@vfrmedia @TimWardCam the fact that an app is needed to park a car is really fucking annoying. I hate it. What do people do if they don't have free space on their phone for another app ?
Esp when the apps are all just a website wrapper anyway.
@quixoticgeek @vfrmedia Ah, there's an answer to that - an app which is supposed to work for all local authority parking across the country.
@TimWardCam @vfrmedia I'm in my 6th country in 2 weeks...
@TimWardCam @quixoticgeek @vfrmedia
And slightly after SOON 10 of them have been relegated to legacy use in forgotten infrastructure and the other 5 have grown into bloated monsters as more and more use case ae included.
I was on the C++ ANSI standards committee before the 1st release. Please don’t ask me about Bjarne Stroustrup lest I fill the bandwidth of this instance with lovecraftian tales of opportunities lost.
Aug 23, 2026, 3:55 PM@SpeakerToManagers @TimWardCam @quixoticgeek
what Suffolk does seem to have is a common protocol for site codes and data exchange which is usable by a number of competing parking app providers - who all take a few pence as a cut for their profits and/or use the details they get on your car to do DVLA and SMMT data scans and then recommend garage services..
@quixoticgeek @vfrmedia @TimWardCam A place where I often park is under a shopping centre and has dreadful mobile reception. So you have to park your car and walk outside before you can pay. And you have to hope that you don't get sniped by a warden in the meantime.
@DJDarren @quixoticgeek @vfrmedia I know a National Trust car park whose notice tells you that mobile reception is bad and suggests you climb the little embankment behind the toilets (or somesuch).
@DJDarren @vfrmedia @TimWardCam there was a case in the UK where people were being fined based on anpr cos they didn't pay within 5 minutes, but it required a walk to get to somewhere with phone signal. It was like the car park itself was a scam.
@quixoticgeek @vfrmedia @TimWardCam
Apps seem to be optional in the car parks around Colchester. Every where I park has a contactless option.