We’ve all been there. Some guy has been looking after your car for half the day and you arrive to his smile only to realise you just spent your last pocket of change on a packet of chips.

Damn, Daniel.

While some guys are either informal and you can get away with it or they are your usual keepers and you can give them double tomorrow, most of the marshals in the CBD are permanent and don’t let you go until you’ve cashed up the change (up until around 17:00, that is).

Not to worry, fine folk of Cape Town, those insistent parking marshals have been equipped with handheld point-of-sale machines. Basically, you can now use your bank card and cash is no longer king. At least not in this world.

Oh, and Snapscan, too. Winning.

Says the city’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport‚ Councillor Brett Herron:

The card machines make it easier and more convenient to pay for parking as motorists do not always have cash on hand and then have to search for an ATM to withdraw money.

I want to assure motorists that the parking marshals are still obliged to accept cash as payment for parking‚ despite the additional payment methods that are now available.

Thanks for that, Brett. We will be sure to keep it in mind.

[source: timeslive]