I JustWant to Validate! from Page 29


er when the ticket was dispensed. The exit clock or cashier terminal had its own clock as well. Most operators gave a small grace


of a few minutes to allow for the differ- ences between the various clocks.With today’s computer-driven systems con- nected to the Internet and synched with an atomic clock, the need for a Turn-


around grace has become less important. If the purpose of the grace is to simply permit the customer to turn around, a 1- or 2-minute gracemay be sufficient. A Continuous grace moves forward


with each rate increment up to themaxi- mum daily rate. If you offer a 5-minute grace and the rates are in 30-minute increments, then 16.7%of all tickets less


than the all-day maximum will be underrated by the value of the incre- ment. If these are 20-minute incre- ments, then the Continuous grace affects 25% of all tickets by the value of the rate increment. Central/POF terminals are pro-


grammed to permit the customer suffi- cient time to get from the payment sta- tion to their vehicle and then drive to the exit. If the ticket had an elapsed time of 59 minutes, it is unreasonable to expect the customer can get to their vehicle in 1minute and drive to the exit. To compensate for the dwell time, sys- tems typically provide a 15- to 20- minute Exit grace. However, what if I were at 1 hour


from


and 3 minutes and the next increment was at 2 hours? Or if I were at 5 hours and have now paid the all-day maxi- mum? What if I stopped to use the comfort room or to get a soda from the vendingmachine as I journeyed back to my vehicle? After all, I have already paid either


for 57 minutes of parking (up to the 2- hour rate) or the all-daymaximum. Not so, sincemany systemswill start charg- ing the customer again after the Exit grace has expired.


Woof! PT


See PTthree weeks early


at parkingtoday.com


30


JULY 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


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