Drivers will now be able to use their smartphones to pay the meter fees in the Bronx.
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, the meters that are located in the Bronx will now have 264 spaces over a span of 18 blocks that will accept mobile payments, as well as at the Belmont Municipal Parking Field.
The service behind the ability to use smartphones for this purpose is PayByPhone through a partnership with the city.
The meters that have been enabled with mobile payments capabilities are the latest element in the efforts being made by New York to improve and update its parking situation. The system’s users can now expect to be able to pay using their smartphones, over the web, or through the use of the PayByPhone app. The cost to park through these methods will be exactly the same as what it would be if the meter were fed in the traditional method, using coins.
The mobile payments users will also receive helpful alerts that will make sure that they don’t run out of time.
Users of the PayByPhone mobile payments service for their parking will receive emails or text messages that will let them know when their time at the meter is about to expire, so that they will be able to refill it before it runs out, if necessary. In order to use the system, drivers need to register on the PayByPhone website, signing up their credit card information and their license plate numbers. The program is free to use.
According to New York City Mayor Bloomberg “Today, we’re launching a pilot pay-by-phone parking initiative along 18 metered blocks in the Arthur Avenue Business Improvement District as well as an online parking availability map for the area that motorists or passengers can see on the web and on their smartphones.” He added that this are only the most recent in a number of initiatives that are being implemented to help to bring the driving and parking experience in the city “into the 21st century.”
The city believes that mobile payments will not only make it easier for drivers to be able to park in the city, but it will also assist the enforcement of parking regulations by the New York City Police Department. This is because NYPD officers will be equipped with handheld devices that will provide them with real time information about whether or not the meters have been fed, before they issue a summons.
