Why is it that people like putting quarters in slot machines, but they hate putting quarters in parking meters? I've given this a lot of thought because I live along the busiest street in a trendy night-lifey neighborhood that gets a lot of parking action on Friday night... and a lot of parking tickets at the unpaid meters on Saturday morning.
People will plan an entire vacation around going to Vegas and spending huge scads of money on the One-Armed Bandit, but they gripe and grouse when it comes to paying the meter. Both accept quarters. Both have digital displays. And all things considered, the parking meters are a much better wager, so why do we hate them so much?
Maybe it's because we all believe parking should be a free right.
Maybe it's because it's a pain to carry coins around.
But maybe, just maybe, it's because the parking meter is a sure bet. I know that when I put a quarter in, I'll get 20 minutes out. No question. No risk. No thrill. No pleasure. It's a boring certainty, and therefore dislikable.
Would people enjoy it more if there was some unpredictability to the meter? If sometimes, you put a quarter in and got 20 minutes, but other times you got 40 minutes, and sometimes you got nothing? And maybe if some bright flashing lights and jingly bells went off when you won big (60 MINUTES!!!!!! YOU'RE THE KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!!)
Would gamblers line the streets of my neighborhood, trying to hit the big jackpot? Would people who won more minutes than they really needed find an excuse to stay parked there longer, just to fully enjoy their winnings?
get redecorated to look more like these:
Would the whole parking paradigm be shifted?
How would it change your parking experience if the meter was a gamble?
That is officially the most brilliant idea I've heard this month. Gambling--even small gambles--triggers a release of hormones that counteract and exceed negative feelings and associations, so I think people would be considerably more willing to put their money in the meter without grumbling.
ReplyDeleteI think the one downside is that if a city decided to retool all of their parking meters, I would think they'd add credit card slots. Perhaps the gambling element would still work, but it wouldn't be the same. However, people would get the exact value of their parking job--you'd swipe when you arrive and swipe when you leave, thus paying the exact amount that you should owe for "renting" the parking spot.