Summary & Quick Facts
- A New York City parking card is a pre-paid card that lets drivers pay for parking at street meters or municipal lots.
- Parking cards come in denominations of $20, $50, and $100 amounts.
- Parking Cards can be purchased online through the city website or at the St. George Ferry Terminal.
- Parking cards never expire and are valid until the card balance runs down to zero.
- Drivers can combine low balance parking cards with coins to pay for parking.
- Unfortunately, NYC parking cards are not reloadable or recyclable.
- If you lose your NYC parking cards, are stolen, or damaged in any way, the City will not replace or reimburse them.
Ever Know There Was Another Way To Pay For Parking?
Throughout New York City, on-street muni-meters and meters at municipal parking facilities dispense receipts that allow drivers to legally park in spaces. Drivers must display these receipts on the dashboard of the parked car so enforcement agents know the car is legally parked. There are a variety of payment methods drivers can use to get a receipt. Meters accept coins (quarters, dollar coins) and NYC Parking Cards. But in an age where people are hip to apps where you can pay for parking meters, but still carry coins and cash, are people even aware parking cards exist? Let’s take a look at the NYC parking card, how to use it and whether it’s worth getting.
Muni-Meter Regulations
Before we introduce how to acquire a parking card, lets first quickly go over parking meter regulations. Unlike older parking meter models, parking rates for muni-meters vary across each borough. You can check out the various rates in each borough below. Parking rates are posted on each parking meter. Nevertheless, parking rates will increase later this year.
| Location | Hourly Rate |
| The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island | $1.00 |
| Manhattan above 110th Street | $1.00 |
| Manhattan on 96th Street (North Side) to 110th Street | $1.50 |
| Manhattan on 96th Street (South Side) and below | $3.50 |
| Commercial vehicle spaces in Manhattan | $4.00 (first hour)
$5.00 (second hour) $6.00 (third hour) |
| Charter bus metered spaces in Manhattan | $20.00 (three-hour maximum) |
Drivers can see how long they are legally allowed to park on the top left-hand corner of the green meter signs. The length of time drivers can park without fear of receiving parking tickets also vary greatly. This time limit ranges from 1 hour to 12 hours.
Remember! Parking meters do not have to be paid on Sundays so you will always be able to find free parking on this day. Nevertheless, before you park your car, always check signs carefully to make sure you have the right. You do not want to end up having to pay or fight a parking ticket that you can easily avoid.
What Is A New York City Parking Card?
A New York City parking card is a pre-paid card that can be used at street meters or municipal lots to pay for parking. All parking cards are prepaid and come in denominations of $20, $50, and $100 amounts.
To purchase a card, you must go online to the city website and register. Once you register, however, drivers can purchase cards directly from their accounts. Alternatively, cards are available for purchase at the St. George Ferry Terminal (near the passenger boarding area) from four machines, which are accessible 24 hours.
Some see NYC Parking cards as useful because they never expire and are valid until the card balance runs down to zero. Anytime you use the parking card, meter’s display screen will show its new balance. This means you can use the card until the original value purchased is exhausted. Since cards cannot be refilled at this time, driver’s need to dispose of used cards properly in trash receptacles.
How To Pay With A Parking Card
Now let’s go over how to use the parking card in action. Once you pull into your parking spot and walk up to the parking meter:
- Insert the card and the machine will pull in the card the rest of the way.
- The display will show the balance on the card.
- Press the blue button to buy parking time.
- The display will show how much money your purchase used, and the clock will display the time legal parking expires.
- Select your parking time amount and press the green button to make the purchase.
- Take the receipt and display it on your dashboard.
Until you press the green button, the transaction can be canceled at any time by turning the red knob. If your parking card doesn’t have enough money on it for the time you’d like to purchase, you’re also able to combine the card’s remaining value with coins. When you insert your NYC parking card into the meter, leave it there while you insert coins to combine the balance. Complete the transaction as normal.
Paying With Both Parking Cards and Coins
If your parking card doesn’t have enough money on it, you’re also able to combine the card’s remaining value with coins. If more than 40 seconds passes between using your card and adding coin payments, the payment will not be combined. Here are the steps you can take to use both payment methods:
- Insert NYC Parking Card into the meter
- Press the blue button to deduct payment from the card until there is a zero balance
- Leave the card in the meter
- Insert coins as needed to purchase the desired parking time
- Press the green button for receipt & Parking Card will be returned for your disposal
- Display your receipt and dispose of your now empty parking card.
Our Thoughts On Using The Parking Card?
Ultimately, we recommend using the city’s app or coins because unfortunately, NYC parking cards are not reloadable or recyclable. Moreover, if you lose your NYC parking cards, are stolen, or damaged in any way, the City of New York will not replace or reimburse them. You’ll be out of luck. At the end of the day, drivers have other more accessible ways to pay for parking, nonetheless, it doesn’t hurt to have one more option.