Drivers to be able to pay for parking using just ONE app – official MSE News discussion

MSE_Kelvin

Evening all,

I've written a news story about how drivers are to be able to pay for parking using just one app.

You should soon be able to pay for parking across the UK using just one app under new Government plans. The initiative is designed to end "the scramble" to download multiple apps for use at different car parks.

Read the full story here: Drivers to be able to pay for parking using just ONE app

Have a read and let me know whether or not you think it'll make life easier for motorists.

Cheers,

MSE Kelvin  

oldernonethewiser

"should" doing the heavy lifting in that article.

Interesting nonetheless.

Wonder if I will ever see it in my lifetime?

Still keeping my stash of coins in the car for now.

born_again

Why do we need apps?
Countless payments would work a lot better.

Local council have just introduced charges at some local parks. £1 for 2 hours. Then if you use the app a extra 60p transaction fee... 

daveyjp

born_again said:

Why do we need apps?
Countless payments would work a lot better.

Local council have just introduced charges at some local parks. £1 for 2 hours. Then if you use the app a extra 60p transaction fee... 

Apps work because they can identify vacant spaces, you don't need to be near the machine to pay (handy if you need to extend the time) and you can also end the parking session while walking back to your car.

QrizB

There's an opportunity here for you to register your vehicle on the app/website then have ANPR at the car park automatically invoice you for the correct payment based on the duration of your stay. Like the way the congestion charge and ULEZ works.

In principle this could eliminate 90% of the private parking industry, as they'd only be able to issue speculative invoices to keepers of cars that aren't registered in the app 😂

And the app/website could have details of the charges that apply and whether spaces are available (a bit like ZapMap does for EV charging) so you can choose the most suitable car park in advance.

(I'm expecting it not to work that way ...)

hermante

OK, I understand they don't want to send someone to collect coins from the machine every week. I'd still prefer to just pay by card and display a ticket though - at least if a paid carpark is the only option (I try my best to avoid places where it's not possible to park without restrictions).

But I do appreciate an app can be useful to extend the time when away from the car. I wouldn't be ending the session while walking to the car unless it's street parking, a small carpark or I see a clear road to the exit. Once it took me 20 minutes to get out of a large carpark. I had plenty of time left in my free limit, but I heard that others caught up in that jam received speculative invoices.

I don't want to have to register my car just to go to Sainsburys. And in that case you wouldn't get a speculative invoice, you'd get an invoice... they could just explicitly say in the app 0-2 hours £0, 2-24 hours £50

ThorOdinson

daveyjp said:

born_again said:

Why do we need apps?
Countless payments would work a lot better.

Local council have just introduced charges at some local parks. £1 for 2 hours. Then if you use the app a extra 60p transaction fee... 

Apps work because they can identify vacant spaces, you don't need to be near the machine to pay (handy if you need to extend the time) and you can also end the parking session while walking back to your car.

But also you have to install their (cr)app on your phone, where it will doubtless try to steal as much data as possible, annoy you into agreeing, upsell you stuff etc. It will need SMS verification so they can get your phone number.

Contactless or a website I don't have to register to use would be acceptable.

Coupon-mad

MSE_Kelvin said:

Evening all,

I've written a news story about how drivers are to be able to pay for parking using just one app.

You should soon be able to pay for parking across the UK using just one app under new Government plans. The initiative is designed to end "the scramble" to download multiple apps for use at different car parks.

Read the full story here: Drivers to be able to pay for parking using just ONE app

Have a read and let me know whether or not you think it'll make life easier for motorists.

Cheers,

MSE Kelvin  

It won't be great primarily because the BPA are now in charge of it and they aren't a regulator; they exist to primarily support their members, not motorists.

See the point made that I've quoted below, about how a 'motorist-first' app could work. It never will IMHO, because the BPA are in charge now.

It also won't be great for most older people and drivers who don't have smartphones (the more vulnerable drivers, generally). Many motorists are marginalised by the proliferation of parking spaces expecting all users to have a smartphone. It's unfair and discriminatory.

But these aren't new plans.

The NPP has been worked on for a few years by the Tories. This Government recently removed funding for it and it's been picked up by the BPA, who for some ludicrous reason the Government has called 'a parking giant'!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-teams-with-parking-giants-to-ensure-drivers-can-use-preferred-apps-in-all-car-parks

At least it won't cost the taxpayer. That's a positive.

But thankyou for linking in your article to "the Parking tickets, fines & parking board on the MSE Forum" and not just to the old MSE Guide that still needs some work ... which I'll try to help with, as I promised. Just got to fit it in!

QrizB said:

There's an opportunity here for you to register your vehicle on the app/website then have ANPR at the car park automatically invoice you for the correct payment based on the duration of your stay.

Like the way the congestion charge and ULEZ works.

In principle this could eliminate 90% of the private parking industry, as they'd only be able to issue speculative invoices to keepers of cars that aren't registered in the app 😂

And the app/website could have details of the charges that apply and whether spaces are available (a bit like ZapMap does for EV charging) so you can choose the most suitable car park in advance.

I'm expecting it not to work that way....

Good point well made.

I'm with you: it will never work the way that could most avoid PCN issuance, IMHO because the NPP is outsourced to the BPA who exist to support their members, not motorists. Not exactly a 'parking giant'.

born_again

daveyjp said:

born_again said:

Why do we need apps?
Countless payments would work a lot better.

Local council have just introduced charges at some local parks. £1 for 2 hours. Then if you use the app a extra 60p transaction fee... 

Apps work because they can identify vacant spaces, you don't need to be near the machine to pay (handy if you need to extend the time) and you can also end the parking session while walking back to your car.

Bit hard in the above case as there are no marked spaces. It is just a unpaved, often muddy area where you can park to go for a walk.

But I get the point in terms of many car parks. But cost will go up to offer real time updates, as companies will have to set up systems to offer that service. 

Car1980

Currently 30% of car parks are probably RingGo, 30% are PayByPhone and 30% are others. It's not all that horrendous.

So what will they do to keep hold of their custom? Probably give incentives to the companies to stay and maybe even introduce "parking is 10% cheaper through RingGo than NPP!" offers.

Le_Kirk

I'll just mention the big problem - lack of signal - until that is sorted in EVERY car park, the new all-in-one app will be useless.