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Phoning it In, Richmond District
A number of parking meters in San Francisco offer an alternative to feeding in coins. Some specially-marked parking meters can be paid for by using a cell phone. The program went into use on September of last year and is not available on all city meters.

In another meter-related story, in May San Francisco set up ten special meters in an attempt to deal with the panhandling problem. Rather than giving money directly to the homeless, people are encouraged to slide their coins into the special orange meters. Money deposited in these meters will go directly to charities that help the homeless. The hope is that these meters will reduce panhandling while still allowing people to contribute. Both meter programs are still in their evaluation period.
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