Parking meters turn 50 in Britain

London -- London marked its 50th anniversary for parking meters Thursday, a half century after motoring groups deemed British drivers "the most heavily taxed on Earth."

London residents found 600 new parking meters lining the streets for the first time in 1958 as part of the Road Traffic Act, The Times of London reported Thursday.

The Times said it requested the use of meters in past years to help calm the "chaos caused by parked vehicles in the center of London."

Meters have played an important role London's past but they are on their way out as parking technology advances, the newspaper said.

There are fewer than 1,000 meters in Britain, drastically fewer than the 750,000 in place at one point, the Times said.

It is reported cashless machines run with credit cards and cell phones are partially taking the place of the 50-year-old meter.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.