 From 1st of September 2008, the municipality of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin is trying out a completely new method of collecting money for ‘public good’ projects in the area. The Cale partner stadtraum GmbH has, on the initiative of the members of the municipal Council, developed a pilot project, where a Cale WebTerminal 2120 has been installed in the vicinity of the Memorial Church and close to the famous Kurfürstendamm. As well as finding standard parking functions at the Terminal, users will be presented with additional buttons for making donations to support local projects that are not normally funded from the standard Council budget. When customers buy a conventional parking ticket, they are presented with the opportunity to make a fixed contribution to projects in the area. However, it is also possible to make a contribution of any value, without purchasing a parking ticket. On the touch-screen display of the terminal, the donor will find information and pictures describing the various projects and what the funding will be used for. It is also possible to add further functions giving for example tourist information or details of other areas of interest around the city. Dr. Suhr, chairman of the municipal Council, was impressed by how easy the touch screen was to use and she said: “We hope, that many drivers will decide to make a contribution, as this will directly benefit these locally based projects.” stadtraum GmbH is operating the terminal during the pilot. The purpose is to demonstrate what the new generation of terminals are able to do. If the Charity-project turns out well, further terminals will be installed in other parts of Berlin. |
