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| It is all change and no change for drivers using council-operated car parks in Barrow in Furness from today (2 November). Coins will no longer be needed to pay for parking as part of a programme of modernising services in the area. RingGo pay-by-phone parking is being introduced and motorists can pay for their parking by credit or debit card, rather than with cash at a pay and display machine. Regeneration is a key focus for Barrow in Furness Council. The area's historic industrial strengths are in shipbuilding and steelworks, but with substantial cuts in the late 1980s and '90s, the council has been keen to foster new areas of specialism and expertise. Most recently, this has included a focus on low-carbon economies and joint activities between the council, local businesses and tourism, under the heading "Barrow Regeneration". Embracing new technology and introducing services like RingGo is seen as a key part of this. Parking Services Manager for Barrow in Furness, Caren Hindle, comments: "As a Council we're increasingly looking for ways to modernise our services by providing information online and encouraging people to contact us that way too. When there's a quick and easy way to extend that into parking payments, it seemed the obvious step to offer them electronically too." "With the Lake District just 20 minutes drive away, and much of our focus now on encouraging tourism to the area, we're keen to highlight just how much Barrow has to offer. Parking is often the first thing that visitors experience when they come to the town, so making sure that it's pleasant and easy has been a priority." Terry New, Sales Manager for RingGo adds "With both Barrow and Allerdale Borough Councils now offering RingGo, we're sure local people and the many tourists that visit the area will take to the service. We've found that the more RingGo is offered locally, the better the adoption rates across all sites. People like the fact that they can register in one place and then see and use the same service in another." As part of the joint council-business initiative, local retailers have been getting behind the new parking service in Barrow. Posters explaining the RingGo system and how it can be used have been produced by the council and are now being displayed across the town. |
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