Could the mobile phone be the 'holy grail' in the search for a universal cashless parking system? Time for a change to cashless parking

摘要

Almost everyone in Britain has, it seems, a mobile phone. Besides keeping people connected by voice and text, 3G cellphones now come with cameras and email, along with a host of other functions promised by network operators. Mobile phones can also be used as cashless payment devices, and over the past couple of years have emerged as a vehicle by which street parking can be paid. Systems have already introduced in Edinburgh and Putney, with one due to be launched in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets early next year. In effect, mobile phone parking systems can be regarded as account-based parking. Instead of using credit cards on-street, drivers allow parking operators to bill parking transactions initiated by phone from an account. Mobile phone parking or m-parking can work with existing payment stations - the mPark system in Edinburgh makes use of pay-and-display machines. However, the mobile phone also offers a real opportunity to dispense with on-street meters.