Improve electronic parking payment technology

I hope the Land Transport Authority can consider equipping the next generation of in-vehicle units (IUs) with Near Field Communication technology, like cellphones ("Beep beep, you've been billed twice"; April 11).

A mobile app can then be developed to enable car owners to easily tap and check their CashCard's value and past transactions.

This will also be useful for motorists who need receipts to get reimbursements of their parking fees.

I once encountered a driver who refused to move his car, even though a long queue had formed behind him, because the carpark machine could not dispense a receipt.

I, too, have had to forgo a receipt at times, to avoid inconveniencing other drivers.

Printing the transaction slip at an ATM will cost 20 cents and is limited only to the last 10 transactions. This is inconvenient for motorists.

With a mobile app, motorists will be able to download the transactions easily to make claims.

Additionally, I hope the various carpark operators can share their hardware and software, for optimal performance.

At the HDB estate where I live, the IU's reading and writing functions are slow and perpetually running into problems, causing long queues and frustration during rush hour.

However, at my workplace, The Vertex, in Ubi, the read/write system is very fast and the receipt is churned out even before my car comes to a complete stop.

Sim Ghee Choon

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