IH02-ErinPalermo
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Parking Meter Informant
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[edit] Problem Description
Parking in Berkeley is a constant struggle. There is a very limited amount of available space, and more often than not, those spaces are controlled by meters. It is difficult to know when exactly your meter expires unless you are keeping constant watch on the time. Parking officials in Berkeley are not forgiving when it comes to meter violations, so I set out to develop a way that users can be informed when their meter is about to expire. This way, users can continue with their regular daily activities, and not have to remember to keep an eye on their watch. Further, a device that alerts the City of Berkeley when a meter is out of order would be helpful, so that the city may fix the meter in a more efficient manner. I constantly see meters with plastic bags thrown over them, by users trying to alert other users that the meter is out of order. But the city doesn’t become aware of this failure until the parking enforcer comes around, which means loss of parking spaces in the interim, as well as loss of revenue for the city. A technical solution could alleviate these problems, creating greater satisfaction for users, as well as a more efficient parking program.
[edit] Target User Group
The target user group for the meter informant is characterized by those who drive in Berkeley. These users are a wide variety of people: students, professors, visitors, local employees, and others. The age range of the users is 16 to 80 years old. The lower bound was set according to the minimum age required to drive a car, while the upper bound was set according to a typical age at which people stop driving. More specifically, we target those who not only drive, but those that use metered parking, rather than those who have specified spots in a parking garage.
[edit] Problem Context and Forces
The meter informant will tackle two problems: informing users of expiring meters and informing the city of broken meters. Addressing the first problem, the fundamental issue is that users are generally in a rush. People park their cars, hurry to their destination, and then complete their desired activity before returning to their car, all the while they are watching the clock to keep aware of how much time they have remaining. But this makes their activity less efficient. Because they are preoccupied with keeping the meter at the forefront of their minds, they are not able to focus as intently on their current task. They experience a trade-off: pay attention to the meter and be less focused, or focus entirely on their current task and forget about the meter, running the risk of receiving a parking ticket. With fines of $40 for a meter violation in Berkeley, the user is inclined to choose option number one. But with a meter informant, the user could forget about the meter until the informant alarm goes off, allowing more focus and productivity for the user. Addressing the second problem, the city is in need of an efficient method of informing when meters break down. Currently, determining needed meter maintenance is up to the parking officials who police the meters. However, these officials are not at the meters at all times, as they cover a large area. In order to keep the meters operating, the sooner the city learns of a broken meter, the sooner the meter can be fixed. When a meter is broken, the spot is considered void, preventing its use. This creates a bottleneck in the parking process. The city’s goal is enabling the most amount of parking at all times. When a spot is out of order, it is inefficient. The meter informant will adequately address both of these problems.
[edit] Device Description
The meter informant will be a simple device that docks in the meter until the meter is in use. The informant will be about the size of a small box of matches, equipped with a belt clip on the back. The user can clip the informant onto their belt or pants, or they could place it into their pockets. Having the informant on their bodies is useful because at 10 minutes before the meter expires, the informant will beep and vibrate. The user will experience both audio and physical cues, alerting them to the pending meter expiration. The informant will go off at 10 minutes before expiration and 2 minutes before expiration. The user accesses the meter informant in a similar fashion to the keys of amusement park lockers. When the user puts money into the meter, the informant registers how much time is on the meter, and the user turns the knob to deposit the coins and start the meter. When the knob is turned, the meter informant will be released, and the user can place it on their belt or in their pocket. When the user returns to their car, they need to simply replace the informant on the parking meter. Its use is very simple, requiring no programming on behalf of the user, they must simply take the informant with them when they leave their car, and return it when they come back. When the informant is attached to the meter, if the meter is broken, the informant will send a signal to the Berkeley Parking and Transportation Office, where they will receive it, and dispatch a serviceman.
[edit] Device Sketches
The meter informant’s design, front and back.
The meter informant’s placement
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Step 1: Insert money until desired time is reached. Step 2: Turn knob, inserting money, releasing device. Step 3: Take device out of meter.
[edit] Related
A related project, from Portland, Oregon, is found here: http://www.govtech.net/magazine/sup_story.php?id=99663&story_pg=1 This project focuses on enabling the parking meters with wi-fi, to alert the city when the meter is full or out of order.
