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NYC to shift to digital parking meters, saving 2,500 miles of receipt paper each year
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Apr 8, 2024
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NYC Department of Transportation
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Apr 8, 2024
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New York City is phasing out printed receipts at parking meters and turning to a fully digital system for drivers to pay for their spots.
The city Department of Transportation on Monday announced a new “pay-by-plate” system where car owners will be required to enter their license plate into a digital machine on the sidewalk to pay for a metered spot. They’ll no longer receive a paper ticket from a meter to place in their dashboards, which officials said uses up roughly 2,500 miles of receipt rolls every year.
Drivers can also pay for their spots through the city’s existing ParkNYC app, where drivers can pay for their parking spots online.
The new digital meters will first roll out in Upper Manhattan in May. Officials said the tech will eventually be rolled out to cover 80,000 metered parking spots, but did not provide a timeline for when the change will be completed.
“Our new pay-by-plate parking meters are simple to use and will make short-term parking easier for everyone, and support local businesses by providing more parking spots for customers,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement.
The old parking meters will be retrofitted with the new technology and equipped with large backlit displays, according to the city’s department of transportation. The machines will have multiple language options and allow drivers to pay with contactless tap credit cards.
In October, the city increased parking meter rates by 20%. In Midtown and Downtown Manhattan for example, the first hour rate for parking increased from $4.50 to $5.50 with the goal of easing congestion across the city. The MTA last month also gave final approval for congestion pricing, where the agency will charge a $15 daytime toll for drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
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transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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