Pay by phone to park in council car parks

- Mon 11th Aug 2008

A cashless payment system goes live on Wednesday 13th August in council car parks across the Borough of Havant allowing drivers to pay by mobile phone. In rolling out the RingGo system, the council hopes to make life easier for customers who use the council’s car parks, particularly around the popular summer destination spot, Hayling Island.

It will bring huge benefits for motorists who will be able to park without having to hunt for loose change and be safe in the knowledge they can extend their stay if necessary without going back to the car park.

“Other councils use the RingGo system and are very pleased with it; in neighbouring Portsmouth thousands of people are using the service each month. It makes sense to roll this out across Havant and a customer who uses RingGo on Hayling Island or Waterlooville one day can use it in Portsmouth the next, without having to re-register.” says Michelle Green, Assistant Parking Manager at Havant Borough Council.

The state-of-the-art mobile phone technology allows drivers to park and call the local 02392 980 098 number displayed on signboards and machines. They will need to provide the location code, shown on signs, their vehicle details and length of time they want to park. Payment is then taken from their credit/debit card.

First time users will need to give full credit/debit card details but the next time they use the service they will only need to provide the last four digits, as the sophisticated technology is able to confirm the identity of the mobile phone that is being used. Using the service costs a flat-rate of 20p in addition to the normal parking fee.

Motorists can extend their stay by phone without having to go back to the car park and feed the cash machine, and without running the risk of getting a Penalty Charge Notice

Drivers can still pay by cash in the car parks, but the new system will provide the extra flexibility of paying by phone.

RingGo’s central system will hold the registration numbers of vehicles where parking has been paid for. Using hand held devices Parking Attendants will check on cars without a ticket on display. If the vehicle is listed no penalty will be issued. However if customers encounter any problems with for example machines being out of order to receiving a Penalty Charge Notice, they should still contact Havant Borough Council.

For more information see www.RingGo.co.uk

By forum user, asne

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