Cashless payments now available in some Shrewsbury car parks

People will be able to use their mobile phone to pay for parking at some Shrewsbury car parks under a new scheme being trialled by Shropshire Council.

The cashless payment system is available at the short stay car parks in Bridge Street, St Austin’s and The Tannery, and in the Frankwell Main long stay car park.

Details on how to register to pay using a mobile phone, or Internet-enabled tablet, has been displayed on information signs in each of the car parks from Monday 7 April 2014.

To start using the service, drivers need to register their vehicle’s registration number, location code of the car park and payment details – it is then very quick and easy to pay using the same details in future.

A service charge of 10 pence is added to the parking charge for customers wishing to pay in this way, which is normal practice where the cashless payment system is used elsewhere in the country.

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“We are trialling this system in response to requests from businesses to make car parking as flexible and easy as possible, so we hope it will prove popular.

“The 10 pence service charge does not go to the council, it is an administrative charge made by the service provider, and is very common where this system is used in other parts of the country.

“Ultimately, this is about giving people more choice about how to pay for parking, so if you don’t always have the right amount of change available, you can still park and visit the wonderful shops and attractions that Shrewsbury has to offer.

“We will be monitoring how much the cashless payment system is used during the trial to see if it should be introduced on a permanent basis, and potentially at more car parks.  We would welcome feedback from anyone who uses the service, and comments can be emailed to zoe.mortimer@shropshire.gov.uk.”

The trial started on Monday 7 April 2014 and will run for 12 months.