The apparatus includes a card which entitles the holder to a number of units of parking time represented by discrete capacitances carried by the card. The parking time is metered by a card reader which accepts the card senses the capacitance carried thereby and measures out a unit of parking time for each unused capacitance. The reader responds to a predetermined capacitance and renders inoperative each capacitance as it is used up. The elements of each capacitance are formed so that the value of the capacitance can be greatly reduced by a mechanical or other type of punching operation. Two types of reader are disclosed, one which accepts the card in increments corresponding to a single capacitance and the other which accepts the entire card and automatically scans the capacitances carried thereby. Several forms of cards are disclosed.

Supplementary coding on inductive debit cards and reading method by which information regarding variables, such as date of issue and country in which the card is valid, are included without any change in the number of credits on the card by using front and back handling strips normally provided on such cards. Such an encoding comprises the division of the strips, into a number of segments or tracks equal to the number of cell columns on the card, each track coinciding with the columns. Metalized tracks correspond to bit "1 " and non-metalized tracks to bit "0 ", the 4 tracks located at the corners of the card always being metalized. Reading of the information on the card is carried out during the insertion of the card into a reading head by a row of sensors farthest away from the entrance slot of the reading head. On detecting the presence of a pair of metalized tracks on the corners of the card, the bits contained in the handling strip are read and stored in a temporary register for later interpretation.

An information storage medium in which information is stored as multiple machine readable data entries arranged in frames which are themselves arranged in plural, generally parallel channels. The medium further contains machine readable synchronization markers respectively positioned at the leading ends of the channels. These markers include one or more features of characteristic shape or dimension or are characteristically located on the medium with respect to the associated channels. Preferably the medium further contains a second set of similar markers arranged in respectively groups alongside the respective channels. Also disclosed are a method and apparatus for synchronizing a read head utilizing the storage medium. Further described is a method of observing a succession of machine readable position markers in turn and observed values indicating marker position for a predetermined number of markers preceding each marker being observed, determining whether each observed value is outside a selected trend established by the stored values by more than a predetermined margin, and, if so, reducing the effect of that value.

A telephone access system utilizes a calling card that is encoded with a machine readable code for both an access telephone number and a personal identification number. A reader/dialer is used to read the data encoded on the calling card and to generate dialing tones corresponding thereto. Once the data encoded on the calling card has been entered into the reader/dialer, the calling card may be stored in a secured location. To access the calling account, the reader/dialer is held to the mouthpiece of a standard telephone set and is actuated to emit the tones corresponding to the access telephone number. Subsequently, tones corresponding to the personal identification number are emitted under automatic or manual control. Once the account has been verified, the caller proceeds to enter a desired destination telephone number or conduct a telephonic transaction.