Everyone of us has probably overstayed our welcome at a parking meter at one time or another. For 60 communities in France it’s not so easy to get away with anymore. That’s because these 60 municipalities have all installed smart parking meters developed by engineering company Technolia. The meters register the mass of a vehicle using magnetic waves and relate the detection to the amount of time on the meter. In France that usually equates to the 20 minute maximum employed to increase vehicle turnover, ultimately keeping small business owners happy. If after 20 minutes the smart meter still detects the vehicle, it waits a further 15 minutes and then contacts the police through a direct connection. Technolia says that cops have an 80 percent chance of finding the car 12 to 18 minutes after the time’s up.
Ticketed drivers receive an SMS message notifying them of the parking infraction. Technolia hopes that one day drivers will be able to pay their parking tickets directly from their mobile phone. Maybe that will help fix France’s 75 percent delinquent parking ticket payment rate.
Many connected GPS devices help you find open parking spots these days. Take for instance the Dreevo2 I mentioned yesterday. There are also a variety of online services such as San Francisco’s Streetline and GottaPark, and New York City’s Primospot, that steer you toward open parking spots in those cities. Hopefully one day, should smart meters over take American cities, these parking applications will be able to steer us away from these parking spots.
