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Top off Your Parking Meter with a Cell Call
dstone writes "Vancouver, Canada has just become the first major city in North America to allow motorists to feed their parking meters with their cell phone. Drivers call a number on each meter, the system recognizes them by Caller ID, they enter how many minutes they want, and that's it. The system sends them a reminder text message before their time is up and they can extend their time remotely. The catch? The company contracted to provide the service, Verrus, makes their money through a 30-cent 'convenience fee.' Less pockets full of change, less parking tickets, seems like a step forward."
So do you trade parking meter stickers with Lexus guy then?
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
If,
I'm not way off-track one of the purposes of a parking meter is the annoyance feature. Keeps a set of rich guys from pumping quarters in it all day long without any negative consequences for them.
This tech enables that sort of behavior.
And then the poor slobs get to walk a half a mile just to get to the courthouse.....
Caution: Contents under pressure
There aren't a lot of convenience fees that I wholeheartedly support, but 30 cents to not have to run out to my parking meter sounds like a winner.
Who to call when the meter won't accept ? THAT IS WHAT i WANT TO KNOW.
So does this mean that every city in Canada will be able to use a different service provider?
While it would be feasible to maintain an account with several providers in different cities, it seems like a government-sponsered portal would make more sense than required accounts to be created directly on the company site. Maybe this won't be an issue since most of one's parking would be in one city; just a thought.
zachwalker.net
I remember the first time (too many years back, now) that I experienced Convenience while I was in line at a McDonalds grabbing a burger on my way someplace. I told the cashier I wanted a Diet Coke as my combo drink. She handed me the now-expected empty cup and told me that I would be getting the drink from the "Convenience Center" across the store.
"Convenient for who?" I asked. And she told me, unblinkingly, that it had in fact really made their job a lot easier.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Granted, there are some instances when this would be nice, but I think most people would use it because they are just plan lazy. Convenience, less exercise, and more food has made this nation very plump.
Also, why would a city want to risk losing that much revenue from all those tickets?
Sounds like a good idea on the surface, but how many transactions do you need to rack up for this system to pay for itself?
To use a washer, text the word "SLUG" to 91111.
In Africa, they're using cellphones for personal banking, which is a pretty good way to move money without the hassle of checks an credit cards. I'm not sure I like this 30 cent fee, given that most parking isn't all that expensive.
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
I would rather be rid of scum charging me with a phone call.
Why the scare quotes around convenience fees? Is the submitter implying that the cell phone company should graciously provide this service for free? Or perhaps the fee isn't really a fee?
Either way, editorializing in the summary is silly.
I think it's great because lot's of people pay for longer parking at higher rate because they cant have more than 2 hours in a park meter.
I know i would like it to only have to use my cellphone siting on my ass somewhere and just feed my meter.
This scheme seems like a bullshit technological antisolution that would only make the current street parking situation worse,
1) It bills to your credit card
2) I don't have a credit card
3) I don't like The Man tracking my activities, right down to where and when I park
Just a thought.
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
We in the old world have been having this system for about 2 years now.
Without convenience fee.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
http://www.usj.com.my/usjXpress/details.php3?table =usjXpress&ID=256
I travel there on business from time to time, folks that I work with there have been doing something like this using SMS for a while now.
It is good to see the US catching up.
I personally don't have a car, but I've heard people complaint about not having enough change. It's a pain in the arse. Why they haven't implemented a credit card system? Beats me! Imagine the scenario: 1. Park your car. 2. Swipe your card. 3. Enter a pin code (make it hard to guess) 4. Go do your thing, forget about the meter. 5. Come back to meter and enter code from step 3. 6. Get reciept printed out of meter. 7. Drive away without a parking ticket. Unless you are a moron and entered "9999" as your code, this could work.
Tune is "Call Me" by Blondie
Covering this area, baby
Coveting your car
Meter maids a' comin' darling
I know who you are
Come up off your attitude
I target Benzs, M5s, and Suburus
Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me add another dime
Call me (call me) oh, fudge!
Help prevent the boot or ticket stub
Call me
Cover me with birdshit, baby
Cover me with smudge
Rolled into by shopping carts
I've really had enough
Scratches, I really don't know why
Drive me over to Earl Scheib
Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, anytime
Call me (call me) oh fudge
When you're ready we can call in a dime
Call me
http://www.ericsson.com/mobilityworld/sub/articles /success_stories/parking_wap_sms
I cut an paste a little too quickly in my last post!
Wellington, NZ implemented this a while back. I knew one of the IT guys involved. They were happy to get paid for doing the work, but they were sure it wouldn't be a success. After all, who would pay extra for this? Much to his surprise, it's been very successful.
Verrus operate a similar system at the council car parks in York, England. It's great - finding the change was always a pain!
:)
They get the number of your cell phone from caller ID and store your vehicle registration plate and credit card details against it the first time you call. The next time you call you just tell it how many hours you want and enter the 4 digit code for the car park you are using. For an extra 10p you can get a reminder SMS. You are also free to call again and extend the parking.
If you don't have your cell phone with you then you can use any phone, and just tap in your cell number and the PIN number you set the first time you called. You also use that PIN if you want to change credit card or vehicle registration numbers.
The wardens have machines that have details of the electronically issued tickets on them, so they don't clamp you
And yes, we do implement the mobile telephone technology far more slowly than most European and Asian countries - far faster than I really think we should, but hey, I'm a dinosaur from the age of the Amiga.
.. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
I do believe this will completely change the parking scene in Vancouver. Anyone who has been downtown and tried to park there knows it is impossible. This means that now, for sure, anyone who gets there first will be there all day. Previously spaces opened up due to people running out of change and leaving or people getting towed. This would also be a good method of topping up at the various Impark parking lots in Calgary and Edmonton. I almost always underestimate the time I need, I think everyone does.
Of course, Impark won't do this since it makes more money giving tickets than selling parking space. They are vultures! The ticket is already written up by the time you have 1-minute left, just in case.
The article explains this is the first major city in North America to do this. Not to mention this is in CANADA. I think you have Canada confused with the United States with your comment.
All my calls come from (202) 456-1414
If you think imaginary property and real property are the same, when does your house become public domain?
The Man probably doesn't care about temporary parking vs. garage parking. If anything, the Man will encourage more use of temporary (aka parking meter) parking. Meters, when in use, make more money than parking garages. If the Man can keep the metered spaces full, it means more money for governmental projects.
Emptying parking meters is a pretty albor intenstive task, and in big cities they must hold a lot of cash. When i lived in Edinburgh it cost me about $18/day to park in front of my apartment and that was several times less than parking in the city center.
I'd imagine parking meters are prime targets for drug users and petty theives and i've seen quite a lot of vandalized ones.
However, they wrap this up as being convenient for the end user (which it is too) and have the user pay the convenience fee.
Since the citizenery of the US doesn't like to pay adequate taxes for the services they demand, US cities are forced to get their revenue from really irrating sources like parking tickets. Cities like San Francisco don't actually want you put money in the meter since that deprives them of the oppurtunity for "revenue enchancement." This is why they make it diffcult to use the meter through tactics like quarters only and not fixing broken meters.
Montreal has been doing this for 2 years now.
While I'm far from an anti-tech alarmist... it seems like another handing over of your personal information to the government, which ultimately ends up in the hands of private companies... all in the name of "convenience."
While Canadian law is much different than US law... it's somewhat alarming that EZ-Pass http://www.ezpass.com/ information is being used against people in court.
It's also going to be funny receiving a text that says: "Your car has been towed! $250 has been removed from your account. Your car has been towed to your home. Would you like us to call a taxi for you?"
And as for late payment charges -- you shouldn't even include those, moron who don't pay or file a dispute on time have no one to blame but themselves.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
the city has become ridiculously dependent on parking tickets - at a $110 a pop, with $20 increases every three weeks for late payments, im suprised meter maids aren't murdered in the street by rioting mobs!
I don't think this is just a Bloomberg problem, much as I hate him and Giuliani. I remember my parents complaining about the same thing in the 80s when *they* worked in NYC. Simple solution for me: don't drive a car in NYC unless I really have to. If I need motorized transportation, take my motorcycle, remove the plate and chain it up in a convenient spot whilst parking. Fortunately the meter maids are lazy and stupid as well as greedy, so I don't think they'd spare the effort to tow it or trace the VIN unless it's parked somewhere for an unreasonable length of time.
-b.
Less Pocket change... 1 step forward.
Convience charge... 2 steps back.
Let's all play fuck the consumer.
Who's leg do I have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
This would be especially nice for students at the University here... where the Tues/Thurs classes are usually about an hour and a half long, but the parking meters only let you put in a maximum of 1 hour's worth of coins. And summer session classes can be even longer.
Would much rather send a text message on my cellphone from in class, and pay a 30 cent convenience charge than have a ticket.
Then again, I'm sure the University would never adopt these meters... I think they limit the time on purpose so they can rake in more money from tickets.
Woohoo - North America is proving to lead the high-tech way again. Give it another 5 years and we may be able to buy a Coke at a vending machine and pay by cell phone. Follow us Europe, we are right behind you... ;)
Oh well, what the hell...
Coral Gables, Fl has been doing this for about a year already. Very convienent when I go bar-hopping. Oh, wait. This /. I mean war-driving and mooching wi-fi....yeah right.
Pleease don't tell me they plan on using Caller ID as a secure method of verification. Funny enough, TFA doesn't mention caller id at all, but I'd hope that something slightly more secure is actually implemented.
I only mod funny =D
What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
Vancouver, Canada, does not understand the purpose of Parking Meters.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
Yes, fuck the parking meters, but don't blow them up. Why shouldn't they tax the lazy? I mean they tax the stupid with lottery tickets and the self indulgent with cigarettes.
No one is forcing you to park at the meters. Blowing them up is way out of line when you can park a few blocks away and walk for free... or better still not drive a car at all. Maybe the extra exercise will help you work through your "anger issues" or at least give you time and oxygen to better understand your priorities.
How much of a revolutionary would Bobby Sands have been if he had spent his days rotting in the hole for blowing up parking meters? I am not an advocate of any violence, but would anyone have voted him into Parliament?
You have to pick the right battles and parking meters are not worth it. In fact if you are stupid enough to do something like blowing up a parking meter you deserve what's coming to you. You are not safe for the gene pool.
This makes me kind of wish for a parking meter with a swipe-slot for an ATM/debit card, much like almost every gas pump has now. I'd rather feed the meter before I walk away from it, and like many, I usually don't have much change on me anymore.
Never look down your nose at others. Someday, someone is bound to see your boogers.
Using a pre-paid card (like the New York City metro-card) instead?
or just outfit card readers with good ol' credit card readers?
Using your cell phone to call in to a third party who then takes car of validating the call and charging you and making sure the meter is happy just sounds a bit complicated, given there are already things in place to provide cash-less payment options. Hell, my college vending machine accepted credit cards...
If you set a 2-hr time limit, and your meters are on for 12 hours, you could easily run up $1.50 in revenue or more per day per meter. In some areas, you're talking about $2/day per meter -- overlap time gets billed to two people
The system itself would be pretty cheap, and is very scalable -- adding new towns would be very simple. I'd also imagine that the municipality is bearing most of the cost of installing new meter equipment as necessary -- after all, they are saving money on enforcement. Who knows if they are also paying the company providing the service.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
in vienna and some other cities in austria, they introduced a similar service in 2003 based on sms. it's very useful and sends reminder sms 10 minutes before a needed extension.
german site (google translation)
In The Netherlands, you call and enter the code when you park, then when you leave, you call again. You only pay for the time you actually parked. If you forget to unregister your car, you get unregistered automatically at midnight.
Of course there is a fee for each call. There is also a small yearly subscription fee for this service (in addition to the per call fee).
The alternative is to buy a ticket from a parking machine in advance, usually overestimating the amount of time you need.
Compared to the actual costs of parking downtown in the major cities, the fees are insignificant. And you don't waste money on buying parking time in advance and then not using all of it.
Ha! yeah i take my moto, too! thats funny - i do the same thing. you have to watch out though - i was doing it in the same neighbourhood, on the same bike for like 2 years and this particular cop (not a meter maid, an actual cop) REALLY got it in for me. :)
i swear, im not making it up! i guess being a chick on a red F4i on Park Ave every day is kinda asking for it.
so. he took to waiting for me in front of my bike, i guess waiting to nab me, rather than keep writing tickets to the vin (which they will do, but it doesn't actually work, as in you won't get the ticket in the mail, and there wont be any record of it)
then, when THAT didnt work (i would just wait him out in the office, always plenty to do w. an extra coupla hours!) he called Emergency Services Unit, and they cut my Forgetaboutit crypto, and took my bike. They did this "under suspicion of criminal activity" which meant i had to go through the DA to get it out of the crime lot. Took about 4 months. Fortunately for me, when this happened I had assumed the bike stolen and bought a new one
God how i hate them! wiggums one and all!!!!
Contemplate the marvel that is existence, and rejoice that you are able to do so.
$110 is the Midtown Manhattan fee. They vary by neighbourhood, the $65 ticket you got was probably in Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx.
Contemplate the marvel that is existence, and rejoice that you are able to do so.
I'll be sure to tell President Harper that you disapprove of his foreign policy.
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
There aren't a lot of elegant technological implementations these days, but this seems extremely simple. If they were to require a credit card entry every time you called, this technology would have been a waste of both the consumer's and the invetor's time.
On the other hand, there is a huge problem with this (at least in the US). The technology to spoof caller id is widespread (and AFAIK - IANAL - caller id spoofing is legal in the US). If they are depending on the same caller id implementation we here in the US have, I can foresee fraudulent caller id spoofing to offload the fess to innocent phone-owners.
"If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates." - Jay Leno
i'm paying 30 cents for a conveince fee i'll just walk thx
Pfft, "new system". Three letters man: I R C
One server. A channel for each story. Sheesh, top trying to reinvent the wheel.
This sig rocks the casbah.
Richmond, VA provides this service on many meters. I've never used it, but I couldn't help but notice 'em last time I was walking around downtown.
-Waldo Jaquith
Auckland City in New Zealand (!!) has been doing this for a fair while now. Given that I'll be amazed if it's not already all over the world. Heck, when I was in France I was able to hire a bicycle with an SMS.
That's not to say it's uninteresting or not useful (rather the opposite); rather it's just old news.
Now they will know that you have change.
I hope they don't take Visa for that 30 cents
..This system has been working in Dublin, Ireland for a year or so now.
What if I spoof my caller ID, which is relatively easy to do? Will I be able to charge all my parking fees to my coworker's/neighbor's/friend's/stranger's phone bill? Unless they have cameras at each parking meter recording the license plate numbers of cars parked there, how will they track me down before the victim receives their cell phone bill for the month?
Also, can I do a "chargeback"? What if I charge up my phone bill with parking fees, and dispute the charges at the end of the month?
As a Vancouver resident, I'd rather a system like Hong Kong, the Octopus Card. Works for transit, parking meters, even buying things in most stores. One card, money everywhere, very convinient. I don't see this as a major step forward.
West Village, Hudson Street across from Jane. Depends on the violation. Anywhere in Manhattan below 96 St has the higher rates, but the difference is not that large.
Anyhoo, here's a schedule of fines for NYC parking violations.
Of note, the "meter-feeding" violation is $65.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Here's the link, oops.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
So does that mean that hacking a parking meter will net you a few years on a Georgia chain gang (or a SCSI Daisy Chain gang?) with Dragline, Coco, and Babalugats?
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
You can't really get the full effect without seeing a picture of the guy.
i nderman1.jpg/ anglegrinderman.jpg
http://www.escapist.net/receptacle/images/anglegr
http://meisterplanet.com/images/wordpress-entries
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
At first I thought, "Whats the point?"... Replacing change with cell-phone calls doesn't make sense. But the idea of sending an expiration notice when time runs out, and being able to pay while being away from the meter by cell phone, is brilliant. A system like this would probably save me money even with the 30cent fee, because I always overpay parking meters to give me a little extra leeway in case I am running late.
It's not (normally) that someone is too lazy to get up and walk over to the soda fountain to refill their own drink!
The reason a lot of customers come in and order a larger drink, despite "free refills" is because they want to take a decent amount of soda with them when they leave. If you only order a small drink, sure - you can refill it as much as you like while you're in the restaurant... but many people want to take the cup with them in the car and drink some of it after they get back to work or whatever.
Sweet!
Now one just has to find a phone no. of someone who has used the service, and make a spoofed-caller-ID call using that phone no. to add time to any meter they want!
Free parking, anyone?
We have had TXT-a-Park for a while here in NZ - http://www.vodafone.co.nz/promos/txt-a-park/txt_a_ park.jsp?item=txt_a_park
They charge a 50c transaction fee which is pretty steep, especially when you are only paying $3.50 for the actual parking. Having the system txt you when your parking is almost up and email receipts is a great idea which I wish they would implement here.
[Please type your sig here.]
http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/municipal_engi neering/parking_services/index.asp
I find it foolish to commence financial operations using a system with the possibility of semi-legal cheating.
Information wants a fueled airplane waiting at the hangar and no one gets hurt.
Zagreb, Croatia has got SMS parking from september 2001. and in 2002. system was installed in most of the cities in Croatia
Therefore, that is not-so-new news for us.
Want to know more? http://www.rao.hr/
N
Doing a good job is like spilling coffee on a dark suit, you feel warm all over, but nobody notices.
Seeing as how parking tickets are a major revenue source for many cities, I don't know how widespread this will be in the US.
It's a good question. Recently, Seattle City Council tried to sneak in evening parking rates for automatic pay meters for parking and was pounced upon by most citizens.
Still, two years is an awfully long time. I wonder how he keeps the battery from going dead.
Maybe it's got one of those solar cell rooftop chargers? You'd think they'd tow him given how much grime must cover the car by now, though.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
In many US cities, it is illegal to re-fill a parking meter. That would seem to limit the appeal of this feature.
Sorry guys but we have been using a similar system here in Budapest for two years. Maybe if you didn't spend so much time playing at being the world's policeman you wouldn't have to play catch up so often.
Since when is Canada the world's policemen?
Hey, there is only one Return and it's not of the King, it's of the Jedi.
This seems kind of moot, because it doesn't necessarily solve the problem. I've gotten a couple tickets for overtime parking -- feeding the meter after the time limit. Basically, if a meter says it's only a two hour meter, you have to actually move your car in two hours. Now if a company could do that for you via SMS, that'd be really terrifying.
Not true. White Rock (another city near Vancouver) removed all their parking meters last year in exchange for a centralized system that you can phone and make your payment over the phone.
I hand them cash. Sometimes they give me trouble, 100% of the time I win.
mobile parking in europe
http://m-parking.emt.ee/index.phtml?nt=4
http://m-parking.emt.ee/
I knew Stargate was filmed in Vancouver, I didn't know if Babylon 5 was though.
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
No one is claiming the fees are convenient; it's the service that provides convenience for a certain fee. Some companies are a little...optimistic in their claim that their fees are convenience fees, but this doesn't seem like one of them. Refilling a parking meter from half a mile away *is* pretty damn convenient.
It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
Edinburgh,Scotland has had this for over a year now (as have other places in the UK), welcome to 2005 America!
[The Universe] has gone offline.
I realize that I'm Johnny-come-lately, but IIRC putting more quarters in a meter that is not expired, and whos time limit you haven't exceeded is OK. But if it has expired, or you have stayed longer than the limit you are guilty and are supposed to turn yourself in or somesuch.
t ml, where puting coins into expired meters is judged to be obstructing police enforcement. /rolleyes
That's why you get cases like http://www.cincypost.com/news/1998/meters020998.h
I...I'm attacking the darkness!
See, the text message we use requires upwards of 20 characters: identify the town countil (4) (space - 1) vehicle number (7) (space - 1) duration (4) then send it to the service center (5 digit short code). Machines and humans being what they are, any mistake will land you a RM150 fine for a RM0.60 parking fee. Oh, and there's a RM0.20 'convenience fee' too. Personally, I don't use it - I think there are easier (read: single-click) ways to solve this problem.
What about where they have this on campuses, where you get to a spot, phone the #, and then walk to your class. Instead of running between lectures (about 10 minutes) back to the car and plugging the meter again, you can just make a quick phone call. Not sure when you're done? Phoning back will refund any unused time, so you only get billed what you use.
I'd say it's convienent in summer, not lazy. This goes double in winter when it's -40C.
But I'm sure you'd just say, "don't like frostbite? You must be lazy." Don't confuse ease of use with laziness (much like cheap and thrifty aren't the same).
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
"2. Same thing with cigarette tax: Presumably they want to discourage smoking - but if they wanted to do that they could place a huge tax on cigarettes, maybe $50 per pack or something. The trouble with that, is that everyone would quit smoking if they had to pay $50+ a pack. So they make the cigarette tax as high as possible without actually discouraging smoking, to maximize profits."
No, I'm pretty sure they'd just bootleg cigarettes the same way they do in when municipalities take cig taxes above 10$ is some provinces. Remember: once you push things too far, you merely build up illegal activity. The mafia got started bootlegging liquor in the US during prohibition.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
All campus meters are auto-pay via CC from phone caller ID.
If you park there (even an the max 2 hour ones), they'll txt you back when you're just about out of time, so you can plug it with more time. When you're done, it'll refund the difference of your current chunk of time. You pay for exactly what you use, which I think is pretty fair.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
This makes it too easy to keep in compliance with the law (reminders, ability to reload meter remotely) and would reduce the number of summonses issued for expired meters. While I don't have data to prove it, I'm convinced that NYC makes more money from the fines than from the actual meter charges. The fact that the Parking Violations Bureau is part of the NYC Department of Finance and not the Department of Motor Vehicles says something, no? The only sub-$100 parking ticket I've gotten in the past 5 years was for a crooked license plate (yes, you read that right, a crooked license plate!), and that one was $65.
of parking meters was so you can only hog a space for eg 2hrs at a time. now, its just for $ I guess
We've had them in the downtown and broadway area for months now.
1) Cellphone minutes over here are not "free" (as in beer, but do not get me started on THAT! ;-) ) in the US sense -- a normal plan would give you like 120 minutes/month -- but they'd be helpful enough to text you a message that you are 75%/100% close to your limit.
/. ... ;-)
2) In Canada, the smallest bill is $5; rest are coins, loonies and toonies, rather heavy and unpleasant to haul around in your pocket... And it is like $1 CDN for half an hour of parking...
I guess I should be signing up for this service rather than chattin on
Paul B.
The purpose of parking meters is to enable shoppers to find parking spaces downtown. Without meters, a shopkeeper would find the spaces near his business monopolized during business hours by people who aren't buying from him. It's not uncommon to see signs that read, "2 hour parking only, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m." regardless of whether you've fed and re-fed the 2-hour meter. The whole point of 2-hour meter maximums is to increase car turnover; otherwise, the meters would have an "all day" rate just like private parking lots do.
If the owners of the parking meters don't cooperate, this cell phone gizmo won't be able to talk to the meters. End of business plan.
Fewer pockets full of change, fewer parking tickets, seems like a step forward.
Croatia have that "feature" for years! In almost all towns in Croatia you can pay your parking with cell phone.
Vlatko Kosturjak - Kost
...many places you can swipe your credit card when you leave your car, and swipe it again when you come back. Very convenient. Alternatively, you can pay with coins.
That's the JOKE in "in soviet russia" jokes. Why is there no manual for them?
:)
Oh, here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_reversal
By omitting the "in the US" part, the reader, who knows the Russian reversal implication (which I would assume every Slashdotter by now does), does that part (just like you did).
BUT YOU DON'T SAY IT!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
While everyone is whining about how unfair the system is because people will simply park all day, I would be more concerned about theft of service than anything else. Why not get even with the rich "jerks" parking all day and simply bill your parking to them?
I think the greater concern about such a service is the authentication scheme. What about the services and simple technology that allow you to forge your Caller ID? Simply identify someone with the service and you have instant free parking. Now some Caller ID forging services are expensive, but I can think of a TRIVIAL and hugely inexpensive way to achieve the same effect at almost no cost. While tremendously convenient it is grossly inadequate to authenticate via Caller ID alone. I would be willing to wager that scamming, forgery, and stolen services quickly escalate because while previously confined to private parking lots, the service is now city wide with heavy usage.
http://www.abc.net.au/goldcoast/stories/s1340441.h tm
Check out this article on meter maids.
We had this in south west Germany for a few years now. There's no "convenience fee", instead we get even better rates (since we pay per second, not by whatever-the-smallest-coin-is). It is quite nice indeed.
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