Noordhollands Dagblad, Aug 22, 2013: 'Parking 'by license plate''

“Hoorn wants to switch to new system next spring. Criticism in Amsterdam not off the mark.

If it is up to the college, Hoorn will switch to license plate parking next spring.

Motorists must then enter their license plate number on the parking meter when paying. Inspectors can then easily check whether someone has paid. Putting a ticket behind the window is no longer necessary.

Paying with coins and chips is going out completely in Hoorn. All 48 parking meters in the city will be replaced by license plate machines in one fell swoop. Including education, it will cost Hoorn 100,000 euros.

In Amsterdam, where license plate parking was recently introduced citywide, the method is controversial. The local VVD has asked questions about it. This after the Foundation Privacy First had called on citizens to object. The license plate data is kept encrypted and shared with the police, judiciary and tax authorities, among others.

Lawyer Vincent Böhre of Privacy First: "Citizens have a right to free and anonymous travel. With the ov-chipcard and cameras along the roads, that is already under pressure, and this comes on top of it. It may very well be that someone does not want it to be known that they visit a doctor, have a conversation with someone as a whistleblower or have a secret mistress."

Böhre calls it the government's duty to explore alternatives first. "Why not have meters where you enter your parking space, as you do see in France? Works just as well, without violating privacy."""

Source: Noordhollands Dagblad, 22 August 2013.