As one of Portomaso car park's regular clients, I cannot help noticing certain changes that have taken place since the euro changeover. I choose this car park as I believe it is the safest, being well-lit and equipped with surveillance cameras.

Yesterday week, I was left waiting for an hour-and-45 minutes because of the new paying system which has been introduced. Whereas before, one used to pay before going to the car, or else temporarily parking the car next to the paying booth while paying the fee, now one has to start queuing in one's car (from whichever level the queue starts at) with the result that those on lower levels have to wait till those waiting above them pay in the new paying booths installed next to the exit gates, no matter who leaves his parking space first.

At one point I asked someone who happened to pass by to tell me what happened. Apparently one gate wasn't working properly. However, a security guard did not give me this reason and only said that a lot of cars were waiting to pay.

Approximately the same number of cars are present every Saturday and although noticeable queues were present since January 1, I have never before been left to wait from 3.15 to 5 a.m. before. I tried contacting Portomaso car park by phone, but no one was available to answer. One question: Couldn't the system have remained the same?