There have been several complaints about Muni Meters since they were installed on Metropolitan Avenue, Eliot Avenue and Grand Avenue. Most of the complaints were about broken Muni’s and the ordeal of searching for one that would work. On Saturday, March 2nd the JPCA found 3 meters on Metropolitan Avenue between 79th Street and 79th Place that were actually cheating customers. All were slow with one meter (pictured above) actually logged in 8 minutes slow. That means motorists place their quarters in the slot expecting to get 15 minutes, they only received 7 minutes. Many are unaware of this and then would get summonses. The JPCA checked three other meters and found each meter slow times thus cheating the user out of valuable minutes. Be aware of the actual time that’s showing on the Muni Meter. Metropolitan Avenue meters have been notorious and the enforcement officers relentless and unforgiving.
JPCA president Robert Holden discovered that as many as 50% of the meters in the Middle Village area had the wrong times, most were slow thus cheating motorists out of time and money. Traffic agents are also frustrated. The JPCA recently spoke to two agents who said that they regularly report problem meters that have the wrong time or that won't accept credit cards or coin however DOT will not do repairs unless the meter is completely broken.
The JPCA checked Grand Avenue’s newly installed Muni Meters and found other problems. All had the correct time however some meters would print only half a receipt that would not show the expiring time, thus it was useless.