Two Letters Re: Automated Parking Garages

Sir,
Regarding a recent item in your blog about robotic parking facilities: These modern “conveniences” can be shut down by more than just a power outage. Here’s a link to a news storey about a robotic parking facility in Hoboken, New Jersey which was effectively shut down for about a week during a contract dispute between the city and the software company. To make a long story short: The city owned the facility, while the company owned the rights to the software which ran it. When the city opted not to renew their contract with the company, the parking robot suddenly stopped functioning. Cheers, – B-Boy

 

Jim:
Your warning comes a little too late. According to an AutoBlog article, they’re in place in many of our big cities, including San Francisco, Seattle et cetera. – Eric S.