Video: Paybox Clocks Still Slow
Yeah, that’s right.
The clocks on the new Cale parking meter pay boxes are still not keeping the correct time.
We chronicled last week in the Mystery of the Missing Meter Minutes.
Our friend Ryan sent us the video he took of the digital readout of one of these Pay & Display units turning over to the next minute.
Listen very carefully and you can hear the official time from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) telephone time service. The NIST operates our nation’s atomic clock.
“I have the time from the NIST telephone time service playing in the
background,” said Ryan via e-mail regarding his video. “I’ve noticed a maximum error of plus or minus 750 milliseconds when I compare the telephone service to the shortwave broadcast every so often.”
Remember, despite the current meter clock inaccuracies, Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, has added two extra minutes to your parking receipt to make sure you don’t get an expired meter ticket.
Great stuff Ryan! We really appreciate it.
If you have any funny or interesting photos or videos, send them our way to: tips@theexpiredmeter.com
What I want to see is a side by side video of the time on a pay box and the time on a ticket writing device….
is the NIST clock saying it’s 55 minutes past the hour (’18 hours 55 minutes coordinated universal time’) ? the computer voice is somewhat unintelligible.
I understood the audio just fine. As I mentioned previously, in my neighborhood, freshly installed pay boxes came out of the crate the minute slow. Also, in my spot check, I donated one solid quarter to Morgan Stanley to check for the 2 free minutes. You get only one.
So what I’m trying to understand is how are we being ripped off? If I buy a reciept at 1:54, as the clock says, I should get my 15 minutes per quarter, so it would expire at 2:09, 15 minutes later, right?
Or am I missing the point? What’s the problem?
Also, I did get an extra 2 free minutes the other day when I payed at a paybox…However, Garcia’s Mexican Cuisine was being renovated, so I didn’t park, and was able to pass the reciept on to another lady with a toddler.
Hooray!
-John Adams
>I understood the audio just fine.
so what did it say ? I’m not accusing you of anything, I just want to know what it said.
John Adams-
The issue (before the free 2 minutes) was that the meter clocks were slow 1-2 minutes. However, the computers used for writing tickets are presumably accurate.
This means there could be a gap between your receipt time and the ticket writer’s time where you could receive a violation.
Admittedly, this is a small window of time, but how many people have been ticket a minute or two after your meter expired?
The 1-2 minutes behind essentially gives the city a 1-2 minute head start on issuing you a ticket.
The audio is …tone 18 hours 55 minutes coordinated universal time”
Parking Ticket Geek,
Ok, Duh, I get it now, my receipt says time expires at 2:15, I payed for a full fifteen minutes, but the ticket writer’s clock says it’s 2:17, so he writes me a ticket based on that receipt time.
I don’t know why that was so hard for me to grasp, it’s not rocket surgery.
Thanks!
Don’t worry Mr. Adams.
When I first heard about the problem, it totally escaped me and I thought no big deal. But, after I slept on it, you could see potential issues from this problem.
Some people think the clocks (CPM vs. City) need to be exactly perfect. I would agree, but would be willing to accept off by a few seconds.
And…the chances you would be ticketed at the very second your receipt expired are relatively low. But, it’s happened to me twice–one time just a few months ago.
you guys have nothing better to do but complain… lets see would i pay a couple of bucks to park… no im not going to pay ill rather get a $50 dollar ticket…. god…
why don’t you have the ticket writers fix there watches…
kubukabas…
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