A novel new way to fill the parking meter

The issue of parking infringements and whether or not such a practice is motivated by morals or money is a heated one that is not likely to flitter away into obscurity at the back of people's minds. The number of cars on Australian roads increases exponentially each year and the sheer amounts of revenue local councils make from parking fines is staggering.

But rather boring you with the particulars, how about we talk about a new method being proposed that would make it a lot harder for drivers to be 'chalked'?

As far as we're concerned, we already pay through the nose just to drive our cars and motorbikes. Fines for parking in spots designated by councils are a pain, but they're also a part of society today. A new plan recently announced, however, would make it much harder for vehicle owners to be pinged with parking fines - or at the very least, they would know before hand that time is running out.

Here's the deal - the plan is to install electronic parking meters that will be equipped with mobile telephony. The reason for this is two-fold. One - those without change can simply punch in a number, then the PIN on the meter and for whatever amount of time is allowed/wanted, the cost is added to the phone bill. Two - users will get an SMS text message ten minutes before the time on the meter runs out, giving the user ample (ish) time to either move the car or dial in some more funds.

The idea sounds good and, if workable, would probably reduce the malicious amounts of money the public hands over to councils for parking infringements. The company behind the idea is Telstra, and rumour has it that a test is already under way in one Australian city.

If the rumours are to be believed, then Melbourne's electronic green meters, predominantly located in the central business district, will be the guinea pigs.

The idea sounds good, and if workable would probably even put a few 'grey-ghosts' out of work. But more interestingly, if such a wireless transaction is easy, secure and reliable, it would have many other uses, making the humble mobile phone an integral part of daily life - if not already.

What if we could pay other tarrifs, like road tolls, via our mobile phones? It would probably promote those who don't use such roads to reconsider. Either way, the new initiative sounds fundamentally sound and would probably save many motorists the hassle of having a few minutes turned into a few hundred dollars.

Related links:
Finland with similar idea
Telstra