NEW YORK CITY — By the end of the year, drivers will be able to use an app to pay for parking at all of the city's 85,000 metered parking spaces, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
The new technology will allow drivers to pay for parking with an app on their cell phones rather than having to get out of the car and buy a ticket at a meter. Drivers will also be able to add time remotely and will receive a credit if they leave the spot with time left on the clock.
“No more fumbling for change or scrambling to the meter to beat a ticket," de Blasio said in a press release. "This is a 21st century upgrade that is going to make parking a lot more convenient,” he said.
The NYPD will also benefit from the mobile technology as police officers will be able to issue parking tickets electronically. Traffic Enforcement Agents will use tablet devices "to immediately determine whether a parked car is paid up,” according to the city's news release.
DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg told DNAinfo the app was developed at no cost to the city by Parkmobile, which already operates a similar app in other cities.
Trottenberg said the change will not affect the price to park. Currently the standard hourly rate is $3.50 to park in Manhattan below 96th Street, $1.50 to park in Manhattan between 96th Street and 110th Street and $1.00 to park above 110th Street in Manhattan and in the other four boroughs.
The city-wide app is an expansion of a pilot program that began in 2013 in the Belmont area of the Bronx at 264 public spaces and a 54-space DOT parking lot. By the end of 2016, the program will include all 13,700 meters across the city.
Anyone without a smart phone or who does not wish to use the app will still be able to use the existing meters, which will remain where they are.
