Pay by phone in all Shropshire Council car parks from Friday 1 September

Drivers will be able to pay using their mobile phone when they park in any Shropshire Council car park from Friday 1 September 2017 – making it quicker and easier for people to pay for their parking.

From this date, people will be able to pay via a smartphone app, by text message, by phone, and online – meaning they will no longer need to carry the correct coins to pay for their parking.

An example of how the MiPermit app will look.

This quick and easy way of paying has been made possible through Shropshire Council linking up with MiPermit – a service that enables car park operators to accept electronic payments for pay and display car parking.

From 1 September drivers can use the MiPermit app to select their chosen car park and length of stay, and to make an electronic payment. The app is available for Apple and Android devices.

They’ll also be able to pay by text message or phone, or by using the online portal at
www.wanttopark.com/shropshire, where more information about the service can also be found.

The MiPermit service offers a range of benefits to car park users:

• There’s no need to worry about correctly displaying a pay and display ticket.
• Enforcement officers can check you have paid by searching their electronic system for your vehicle registration number.
• If you can’t return to your vehicle before your time runs out you can extend your parking stay quickly and easily using your mobile phone.
• You can download a VAT receipt online, the day after your parking expires.
• You can pay for your parking up to seven days in advance, meaning you can just turn up at the car park and go about your day.
• You can cancel future parking if you’re not going to need it.

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“This is a really exciting development that will make it much quicker, simpler and easier for people to pay to park in any of the council’s car parks. You’ll no longer need to worry about finding the right coins, using a pay and display machine, or dashing back to the car when your time is about to run out. I think people will be surprised and impressed with just how easy it is to pay via MiPermit, especially through the app.

“We’re continually working to improve our car parks and parking service and this, along with the proposed introduction of new machines from next year that will accept card payments, is a huge improvement that I’m sure will be really well received by drivers.”

Information notices (see below) will be displayed on all pay and display parking machines to let visitors know about these new ways of paying.

Tradespeople will also be able to use MiPermit to pay for the parking waivers that allow them to park their vehicles for up to one day in a car park, on-street parking area or a restricted parking area while they carry out work.

For more information about using MiPermit go to www.wanttopark.com/shropshire.

Further information

Pay by phone/text via MiPermit has been available since April 2014 at Frankwell Main, Bridge Street, St Austins’s Street and The Tannery car parks in Shrewsbury. (The Tannery has now been closed for the development of student accommodation).

Income generated  via pay by phone/text at these car parks now equates to 12% of the total income generated at these sites . This is a good indication that many customers would like to have an alternative payment option and be able to purchase their car parking to suit their needs.

When you pay for your parking through MiPermit, your vehicle details are synchronised with the patrolling enforcement officers’ hand-held computers in real-time, so when the officer sees you are not displaying a paper ticket or permit, they check their hand-held and will find your vehicle has a valid stay attached to it.

It will still be possible to pay using cash, if you prefer.

Paying for parking using MiPermit

There are multiple ways that you pay for your parking once you have registered. These are:

• using the app
• by SMS
• online via the MiPermit portal
• by telephone (see below)

Creating your stay by telephone
On arrival at a participating car park, call 0345 505 1155 from your mobile. If calling from a telephone that is not your registered mobile phone, you’ll be asked to enter your member number (mobile or landline number) and your four digit PIN.

• Enter the six digit location code using your keypad.
• Enter the duration required using your keypad.
• If you have more than one vehicle on your account, you will be asked to select the vehicle to use.
• Select whether to have an SMS reminder sent to you 20 minutes before the end of the stay.
• Stay on the phone until you get a message confirming the stay has been created.

An example of a notice that will appear on parking machines.