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| Park and Pay by phone. |
Winchester City Council has launched its new, easy and convenient way to pay for parking - via a mobile phone.
In a number of car parks you can now use your mobile phone to make a call, select the time for which you want to park, and pay for parking with a credit or debit card.
In one car park alone, over 30 people had signed-up to the system within just one hour of the launch; demonstrating the enthusiasm for pay-by-phone parking.
Customers can easily set up an account on-line at any time or can do so on the day of parking with their mobile phone. A trial of the service will be running in the Gladstone Street, Coach Park, Tower Street, St Peters, Cattle Market and Worthy Lane car parks.
This new service, already operating in other areas of the country, means motorists no longer need to carry change to pay for their parking as they can now make a simple telephone call or text, from the comfort and safety of their vehicle.
There is no need to display any proof of purchase in the vehicle as the Parking Attendant can check if payment has been received using Blackberry hand held technology - automatically updated once a phone payment has been made.
The customer has proof of payment with an optional text message confirmation or can check their account online.
An extra benefit for motorists is that they can choose to receive a text message reminder of the time their parking session is due to end and can top up their parking fee remotely without having to return to their car, however, you will not be able to extend your stay for longer than the permitted time for that car park.
The system will also help to reduce the cost of cash collection and maintenance of ticket machines so that savings can be re-invested in the Parking Service and other transport improvements in Winchester.
The results of the trial will be assessed before the city council looks at extending the initiative to other areas.
Five good reasons to choose Pay by Phone
- No need to search for a Pay and Display machine
- No need to worry about having the correct change
- No need to display a ticket in your vehicle
- Reminders can be sent to your phone with the expiry time
- No need to rush back to your vehicle - extend your parking session from your mobile. (There is a 10p service charge for each text reminder and a service charge of 10p to extend your parking)
More information can be found on our parking pages or in our car parks if you want to take advantage of this new way to pay. Pay and display machines will still be available at all sites involved. |