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Motorists who park their cars in most of the street bays and car parks operated by Bristol City Council will soon be able to pay for their parking via their mobile phone. The innovative scheme is to be rolled out in trial form before Christmas, beginning in the streets around the Wills Building in Clifton. The service, called RingGo, is already used with success across the country by a number of other local authorities and private car park operators. This includes all First Great Western railway car parks including those at Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway stations. RingGo is also offered at Temple Quay. Motorists who choose to pay by phone simply ring through to an ordinary telephone number having parked their car. This will be the same Bristol number number, 0117 341 9000, that is used by the railway. When connected, they key in a four-digit identification code on their mobile phone to notify their location, give the number plate details of their car and authorise the council to take the fee directly from their credit card account. The council is currently running a publicity campaign which includes RingGo posters in the city and stickers on ticket machines. The scheme had the potential to lower operating costs which would allow the Bristol City Council to invest even more in on and off street safety and security measures. The wardens that patrol the car parks and streets will be equipped with mobile phone based equipment that will allow them to monitor which cars have purchased cashless parking and when their time will run out, in exactly the same way that they currently monitor the times on pay and display tickets. Cllr Mark Bradshaw, Executive Member for Sustainable Development said: "The advantages of offering phone parking to motorists are clear. Many people simply don't 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 RingGo is a quick, proven and effective way to do this". "Cashless parking has already been a success when used elsewhere in the South West and I have no doubt that it will be taken up by a great many people parking in Bristol over the coming months." |
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