New Year’s Bug Takes NYC Parking Meters Offline

Parking meters in New York City won’t take credit cards because they weren’t programmed to get card payments after Jan. 1, 2020, according to a report by the New York Post.

All through the five boroughs, people were reporting that meters wouldn’t accept credit card payments due to a software bug. The meters were never updated to receive payments after the New Year, and the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) said it was working through the meters in the city one by one to update them so they’ll work again.

“DOT crews are now in the field reconfiguring the software at individual meters, and we expect to have a better estimate for the job’s completion in the next day,” a DOT rep said. “There is currently an ongoing notification process to business improvement districts and the freight industry.”

The meters can still get payments through smartphones and the ParkNYC app, but not at the meters.

“It makes me upset. It was like a wild goose chase,” said Izzy Meth. He tried a bunch of different meters to no avail.

“I went to two [meters] on West 86th [Street] and two on Amsterdam Avenue and none of them would take my card,” Izzy said, “the city should have been more responsible and think about these things. It reminds me of Y2K.”

Another man said that he didn’t have a card and didn’t think getting a ticket was fair.

“I didn’t have any [coins] and I tried to use [a credit card] here, but it didn’t work,” said the man, who is a sheet metal worker. “It’s not my fault. It’s the city’s fault. I should not get a ticket. I shouldn’t have to pay it.”

Parkeon, a mobility company, created the software, and said it “was caused by an anti-fraud security setting that disabled card payment beyond Jan. 1, 2020.”