New York City can use an app to pay parking meters by end of 2016, de Blasio says

Sick of scrounging up change to feed New York City’s parking meters? There will soon be an app for that, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news release on Wednesday.

Mobile pay will kick in citywide by the end of the year and will affect all 85,000 parking meters across the five boroughs, the mayor’s office said. Drivers will be able to add time without running back to their cars, and they’ll get credit for unused time if they leave a parking spot early.

Traffic agents will verify payment using tablets, which are included in a department-wide tech upgrade for the NYPD that was announced back in October 2014. All traffic agents will have tablets by December.

The app won’t come at an extra cost to New Yorkers. The mayor’s office explained in the news release it's being developed “through a no-cost innovation contract.”

“No more fumbling for change or scrambling to the meter to beat a ticket,” de Blasio said in a statement. “This is a 21st century upgrade that is going to make parking a lot more convenient.”

Don’t feel like you need an app to pay for your parking? That’s fine, too. Drivers can still use coins and cards to feed the Muni-Meters.