Drivers hate using phone to pay for car parking

DRIVERS are overwhelmingly rejecting paying for parking by phone, a survey has found.

Motorists find the method so inconvenient that over twothirds would rather drive on to find a cash car park, according to the AA.

Councils, hospitals and railway stations increasingly insist drivers have to use mobiles to pay for parking on certain streets and are ripping out meters.

The service can make life more convenient for drivers who do not have the correct change.

But as well as being more fiddly than paying by cash, some parking firms charge up to 40p extra to pay by phone.

The AA’s poll of 16,500 drivers found that 70 per cent say they are more likely to keep searching for a space rather than park in one where paying by phone is mandatory.

The systems are operated by private parking companies.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: ‘Not everyone has a smartphone to pay via an app and not everyone is keen to talk to a robot.

‘For the elderly and low income drivers, pay by phone feels almost discriminatory.’

A Local Government Authority spokesman said: ‘Having a range of options to pay for parking, for residents and visitors, is the best way for councils to serve the needs of their local communities.’