By Carol P. Bartold     

Oct. 28, 2015:  Bronxville Chamber of Commerce members received a preview of the Pango parking payment system, due for an early to mid-December rollout in the village, during an October 22 forum at Bronxville Village Hall. 

Pango USA president Neil Edwards gave an overview of how the system will work for motorists, merchants, enforcement personnel, and the village. Pango is an electronic payment option that the village will offer in addition to the coin-operated mechanical meters. 

"We are keeping our quarter meters," Deputy Treasurer Peggy Conway emphasized to the forum attendees, adding that Pango works completely independently of the meters. The village will offer Pango as a convenient parking payment option for people who do not want to keep their cars stocked with quarters. 

Edwards explained that Pango will offer people a convenient way to pay for parking via a smartphone app, calling the 1-877-MyPango telephone number, or on the Pango website. 

Customers will sign up for Pango using a credit card to be charged for parking fees and will enter their name, email address, phone number, and the plate number of the car or cars on their account. Edwards explained that customers can include as many cars as they want on their account. "It takes about two minutes to sign up," Edwards said. 

There is no fee to download the app to a smartphone, nor is there a subscription fee to use the service. Pango charges a convenience fee of $0.25 per transaction. 

Edwards stated that both iPhone and Android smartphones support the Pango app. At this time, Pango is not available for BlackBerry devices. 

To pay for parking using Pango, the customer will indicate the parking space number and how much time he or she wishes to purchase. The system will notify customers that their meter will expire in 15 minutes and allow them to purchase more time in the parking space, up to the maximum allowable for that space. Additional parking fees can be paid for on the smartphone from wherever the customer happens to be. 

Pango offers merchants the opportunity to extend special offers and post coupons, as well as offer parking validation for customers. Per Edwards, the company will also offer merchants a tutorial on the system and a supply of instruction cards so they can help customers become familiar with how to use Pango. 

Conway noted that the rate structure and time limit for every parking space within the village has been programmed into the Pango system, including reduced rates for merchant permit parking. Any changes in the parking rate or time structure can be easily reprogrammed.

"Enforcement will not change at all," Bronxville Police Chief Christopher Satriale stated. Enforcement officers will still check the meters. If a meter displays flashing zeros, the officer will scan the car's registration and that scan will indicate if a Pango payment has been made and how much time is remaining on that payment. 

Edwards stated that Pango will not notify enforcement officers about expired or about-to-expire meters or direct officers to those meters. 

"Until Pango is up and rolling, there are no evening tickets after 6:00 pm," Mayor Mary Marvin notified the forum. "The original idea was that Pango and the 6:00-to-9:00 pm parking fees were supposed to work together so people would have the option to pay electronically without needing eight or nine quarters to park at night."

Conway noted that not only does Pango bring convenience to parking customers, but it also is an inexpensive option for the village that does not require any additional capital expenditure to implement or sustain. 

Once signed up, a customer can use Pango to pay for parking in any city that uses the system. Pango operates in 60 cities in the U.S., including neighboring Mount Vernon.

Pictured here:  Neil Edwards, president of Pango USA.

Photo by N. Bower