There is a lot of talk about Smart City and there is no doubt that technology is often used virtuously by public administration to simplify citizens’ lives. Milan is, or should be, at the forefront, and it is undeniable that many digital services offered by the Municipality work well. For those who live in Milan the Citizen’s File it solves many problems and, in the vast majority of cases, you no longer have to physically go to the registry office to obtain a certificate, which can easily be downloaded online.
Milan, especially during the management of Mayor Sala, is trying to address the issue of roads and traffic also with the support of technology, a very complex issue in a very large metropolitan area and with structural problems that objectively make it quite difficult business. This is not the place to make an overall assessment of the Municipality’s effectiveness on these issues, but we believe we have the skills to analyze a specific topic related to technology.
Throughout Milan, even in the peripheral areas, street parking for cars is paid, with the now familiar blue lines, or is dedicated to residents, with yellow lines. Technology has made it much easierfor residents, to obtain and manage the parking pass, which in the past had to be printed and shown on the windshield, while today it is completely electronic and linked to the car’s license plate. When the police pass by (because in certain areas, especially those crowded with restaurants and bars, they have been on the run for years), they can therefore check in real time whether a car parked on the yellow lines has an active resident pass.
To pay for the blue lines, perhaps an app is enough
In theory, the same concept should apply to blue stripes. A motorist can use the columns to pay in advance for parking and show the receipt on the windshield, or use one of the various services authorized by the Municipality to pay for parking “digitally”. So far, so good.
Today, Friday 11 October, I arrive at the office around 9am, I find a very comfortable seat and I activate the payment for the blue lines with the Telepass app. Before getting out of the car I look for the slip that I had printed with the “I pay with Telepass” logo, I can’t find it and, busy with early morning commitments, I don’t print it again. At 11.36 I received an email from the Municipality of Milan notifying me of a fine present in my Citizen File for “PARKING WITHOUT HAVING ACTIVATED THE DEVICE TO CONTROL THE PAYMENT OF THE RELEVANT FEE”. When the infringement was promptly detected, which is correctly associated with the license plate of my car, the payment with the Telepass app was active.
I call the Municipality’s call center, after 3 minutes of recorded message listing how the Municipality will process my data and a completely acceptable wait (less than the time of the recorded message) I speak with a very kind operator who confirms that I will be able to oppose the verbal when I am notified. I would like to point out that at the time we are talking and also when the infringement was detected, I was paying with the Telepass app, but there is no way. I will only be able to object to the minutes.
The same call center operator agreed with me on the absurdity of the thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that the very efficient service used by the police to notify me of the infringement practically in real time, does not communicate with the automatic payment services authorized by the Municipality.
When systems don’t communicate
I finally understood why it is so important to show the “I pay with Telepass” tag on the windshield, because payment services do not communicate with the infringement detection system. Because a policeman or an auxiliary will fine only cars that do not show the tag, without making sure, because evidently he is not in a position to do so, if the motorist is regularly paying. Among other things, today the police in Milan also use cars with cameras that automatically detect the license plates of parked vehicles while the police car passes by us… I wonder how they manage to detect if the user is paying in that case.
I think I will pay the report, to avoid having to waste time with a complaint whose outcome does not seem so obvious to me. I also believe that technology can really improve the lives of citizens, but it is not enough, it must also be used rationally to avoid situations like these.
Source: edge9.hwupgrade.it
