The Guardian have published an interesting article on the problems of pay by phone parking instead of the use of cash machines. The former are now beloved by local councils but many people have difficulty paying that way for various reasons. It does not help that different councils use different systems and other car park operators can also offer different systems. So you can turn up at a new location and find you have to waste minutes downloading a new App and recording credit card information.
As the Guardian article says: “All summer, exasperated motorists have been jabbing at their phones, trying to download and install yet another parking app. Then follows the interminable chore of entering card details and number plate, which may ultimately be derailed by poor phone signal or a glitchy app”.
But Councils say using Pay By Phone saves the authority money and reduces incidents of vandalism and theft at pay machines.
Comment: It might save local councils money but it causes great inconvenience to motorists. The ability to pay using cash should be preserved. It’s just another attack on the use of cars by making life difficult for their users.
Guardian article here: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/27/rise-of-the-parking-app-makes-the-rich-richer-as-motorists-struggle?
Roger Lawson
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I tried parking in Blackheath and gave up trying to pay by phone – my phone is old. Luckily McColls will allow you to pay cash.
If you don’t have the exact cash (often true, especially since the pandemic when contactless became a much more practical option) the only choice is to pay by phone. However, the cost of parking on the meter never matches the cost charged to pay by phone and the only reference to the difference is when you’re told how much is being debited from your card! I see no reason why meters can’t have card readers as they are quicker and simpler to use.
This is an absolute disgrace by ‘Big Brother’ councils forcing unwanted ‘AI’ systems just because they are negligent in running local matters efficiently. Many of us do not have .’new technology’ and their income does not let us keep paying for the ‘built-in-antiquity’ of these systems to keep the manufacturers in business. This is just a ‘rise of machines’ over the survival of humanity.!