The Future of Transportation: The Parking Meter Is a Double-Edged Sword

I have both good and bad news for folks who own cars and occasionally have to park them in urban areas.

First the good news:  Almost 20% of the gasoline consumed in urban driving is eaten up by people looking for parking spaces, and the parking meters of tomorrow will be able to tell your smart phone when those spaces are available, virtually eliminating this horrific waste of resources and contribution to the overall levels of pollution, to say nothing of the aggravation associated with this activity.

The bad news?  A friend of mine in the venture capital community told me the other day that one of his projects is the development of parking meters that automatically write tickets upon the expiration of time; i.e., you’ll get a ticket if you’re a nanosecond late to pick up your car.  I refrained from comment; as my second grade teacher used to say, “If you can’t say something nice (and I couldn’t), don’t say anything at all.”