As I understand it, the issue isn't the leftover meter money at all; it's just access to the spot. There are no meters (or there's a meter and it's trivially ch

As I understand it, the issue isn't the leftover meter money at all; it's just access to the spot. There are no meters (or there's a meter and it's trivially cheap) but there's a chronic shortage of parking spaces. So by occupying one, you claim it. That opens up the market for buying and selling spots, where the only good changing hands is the "right" to put a vehicle in a particular box of space.