No parking tickets in Saint John after glitch

Saint John drivers will be spared from getting parking tickets on Monday after a computer glitch meant machines in the city, and in other Canadian cities, began showing the wrong time.

[IMG]http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2010/11/01/tp-nb-sj-parking-machine.jpg[/IMG]

The Saint John parking commission received several calls from confused motorists on Monday, who discovered [B][COLOR="Red"]the time shown on the pay-and-display machines was one hour early[/COLOR][/B].

[B][COLOR="red"]The time differential meant drivers had to put in enough money for two hours worth of parking just to keep their cars parked for one hour[/COLOR][/B].

Some drivers, including Saint John's Vicky Legacy, opted to pay the extra money to avoid getting a parking ticket.

"That's not right," she said. "That says 10:40, so we're going to have to put a bunch of money in it to catch up to the time."

Legacy was one of hundreds of people who bought expired tickets as the glitch played havoc with parking meters all over town.

"I never look at the sheets [I just] throw it in my car. I never actually take the time to stop and look at it," said motorist Kris Rocca.

Richard Smith, who is with the Saint John Parking Commission, said commissionaires have been instructed to stop writing parking tickets.

"The time is changed during the year when it's supposed to change. In this case, it looks like it's changed a week early and we can't figure out why."

Smith said the problem stems from a computer glitch originating at Toronto-based Precise Park-Link. That company collects credit card and debit transactions on behalf of cities across the country that use these parking machines.

Saint John is not the only city experiencing problems with the machines.

Similar parking machines in Barrie, Ont., for instance, are also showing the wrong time. Meanwhile, some of the machines in Toronto, are showing the correct time.

The problem was expected to be fixed later on Monday.