Smart Meters

I have been trying to work a lot away from my home office (at coffee shops, etc.) but a number of factors always play into that decision. One of which is parking meters. I hate to feed a meter and set up "camp" and realize that I would like to spend more time at the coffee shop then my meter is payed up for. I don't want to pack up all of my belongings to run out and pay the meter. This is where my idea comes from.

Smart Meters would allow you pay your meter with a credit card online. I imagined that something like this would be in place and I found that currently, Baltimore is replacing old meters with meters that accept credit cards and Los Angeles wants to expand on this. The LA proposed meters would not only accept credit cards but it would send you a text message when you meter is about to expire and you could pay for additional time by responding to the text. (Apparently, these are popular in European cities).

I would like to expand on this in two ways.

1. A city could have a site devoted to the monitoring of the meters. It could be accessed by individuals would could check the time left on their meters and add more time. This is similar to the idea proposed in LA but it allows you to check it yourself rather than wait for a text message.

2. The site could also be managed by city workers and meter maids. They could identify expired meters and go directly to the expired cars rather walking a "beat" waiting to find expired meters. This would also require a system similar to that you find in BWI's parking garage; sensors. The meters would identify spaces that are occupied and expired and meter maids could go directly to the space.

Not a blogger

I am not drawn to blogging. I guess I never really know what to write. I often write and then delete because I think...."who really wants to read this crap."

Oh well....I hope this class brings out the blogger in me.