PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Pittsburgh Parking Authority officials cut the ribbon on Pittsburgh’s newest parking meter system, now on the North Shore around PNC Park.

“Parkers will have the ability now to use credit cards. They don’t have to carry around coins anymore,” Ravenstahl told KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano. “They’ll be able to park more cars on streets, so it’s business friendly, it’s parker friendly and we’re really excited about rolling out this technology.”

Instead of individual meters, parkers will find a pay station. The hourly rate is the same, but there is no paper slip for the windshield.

Instead, you input your license plate number. It’s the first pay-by-license plate system in the USA.

You enter your plate number on the screen then put in your credit card or cash. You decide how many hours you want to park. Then pull out your credit card and get a receipt.

Your license plate number is key to enforcement, as Parking Authority instructors told North Shore parker Greg Edder of Conway.

Parking Authority instructor: “The parking meter maid, he has his little hand-held, he’ll punch in your license plate number. It will pop up that you paid and how much time you have left.”

Edder: “Okay, so I don’t have to put this [receipt] on my car?”

Parking Authority instructor: “No, sir.”

Just because there’s no individual meter, don’t expect free parking. Look for the right sign and then pay if you park.

By the end of September, watch for this new system to expand in the city.

“The Downtown, Oakland, South Side, portions of the Strip, and Uptown,” says Parking Authority executive director Dave Onorato.

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