To all:
My Laser Mark's Company serializes thousands of things called a "Smart
Card". These look like credit cards and come imbedded with a computer chip.
These are used all over the world: inside cellular phones in England, as
normal phone cards in Malaysia, for playing pachinko in Japan, and for
parking and taking transit in Denmark.
The idea is that each family gets as many cards as they want. They cost
only $2-3.
Every time someone in the family parks downtown they can use the card to
pay for it. This is done in either parking meters or as they leave a
garage. Charges are automatically debited and the results available
instantly on a receipt or at the web site.
This means all residents can receive free parking for so many hours per
year downtown.
This means that business can have some free parking at one lot and a
nominal parking charge for employees using another lot. They can even
electronically validate their local customers cards
It also means parking rates can change during the day with, say, residents
getting unlimited free parking during the weekdays and a few hundred hours
of weekend and evening parking.
The nice feature is that is totally flexible. All parking can start out
free like now and then the rates and fee structures be developed based upon
real data about usage and demand. It is a lot cheaper than pouring concrete.
Also, once we get shuttles from North Los Gatos, local transit usage can
ADD value to a families smart car.
if you are daring read on.......
Hey, if we ever want to get really fancy we can use the more expensive
lithium niobiate chips and which can provide enough security to allow a
host of other vehicles to provide casual car pooling.
Casual car pooling is done today when commuters get into strangers cars to
rapidly ride across the Bay Bridge commuter lane. Image if you could feel
safe getting into any car with a special sticker and knew that your
whereabouts would always be known. The town could license any vehicle
which passed a safety inspection to pick up any resident with a smart card.
There are some issues with taxis and transit unions, however it does
remove congestion quickly and safely.
This technology is being talked about as a way to insure school children
are on the right school bus and did not leave the school grounds as well as
providing non stop payment at toll booths.
Please do not yell at me for bringing this up unless you have read "1984"
and seen "THX1138". This technology will not be coming from Big Brother,
but will soon be issued with incentives from the credit card folks. Like
fire it is dangerous but it can work for our benefit.
Mark
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