Charging at the Meter

Imagine parking your car at a parking meter and paying with a card. Imagine not having to use a single quarter (let alone a nickel or a dime). On Monday that dream will become a reality for motorists parking in Bay Ridge, Forest Hills and the Upper West Side as parking meters in those neighborhoods will begin to accept pre-paid parking cards as well as quarters (meters in Long Island City already do this). This won't effect parking time-limits or the amount of time that $.25 buys, but it will theoretically make lives easier for many people and save the city a fair amount of money: it's expensive collecting all those quarters.

"Hmmm. But Gothamist," you say, "don't those MuniMeters already accept prepaid cards?" Yes, they do, but now we're talking about straight-up parking meters accepting them too. "Cool." Yes, it is cool. Even cooler is the fact that starting in the Fall 200 meters around the Theater District will not only start accepting parking cards but will also accept credit cards as well (unfortunately there is no plan for the machines to accept Metrocards).

"OK, I park in one of those neighborhoods all the time, how do I get me one of those Parking Cards?" Glad you asked. They come in either $20 or $50 increments and you can order them from either 311 or nyc.gov/dot/parkingcards. Now if only you could get one of those cards at the corner deli.