You could also make washing machines with a "page" function. Enter your number at the start of the wash, and the machine calls you when it's done.

My apartment house requires that the washing machines and dryers are scheduled for users and once you are signed up you know you have a machine available.

I like this idea. But expand the usability to other things like parking spaces, bus stops, movie seats, sports seating, computer kiosks at places like Kinkos, fuel pump useage, doctor waiting room queue, emergency room queue, pharmacy queue, and any other situation where people are wanting to use a limited resource. The whole thing could interface with a person's cell phone. A person could use the cell phone web features for accessing their Favorites and get the current status of usage.

That comment above was a good one. Maybe some independent iPhone software developer will read it.

Also what if the info of parking spaces and traffic conditions and washer and dryer openings were put onto your GPS in your car so that it was like a virtual search engine of seeing the most efficient ways of getting around town, using current conditions of all facets of life. But this would obviously mean that this info would need to be transmitted through some mechanism, all around the city and into a central GPS info storage computer that would then be logged onto. This is all extremely expensive infrastructure and may not be cost effective for the poor people using the pay washer.