By Forum Staff
The City last week introduced a new mobile method of paying for on-street parking that is set to be phased into Queens by summer 2017.
ParkNYC, according to the de Blasio administration, allows motorists to remotely pay for parking using an online system that links registered license plate numbers to NYPD Traffic Enforcement agents’ handheld devices that confirm payment.
Owned and operated by private vendor Parkmobile, LLC, ParkNYC debuted last Friday in midtown Manhattan. City officials indicated that the system will be available at all 85,000 parking spots served by Department of Transportation Muni-Meters by next summer.
“Parking in New York City can be a challenge, but ParkNYC will make it just a bit easier,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With no paper receipt and the ability to quickly get on your way, this new pay-by-cell tool fulfills our commitment – made in this year’s State of the City address – that we would help save New Yorkers the most precious of resources: their time.”
Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg noted that DOT Muni-Meters would continue to accept coins and credit/debit cards for payment for customers who don’t wish to use the new service. Parking rates and time limits are block-side-specific and will remain unchanged for all payment methods.
The ParkNYC mobile app went live last Friday and is available for download at no cost for iPhones in the App Store and for Android at Google Play. The City said it can be used as zones are phased in Citywide on a rolling basis through next summer. The website parknyc.org includes more information about registration and FAQs and can also be used for remote payment without downloading the ParkNYC app. Transactions can also be made by voice call to an automated phone system.
“With ParkNYC, drivers no longer have to scramble for change or even walk to a Muni-Meter to get a receipt for their dashboard,” said Trottenberg. “With no added fees, mobile alerts that let you know when your parking session is ending, and the ability to extend a session without returning to your car, ParkNYC offers a great convenience to New York drivers. We are excited that ParkNYC will be available at every metered parking space in every borough by the end of next summer.”
According to the administration, beginning this month, ParkNYC zone numbers will roll out on signs and decals on the sides of Muni-Meters in Manhattan between 14th and 59th Streets. The new signs and decals identify each block-side with a distinctive six-digit zone code.
NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan hailed ParkNYC as “a major customer service win.”
“Technology is providing the public with an excellent alternative payment option, and in my opinion a more convenient option, to ease their busy days,” Chan added. “In the old days you usually needed a bunch of quarters and you had to watch the meter. Now all you need is ParkNYC and your mobile device.”
City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) lauded the new system, noting that “there’s just never enough hours in the day, so saving a few minutes here and there can go a long way toward making somebody’s day that much easier.”
Courtesy of ParkNYC
