| ||
Barnet Council has outlined plans to commence a dual trial of pay by phone parking from 29th September 2008. Under the proposed scheme, two separate pay by phone parking solutions, RingGo and a Canadian System will each operate in different off-street car parks within the borough. Barnet is the first local authority in the United Kingdom to run a simultaneous trial of two providers of cashless parking and by doing so the council believes that comparing the two services side by side will assist in the final evaluation process when the pilot comes to an end. In turn, this will make the decision about which supplier to roll out far more rigorous. The introduction of the pilot will provide a safer, easier and more flexible method of payment for motorists as drivers are not required to carry cash to pay for their tickets, instead calling a telephone number, entering their vehicle registration, length of stay and their debit card number. A confirmation text with details of the time purchased will be sent back to them. Civil Enforcement Officers who patrol the car parks will be equipped with high-tech GPRS equipment to monitor which cars have purchased cashless parking and when their time will run out, in the same way that they currently monitor the times on pay and display tickets. Councillor Andrew Harper, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport said: The advantages of offering pay by phone parking to motorists are clear many people simply dont want to carry change for their parking and would rather pay by credit or debit card. As a Council, we want to offer our customers choice and introducing cashless parking is a quick and effective way to do this. Cashless parking has already been a success when used elsewhere and I have no doubt that it will be taken up by a great many people parking in Barnet over the coming months. RingGo will be operating in the following pay and display car parks:
|
 |
 |
 |
