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It seems parking meters are on your minds lately because they are getting more high tech as each day passes. We were anxiously awaiting more details about how your phone and a parking meter were going to interact, and well, we just found out today.
If you've got $15, a City of Chicago pilot program will sell you a battery operated device that will take the place of your quarters or that little slip of paper you get from the latest solar parking meters. Once activated and placed under your windshield, you make a quick call to a designated number where you tell it the zone on your parking meter, and how long you'll be parking. Moments later, using the Sky-Tel network, the display on the device shows how much time you have left and you can jaunt away to shop, work, or play for up to the next two hours.
Can't get back to your car? No problem, give the system another phone call and you can "refill the meter" up to the two hour maximum remotely. The initial $15 cost will be credited to your account, which according to ParkMagic U.S.A., the manufacturer of the device, can be refilled online or by phone. Sales are set to begin later this month, but we've heard City Hall will be initially selling 1000 of them. We'll keep you in the loop (pun intended) on the official start date of the sale.
Image courtesy of ParkMagic.net
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do you have to have it registered to a car? that would be great for igo.
ParkMagic, eh? How about magically hacking it so you drive the display with your own chip. You could get it to display any zone and expiration. Now *that* would be magical.
@Jocelyn - Not sure yet what the details are as far as registering to a car or an owner. I think it's similar to an I-Pass, which is registered to the owner.
I am afraid that people will see these in the windows and start stealing them.
What about when I pull up to a meter and there is still time on it?
If I pay for an hour, and leave in 50 minutes, am I going to get a refund?
I doubt it.
And the next person does not benefit from me leaving 10 minutes.
No thanks- keep a roll of quarters in your car.
Don't buy into this scam
But there is one way you might be able to scam the city on this.
If all of your parking is going to be in the same zone & you are going to several places within the maximum time allowed, it looks like you could pay just once & keep moving your car around that zone.
It has to be nice... at least the parking ticket will suck less, I got a parking ticket at U of I, stupid campus parking... even it's in Champaign, but it works almost the same like Chicago does!