Parking meters shut down to encourage app payments

Visitors to Guildford have raised concerns after discovering notices on the town's parking meters stating that the machines were no longer in use.

Surrey County Council took about two thirds of the town's pay and display machines out of service in April and is directing motorists to pay for on-street parking via the RingGo app.

While some day-trippers said the app was convenient, others raised concerns that less tech-savvy drivers would struggle with the change.

The council said: "It costs more to collect cash and maintain many of the machines than they collect in income."

According to the authority, 70% of on-street parking payments are made using the app, while the old machines were "quite old and becoming increasingly difficult to repair and maintain".

Visitor Carol Barber said she believed the change would generate complaints.

"I'm ashamed to say that I'm not very technologically with it, so that to me is rather awkward," she said.

Meanwhile, Spencer Hoskin, who described himself as "a bit old school", said: "You've got to move with the times."

"It's all about cutting down on staff I think," he added.

There are 15 pay and display machines remaining in the town after the change, according to the council.

Local resident Sarah Boxall said the move to app-based payments was a "good idea", while Georgie Elliot said the change was "probably a bit unfair" for those who do not use a smartphone.

A council spokesperson said visitors who would like to pay with cash were able to park in alternative locations that were nearer to the operating payment machines.

The authority has also encouraged feedback about its pay and display machine changes.

It is also currently consulting on its plans to bring Guildford's on-street parking permits system in line with others across Surrey.

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