Pay-By-Phone Parking Slowly But Surely Is Heading To Bronxville

In an effort to encourage more space turnover to increase local retail business, the village is going to “make meters more understandable, customer friendly and technologically advanced (while) adding a level of uniformity and consistency to the entire parking matrix,” according to Mayor Mary Marvin.

The village is teaming with Pango; a company that created a system that allows motorists to park and pay using their cell phones. Pango eliminates the need for parking machines, the need to rifle through vehicles for loose change, and can be customized and adjusted to fit one’s need.

In an effort to get the village up to speed, local officials are meeting with representatives from Pango to master the ins and outs of the new system.

“In essence, the Pango service is a downloaded app that allows parkers to pay for their meter charge by phone,” Marvin noted. “This alleviates the need for a pocketful of coins and allows one to add time remotely if running late up to the allotted hour limit on the meter.”

The Pango service is free to use and download, though there is a 25-cent service charge per transaction. The pay-by-phone option will not replace traditional meters; it will simply serve as another option for those visiting the village.

With Pango expected to be fully implemented as soon as the beginning of next year, village officials are planning several instructional forums for interested parties, as they look to familiarize locals with the new system.

On Wednesday, it was announced that on-street meter enforcement would temporarily be suspended from 6 to 9 p.m. each night until the pay-by-phone application is completely implemented.

“Ideally, the village plan was to simultaneously rollout the Pango app with the evening changes in parking meter enforcement. However, due to an unforeseen glitch in the synchronization of computer equipment, Pango is delayed,” she said. “In the interest of fairness, we will not be enforcing the 6 to 9 p.m. meter payment until the non-coin option is available.

“Due to the increase in staffing throughout village businesses and institutions, as well as the increase in service-oriented businesses versus the traditional soft-goods stores, parking is at an all-time premium in the village.” 

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