My local car park in Cambridge is undergoing refurbishment, which includes an overhaul of the ticketing/charge system. Presumably lots of money is being spent as this is a huge project for little Cambridge because of this, one might have hoped that common sense would have been consulted. My gripe? The irritating accent the ticket issuing machine seems to have developed. Cambridge is a city rich with heritage, the last thing we need is a cheery machine which greets us with an American accent everytime we purchase our tickets. I have nothing against modern technology nor Americans, but couldn't someone have fixed this before we'd spent our taxes installing something which will only irritate? The parking charges are bad enough by themselves.
Things do get a bit better when we consider the Park and Ride scheme. There are several car parks dotted around the outskirts of Cambridge and each car park is served by a regular stream of busses to the city centre. The parking is free and the busses are cheap. There is always parking available and the busses generally have their own bus lanes to get through the traffic at rush hour. I'm rambling a bit now, but the Park and Ride scheme is great.
