Tyrone Constitution - News - Cashless parking system being extended to Omagh

News

Cashless parking system being extended to Omagh

Thursday, 26 January 2012

AN innovative new system - which allows motorists to pay for parking without cash - is coming to Omagh.
The cashless parking payment scheme involves a short phone call at the start and end of a parking session. Payment is taken on either a credit or debit card at the end of the month.
It avoids the problem of motorists not having change or having to guess how long they will be parked for.
After the success of an initial trial relating to pay and display parking in Belfast, Transport Minister Danny Kennedy has announced that the 'cashless' scheme will now be extended to Tyrone county's town, as well as Londonderry, Newry and Lisburn.
The Minister said: "We have had excellent customer feedback during our evaluation of Northern Ireland's first cashless pay by mobile phone parking scheme. The scheme provides a viable alternative to coins at parking machines allowing a credit/debit card payment substitute and it gives people a convenient way to extend their parking stay."
He added: "Customers register for the service either online or over the phone. Once registered, customers make one phone call to start their parking and another to stop it on return to their vehicle. Customers are free to go about their business safe in the knowledge that their parking payment is taken care of until their return.
“As customers can stop their parking as soon as they return to their car they are only charged for the time they actually use - which many drivers find saves them money, even taking the 15p administration fee into account.
“Traffic attendants will know that you have paid for your ticket by entering your vehicle registration into the live database on their handheld devices".
Predict
Continuing, Mr Kennedy added: "With Parkmobile's start/stop approach, motorists no longer have to accurately predict the length of their stay. This will free up people from having to return to their vehicle if they want to stay longer, provided they do not exceed the maximum permitted stay period shown on the signs.
“Nearly 40,000 calls have been recorded since the schemes introduction last February, a clear indication that motorists have benefited from using the Belfast service and it makes sense to give other towns which have pay and display parking the same opportunity to make use of the scheme."
Peter O'Driscoll from Parkmobile, who supply the system, said: "Depending on motorists' personal preferences, they can start their parking by a short phone call, activating online, or via one of the Parkmobile parking apps available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
“We know that when it comes to cashless parking it is important not to try to be a one size fits all company. Customers vary greatly in their use of technology and their parking needs and it is important that we have a broad approach and appeal to all user groups".