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Southampton City Council today (1 April) becomes the latest South Coast local authority to embrace RingGo phone parking - joining Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Portsmouth and Havant in offering the innovative payment service. This means motorists parking in the City no longer need to hoard coins to pay for their parking. Thanks to RingGo, motorists can now simply drive into the car park, call up the Southampton number displayed on the signs - 02380 982 984 - and pay for their parking with a credit or debit card instead. A further benefit is that motorists can extend their stay in the car park simply by calling up and adding to their parking time, without having to return to the vehicle. This reduces the risk to motorists of receiving a penalty charge notice and encourages them to spend more time and money making the best of Southampton's Leisure and retail offerings. RingGo is initially being offered in three car parks - Amoy Street, College Street and Southbrook Road. Users can either pre-register for the service at www.RingGo.co.uk or simply provide their vehicle and payment card details via RingGo's tailored voice recognition system, at the time of parking. Councillor Matt Dean, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said "If we think that the latest innovations will help people to use our parking facilities then we will give them a go. Mobile phone parking has been successful in other areas around the countryside, so I'm hopeful that our residents will take to it too." Harry Clarke, Commercial Director for RingGo, concurs. "RingGo parking is now available in towns and cities across a large swathe of the South Coast, so local residents and visitors can register and use the same service wherever they travel. Local authorities are often criticised, not only for failing to work in concert with their neighbours, but also for not taking every opportunity to stimulate the local economy. This adoption of RingGo by Southampton gives the continuing lie to such criticisms. This is a pleasing announcement and we look forward to releasing further news regarding the adoption of RingGo by other Hampshire authorities soon." |
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