Ian White coughed up some electrons that declared:


It isn't so much the meter charges as the severe penalties for
overstaying, which defeat the whole objective of casual browsing.

Exactly. Why, when I go to hospital or to a car park in Tunbridge Wells, do
I need to "guess" the correct time to the nearest hour that I'm staying
using a pay'n'display machine?

In either case, I have no idea much of the time, so usually end up over
paying. Pay-on-exit isn't exactly an unsolved problem. I don't care if it
costs the car park operator to put in exit barriers - it's them who's
making a profit.

The hospital could solve the problem more cheaply with pay'n'display in 5-6
hour increments - nobody wants to stay in hospital longer than necessary
and 5-6 hours would be enough to prevent abuse by commuters if there's a
station nearby...

Cheers

Tim