NYC replacing 80,000 parking meters with new paperless system: What it means for drivers

Some big parking changes are coming for New York City drivers, with parking meters being upgraded to a new system.

The biggest new thing coming with the so-called "pay-by-plate" system? The tiny receipts drivers put on their dash will soon a thing of the past. But the upgrade won't be speedy.

It comes as a welcome change for some who never much cared for the system that involved paying at the meter, then going back to the car to display the paper slip — especially when the machines got glitchy and didn't cooperate. Some may remember a mini-meltdown in 2020 when nobody could print out receipts and the city had to fix a computer issue.

“I think it’s great to go high tech because a lot of times the meters don’t work and it’s very frustrating to park," said Upper East Side driver Caroline Packman.

City officials were keen on making a swap as well, but perhaps for another reason. If all the receipts from every single time drivers used a meter in NYC over the course of a year were attached end-to-end, it would stretch about 2,500 miles.

That's enough to make it "from New York City to LA," according to city Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

There are already about a dozen new pay-by-plate meters in use in Queens. Drivers can press a button, enter their license plate number and a form of payment — and they're set.

But don't expect the changes to take place overnight. There are 80,000 metered spaces in the city and 14,000 municipal meter machines across the five boroughs, so the upgrade will take time.

Upper Manhattan will be the first to make the switch. The Upper East and Upper West Side are scheduled to get theirs over the summer. But the full citywide conversion might not be until the end of 2027.

Some city lawmakers want to make sure the DOT does an effective job getting New Yorkers up to speed.

"Not everybody knows how to use it. So the question would be what you need to put your license plate into the machine," said City Councilmember Gail Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side.

The system the city has been testing in Queens hasn't always been reliable, and there has been a training issue with enforcement. On Tuesday, one person who parked got a ticket for what was clearly the wrong reason. 

"I paid $10...I got the ticket at 1:25 p.m.," said Edgar, the man who parked his car. "It says no receipt visible on dash, but as you can see, it says right there, very clearly, no need to display the receipt."

The DOT said the new machines are more reliable and better synchronized with the ParkNYC app. There is another benefit for city revenue collection: Police can get violators electronically without having to scan every car’s receipt.

But city officials say drivers get a benefit too.

"It’s more convenient and you will save time," said DOT Commissioner Rodriguez. "When they pay by plate, they don’t have to come back — they can go to doctors appointment or their apartment and you will save time."

The city says it’s serious about the "No need to display receipt" rule, promising it's exceedingly rare to get a ticket once drivers have activated the app.