This type of parking meter prints out a ticket you put on the dashboard. They are solar-powered and work on ambient light. Thus, no expensive underground cabling needs to be run to power them.
A primary reason for pay and display meters, is that another car can’t use your time if you leave with time remaining on the meter. Also, one machine can service hundreds of parking spaces.
Effing pain in the ass.
These really are a pain in the ass. I was once in a parking lot where there were 4 people waiting in line at one of these stupid inventions. Of course the machine was malfunctioning all over the place, and after 10 minutes of waiting in line I gave up and went looking for a regular parking spot. I went back to this lot recently, and all the regular meters had been replaced. My guess is someone who worked in the neighborhood took a baseball bat to the stupid thing.
In Lahaina in Maui, parking is difficult and there’s a lot with pay and display. $5 for up to 2 hours. $10 for 2-8 hours. Bet each slot gets $30-40 a day…