Paid parking can be pretty darn obnoxious. When ski resorts force you to pay for parking, or even just force you to pay for up close parking, it feels like a money grab. When towns do it, there’s certainly an aspect of raising money to care for the lots, but it can still feel pretty grimy. Pulling up to a paid parking spot only to found out their system is down, allowing to park for free, has to be one of  the best feelings in the world.
On February 4th, the town of Vail, which normally charges $40 for a full day of parking on a Saturday ($30 for non-peak days), experienced a failure with the credit card processor used to manage paid-parking. According to Vail Daily, guests and residents were able to park 100% for free.
With the credit card system down for around six hours, the town has reported a near $50,000 loss in revenue. Windcave, the credit card processor used by the town, had gone down worldwide.
Vail implemented their paid parking structure at the beginning of this year’s ski season to encourage individuals to take public busses and reduce the number of days in which the overflow lots had to be utilized. Last year, the overflow lots were used 53 times. So far this season, they’ve only been used 17 times.
Image Credit: Town of Vail via Facebook