most vehicles $15 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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