Have a say on car park stay
Borough: Parking payment method could be changed
A cabinet member has said the council could potentially change how visitors are charged at Royal Borough’s car parks – following reports of people being caught out and overcharged.
Currently, the Borough’s car parks give visitors the choice of traditional payand-display or using
RingGo, an internet service.
RingGo has two options for what kind of scheme a car park can run – the ‘Start-Stop’ version and the ‘Buy Time’ version.
Start-Stop lets visitors indicate to RingGo when they have arrived at the car park, and when they are leaving. They are then charged according to how much time they spent there.
By contrast, Buy Time allows car parkers to specify the amount of time they intend to spend there and pay up front.
While car parks in some other local authority areas, such as Marlow, use the Buy Time option, the Royal Borough car parks have the Start-Stop option – which
has caused some people grief.
There have been rumblings on social media from those who have forgotten to switch off the timer on RingGo and have been charged the maximum amount for the day.
Last month, a Windsor resident who parked at Windsor Leisure Centre for less than an hour was distracted and ended up paying a grand total of £14 for parking that should have cost him £1.40.
Councillor Phil Haseler, cabinet member for planning, parking, highways and transport, said he has also ‘fallen foul’ of the system – getting charged £15.80 at the
Nicholsons Centre.
Cllr Haseler said the option exists to switch from Start-Stop to Buy Time if that is what residents would prefer – but both options ‘have their drawbacks’.
If visitors run out of time when they have bought parking time up front, they could get a fine, which could be more than the maximum charge under Start-Stop.
Lower-level parking misdemeanours in the borough bring a fine of £50, reducing to £25 if paid within 14 days.
Cllr Haseler wished to stress that, if he does begin the process of seeking to switch systems, it is ‘in no way’ to catch more people out.
“I’m doing this to understand what people would actually prefer,” he said. “I thought it would be worth asking, and moving from there.”
If Cllr Haseler receives note of enough interest, he can go with this information to the borough’s parking manager and see what can be done.
Those who wish to can send their thoughts on Buy Time versus Start-Stop to cllr.haseler@rbwm.gov.uk