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Cellular dreams and wireless parking.
By susan | September 1, 2008
In the long time since I last posted, I had started a couple of drafts with the following titles:
1. I have a (cellular) dream.
2. Wireless parking on the streets of San Francisco.
It seems I was excited by both at the time, but I forgot what I wanted to say. The first was intended to include a list of what I wish to see from cellular providers, but most of that is common sense (with more freedom for customers as the general theme). Billing transparency and the ability to see how a phone works before you buy it, could be a good start. I shall expect neither in my lifetime, and perhaps one day I will be pleasantly surprised.
I was most pleasantly surprised by the second story — regarding the streets of San Francisco. They had developed a way to wirelessly track available parking spaces and to send that information to those who most needed it: people driving around looking for parking! What a concept. Or as I wrote in that first draft:
I am amazed and delighted when someone delivers a solution that sounds as good for individuals as it is for the community — and for business.
Perhaps there was little else to say. I was rendered nearly speechless by that story.
As a frequent pedestrian in Manhattan, I could be equipped with a cellphone with GPS and a simple “parking” button. As I pass by a legal parking space that is unoccupied, I could push the button. That signal would be transmitted to drivers in the vicinity looking for parking. I wonder if those drivers would be willing to pay for the service? And if my participation would be deducted from my bill.
Of course, there should also be a way for drivers pulling into that space to send a signal saying “I got it” — indicating to other drivers that it is now taken.
Right. That would never work. (And over at Engadget, where they were covering the story in more timely fashion, it seems they had some of the same concerns.)
Kudos to San Francisco, because New York hasn’t figured it out yet. But I do love the idea of combining the best of wireless technology with solutions that help people — and save on exhaust fumes.
Topics: customer experience |