- RAC urges councils and private
operators to take ‘digital exclusion’ seriously and provide
multiple means of payment
Nearly one-in-five drivers (19%) say their local authority has
either scrapped parking payment machines or is consulting on
doing so, forcing them to use mobile phones to pay instead, new
RAC research reveals.*
The survey of 1,900 UK drivers found that one-in-10 (11%)
reported some or all parking payment machines had already been
removed by their local councils with an extra 8% saying their
local authority was consulting on doing so. Drivers in London
were most likely to say payment machines had already gone or were
due to be going (44% of respondents in the capital), followed by
those in the East of England (23%) and East Midlands (22%).
The RAC’s findings are being driven by the fact many councils are
getting rid of machines for taking payment for parking as a
result many older machines relying on 3G mobile phone signals to
function, which telecoms operators are switching off. This means
councils either have to spend large sums on replacing machines
with more modern ones or get rid of machines altogether, in turn
making drivers use a mobile phone to pay to park – either via an
an app like RingGo or PayByPhone or by calling a phone number.
Among the councils the RAC is aware are scrapping all their
payment machines are Brighton and Hove, along with Bromley,
Enfield and Harrow in London.
The plan to scrap machines and force people to pay by app
triggered a strong reaction among drivers surveyed by the RAC’s
with 59% – and 73% of those aged 65 and over – saying they feel
angry at the idea of physical parking machines being removed as
they believe they should be able to pay for parking however they
want. A fifth of all drivers (20%) said they felt discriminated
against as they simply can’t use mobile apps to pay for parking
in the first place, a figure that rises to 30% of those aged 65
and over. Just three-in-10 (31%) of drivers of all age groups are
completely comfortable with payment machines being removed (and
only 14% of those aged 65-plus).
When asked what impact a council removing payment parking
machines would have on them, half (48%) said they would drive to
a different car park where they can still pay using cash or a
bank card. But a quarter (27%) said they would struggle to find
somewhere else to park that was convenient, a figure that rises
to 38% for drivers aged 65 and over – which suggests councils
that choose to ditch machines risk putting off some drivers from
visiting town and city centres. A motivated fifth (19%) of all
respondents meanwhile said they would complain to their local
council and/or Member of Parliament if payment machines in their
areas were to be removed.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “While for many people a switch to
purely mobile phone-based parking payment poses no problems, our
research clearly shows that for others it spells bad news. In
fact, a majority of drivers across all age groups think getting
rid of parking payment machines is a bad idea.
“Of course, cash-strapped councils will find it difficult to
justify spending large sums of public money on upgrading parking
machines which explains why some are bringing in third-party
parking app providers instead – sometimes making parking charges
even more expensive as they take their own cut.
“But it’s vital councils, and indeed private parking operators,
carefully assess the impact of going down this route before
taking machines away. Our research shows that by removing some
methods of paying for parking they are undoubtedly making life
harder for some drivers and possibly contributing to social
isolation. The move could also lead to lower parking revenue as a
result of drivers being put off from parking in the first place,
something that’s surely not in any local authority’s interests.
“When it comes to relying on mobile apps, it’s also important to
understand what happens when technology fails – for instance, in
the event the car park is located somewhere with intermittent
phone signal or if there are problems with the app a driver is
trying to use. What assurances can drivers have they won’t be
charged unfairly or handed a penalty for not paying, even if they
have made every attempt to do so? This could open up a can of
worms and could be very difficult for drivers to prove they’ve
tried to pay.
“In the event a council still goes down the route of removing a
ticket machine, signage should be clearly explain what drivers
need to do to pay to park and a phone number should be provided
that allows someone to pay by card, without demanding drivers
download and register with another app.”
The Levelling-up secretary, , wrote to councils in April
expressing concern about drivers being ‘digitally excluded’
without alternative payment methods being in place. Separately,
the Department for Transport is currently developing the National
Parking Platform (NPP), a publicly owned software platform that
would make finding and paying for parking easier for drivers
confident using apps. In theory, drivers would be able to use a
single mobile app of their choice to pay. Manchester City Council
is already part of the project with more councils expected to
join it this year.
Ends
Notes to Editors
* 1,900 UK drivers who are part of the RAC Driver Opinion Panel
were surveyed
