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How do we pay for parking?

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Re: How do we pay for parking?

#231

Post by akaiser »

foresto wrote: post #196

This story makes me sad and a little angry. The bits that stand out for me are: - The requirement to have a smartphone and mobile data service. - The requirement to run untrusted code (granting whatever "permissions" it demands) on her personal device. I think it's important that necessities and other basic services (including parking) remain equally accessible to everyone, not locked away behind expensive, often bur…

Technically there is no requirement for a mobile app or data. Through PayByPhone you can pay for parking using SMS, by calling (IVR), a web app or mobile apps. But as the author points out, it's hard for the user to know about all the options. That's why I'm personally not a fan of cities that allow more than one vendor. How to advertise all of them on sign posts and stickers (sometimes given different location IDs that you need to use with each vendor) without overwhelming the user?

Note: I work at PBP

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#232

Post by klyrs »

clipsy wrote: post #225
GaggiX wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why do I want people to contact me while I'm out? I mean I would think you have a family and just to organize something you would need to communicate, even when you're outside. >a flip phone would work fine for that. Yes flip phones are indeed cell phones.

> I mean I would think you have a family and just to organize something you would need to communicate, even when you're outside. This seems to come as a shock to much of the HN crowd, but people did in fact manage to organize things before cell phones existed.

People even made plans to meet at a specific time and place before phones were invented. When they left their houses, nobody was able to deliver a letter to them. I'd say it went fine, but honestly, they're all dead now.

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#234

Post by amluto »

I think that, as a general principle, terms, conditions, privacy policies, and other contracts that part of something incidental to the primary purpose of a service, should be entirely void regardless of whether they are supposedly accepted.

Signing up for school or doing anything effectively required for school? Third-party terms should not be relevant.

Parking? If the parking lot itself has legal terms, okay (whether any such terms should be allowed is a different issue). But the app? No terms should be valid. If the app collects location data, it should be liable, full stop.

Eating at a restaurant? Toast’s terms should not matter.

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#235

Post by guy4242 »

I have to help my parents with something like this at least once a month. The last one was trying to find a traffic school for my dad to go to. There was no way he could ever figure it out, and even I had trouble with the horrible UI on the website. I decided a year ago not to move more than an hour away from them.

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#236

Post by mikeryan »

crote wrote: post #101
toddmorey wrote: post #58

Even worse, my Dad met us for brunch and overstayed his allotted time in one of these systems by 8 minutes. Would be ok if they billed him the same rate perhaps, but they "fined" him $80 for the "violation". All the while trying to look like the local police as much as possible. All these companies are scam artists.

The whole concept of "allotted time" is a scam anyways. Sure, it made sense with analog pre-paid parking meters, but it's complete nonsense when you are modernizing it like this. Billing the actual parking time down to the minute is pretty trivial, so having to reserve a specific time means they are intentionally trying to defraud you by either a) making you pay for time you won't use, or b) fining you for not reserv…

In downtown Santa Cruz the only way you can pay is by the minute via ParkMobile I believe.

I always forget to stop the timer when I get back to the car and pay the Max so I hate it. YMMV

Maybe it’s me but I prefer the allotted time. I only regret that when paying at a meter at least if I have excess someone else can use it.

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#237

Post by ciupicri »

WirelessGigabit wrote: post #220
asah wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Towing companies enjoy special privileges and presumed innocent, e.g. no penalties for "towing the wrong car."

It approaches qualified immunity. Consider an AWD BMW without badges. If it's a 3 series or above all you know is that it's either RWD or AWD. If they tow it by the rear wheels you blow up your transfer case. But try and prove that it was THAT action that blew it up.

The proper way to deal with this is to lift the car using a crane and put it on a platform like this https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seeligstadt-germany...

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#238

Post by anonymousiam »

Parking in Seattle sucks. The last time I was there (10 years ago), I got a parking citation left on my windshield. It said I was in violation of the no parking hours, which I was not (proven with photograph). I had to go to some shady private business to contest it, but was eventually successful.

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#239

Post by GaggiX »

clipsy wrote: post #225
GaggiX wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why do I want people to contact me while I'm out? I mean I would think you have a family and just to organize something you would need to communicate, even when you're outside. >a flip phone would work fine for that. Yes flip phones are indeed cell phones.

> I mean I would think you have a family and just to organize something you would need to communicate, even when you're outside. This seems to come as a shock to much of the HN crowd, but people did in fact manage to organize things before cell phones existed.

There was even a time when people used to get around without driving, and so they didn't have to worry about finding a parking space.

Re: How do we pay for parking?

#240

Post by seabass-labrax »

AshamedCaptain wrote: post #46
TheRealPomax wrote: post #2

But hey, it could be even worse . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG6KA6V4T7w

A 6 minute video weighting at about 150MiB for "explaining" what can be summarized in a couple sentences of text is another particular version of hell.

Half as Interesting could alternatively be titled Double as Long. Most of the extra length is taken up with in-jokes and the obligatory streaming service advertisement, but you could try the browser plugin 'SponsorBlock' to cut the length back down.
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