Toadfish Monastery

Thank goodness for friends who read other newspapers ! 

I've just been alerted to a new infringement on our liberty and right to privacy, along with a scandalous attack on the already waning ability of the elderly/disabled to survive in society.

HERE.

As it's a move towards the cashless society, I suspect nothing will stop this system from being extended across the UK and it freaks me out.

What if one doesn't have a cell phone?



If I hadn't been given one by work, I still wouldn't have one (been there, did that, didn't much like the bills).  Having a cell is a choice.  Is it now mandatory to have one over there if one drives and parks?


We just got a similar system here which allows cell payment, but also provides for manual payment at terminals located on each block.

It does seem mandatory to have a cell phone to drive and park (at last if one uses station car parks - presumably for all those calls to say "I'm on the train", or in the borough of Westminster - possibly for all the calls to say "I've just parked in the most expensive borough for parking in the UK").

Seems one of the main driving (sic) forces is to elimiate the dangers of having cash around inciting attacks on pay stations.

I am currently refining my new blood system whereby fingerprick collection will allow me to pay for anything anywhere anytime.

I notice one commenter blamed it on 'the Americans'.

They seem to not realize how much we in the U.S. LOATHE our cell providers, as well as parking companies.

I've not heard of this here...and with the hatred our citizens have for putting any info on file anywhere, I doubt it'll happen soon.

Besides, our companies would much rather cheat us in BIG ways like stealing elections...

Ok, I'm a techie and it honestly seems extremely complicated and poorly designed even for cellphone use.

Perhaps we can nominate them for the worst technology implementation of the year?

And what it doesn't say explicitly, is that 0870 numbers are premium rate.

So yes, but it should win a fleecing prize too.

my word
fleecing it is
here in the USA even the debit/credit card swiping meters are still unheard of in many, many areas-- I have seen photos of them but have not encountered one yet.

I say that when the lorries revolt against high fuel prices the 'elderly' should simply park where they are and step out of the vehicle and begin texting random numbers to the parking patrol (yes I know it is a premium number) causing its computer to crash.

of course they would probably find a way to call that terrorism

There's another factor in play here: it effectively blocks more than one vulnerable sector of the population from *getting to* a job (or anywhere else, for that matter).

I vol'd at a domestic abuse shelter where old cellphones could be donated by those upgrading; they were reprogrammed to dial only 911 and given to particularly at-risk clients. Not only did this eliminate hassles with setting up billing accounts for people with no fixed address in transition, it side-stepped credit hassles for those who had never had credit in their own name, or whose credit as a result of the defunct marriage would not have survived a 'background check' for a conventional cellphone.

Setting up a 'scheme' (that word has comedy inflections in US English) whereby a cellphone attached to a bank account is required to park a car would pose problems even for some who *have* mobiles.

It's just another way to exacerbate socio-economic differences, isn't it?

After reading that article, a very different number kept flashing in my head.

               1984


Why is that, I wonder.... 

Beautiful sight... today I had to use one of those machines (or not) with my phone. Clumsy, impractical but more importantly, I had to pay an extra 'convenience fee' which even charged me for the text message they send when the time was up!

Bloody b#$%^rds!!!!

(Oh, and I got a parking ticket afterwards.... it was my fault, though  )

Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on May 28, 2008, 01:49:31 AM
I had to pay an extra 'convenience fee' which even charged me for the text message they send when the time was up!

Bloody b#$%^rds!!!!

(Oh, and I got a parking ticket afterwards.... it was my fault, though  )

No it is not your fault. Long long ago car park charging hit an advanced state of intelligence whereby one pays on exit according to how long one has stayed.

This is a step back into the dark ages.

What makes it even worse is the monopoly on station car parks. As if British Rail* ever ran on time.

* aka British Rail - we now have gazillions of privatised companies - but it adds up to the same.