Drivers in Berlin can now pay parking fees with their cell phones in a pilot project that may put an end to fumbling for spare change at roadside parking meters.When the year-long test run got under way on February 8, more than 1,100 cars used the service, called "Handy Parken" after the German words for "cell phone parking."
Although the test initially covers only the central districts of Mitte, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Tempelhof-Schoeneberg, the service is expected to be evaluated for the entire city of Berlin within a year. To use the service, drivers must first register their cars online or via text-message. After parking, drivers call a universal number on arriving and again on leaving the parking spot to complete the transaction.
Parking fees will then be added automatically to the driver's phone bill at the end of the month. The test run follows a similar pilot program launched in October, 2002, that allowed Berlin's subway passengers to buy tickets by sending a text message with their cell phone.
Under that system, passengers sent a code from their departure station to a telephone number, which in turn sent a text message back that acted as the passenger's ticket. (GIC)