Cycles & Routes (3)

The next development was non-contact readings. In the place of the hand-held device into which the reader entered the data, an electronic “wand” would read the meter, often via an external contact at the premises but remote from the meter. This required the meter itself to be fitted with an electronic register to transmit the data.

That transmission mode then drove the technology. First came the wand, where the reading had to be made close by the meter. The next development came with “drive-by” readings, where the meter reader would simply drive down the street and the meter reader device in the vehicle would record the readings. This removed the risk to the reader of irate householders, dogs, snakes or other risks to entering the premises where the meter was located. However it removed the opportunity for the reader to inspect the meter physically and observe any deterioration in its condition or evidence of tampering. Missed or questionable reads in the automated reader still have to be investigated.