Forget fumbling for coins or even pulling out your credit card the next time you need to park: New Yorkers may soon be able to pay for parking by smartphone, the Department of Transportation announced yesterday.
The city will launch a pilot program this spring to allow drivers to pay for parking using their cell phones. The DOT is now accepting proposals for the program.
The pilot will include 300 parking spaces. It likely won’t be launched in clogged Manhattan, but instead in an outer borough neighborhood. Drivers can register for the online system using their phones, linked to a credit or debit card. They call into the system when they want to park, giving the number of the meter and instructing how much to charge.
As an added bonus, drivers will even receive a heads-up that they have five minutes left on the meter.
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro.
