[doublespanner]

Depending on the place, if you fail to pay it's actually more valuable to them, due to fees.

[konschubert]

But what about those people who just choose another parking lot or use public transport instead?

[redhale]

Not if every nearby parking lot has a similar system, or you don't have time to comparison shop for parking in the moment.

And I'm not sure what country you're in, but in most US cities the competitive threat from public transit can probably be safely ignored.