I take public transport to work three days a week, which means I need to remember to pay for parking each morning. One day I forgot, and found a ticket waiting at the end of the day.
What struck me was that it was marked as a first warning. It wasn’t a fine, just a nudge. I appreciated it because it assumes good intent, and I love that a system was designed that way.
It got me thinking about how compliance systems could get even smarter. If they looked up my plate, they’d see I pay every single day. That track record should count for something, a reason to extend the benefit of the doubt.
The same logic could apply to fines. Someone who’s paid consistently for a year and slips once is clearly making a mistake. Someone on their fourth offense is a different story. I remember hearing that fines in Switzerland scale with income, so by your fifth offense, it can get expensive fast.
This is a lovely reminder that even something as simple as parking enforcement has room to be thoughtfully designed.
For every what, there often is an elegant how.
A Learning a Day 