Drivers blast councils for surge in cashless parking as cities go digital


Frustrated British motorists have called out councils for ditching cash parking in exchange for digital machines and phone apps in a new Express poll.

Several cities such as Newcastle and Brighton have already begun removing cash parking meters from the city centre.

A string of London boroughs have also axed machines including Bromley, Enfield and Kensington and Chelsea.

The move is set to be one of the biggest changes motorists will see to the high street in years and completely changes how motorists will visit town centres.

However, a new poll from Express.co.uk has shown widespread discomfort at the plans with motorists fighting back.

A staggering 91.79 percent of those surveyed said councils should not get rid of cash parking and go contactless.

Just 7.6 percent said they did want to see councils press ahead with updates while 0.61 percent were unsure.

Many Express readers claimed using physical money was easier than digital payments which were often confusing and didn’t work.

Some even suggested they would not visit their local centres if they were forced to use digital payment services.

@Laurie366 posted: “Cash is king and universal. Much better [than] a myriad of Apps or cards/contactless where there’s no signal or other issues with cards or lack of.”

@robwin18 remarked: “Our local car park has an app option and guess what, it doesn’t bloody work half the time. Everyone seems to be app mad these days, like they always say, cash is king.”

@Ter Minator explained: “There should always be another way than cashless payments. If someone who uses cash parks in a car park that’s only cashless payments they should wait until the fine pops through the letterbox then send them the payment for how many hours they parked and nothing more.

“If they say they won’t accept it then let the company suffer with the loss of the payment. Cash is king.”

‘Other1’ added: “No it should be free to boost trade like it is in many other places. I park by the beach for free. I park in the town centre for free. I spend money. If I had to pay to park I would shop online.”

Other Express readers suggested mobile parking apps were unsafe and could put drivers at serious risk. Last December, around 950 motorists were affected after Europe’s largest parking app operator was attacked by hackers.

“Non-sensitive customer data” including names, phone numbers and email addresses were reportedly stolen by hackers as part of the breach.

Express reader ‘Basaria’ said: “I don’t mind using a credit card, or cash, to pay for parking, but this constant drive to make everyone use a Mobile Phone App is not on, and to be honest, I don’t think that kind of payment is totally safe either.”

@skipper stressed: “Why would anyone want a [number] of parking apps all of which have potential to be hacked and cause financial loss?

“Additionally, many of these apps charge a fee for use on top. They should be boycotted by us all. Cash or [credit card] (with its time-proven security) should be the only options for charging.” (sic)

Disagree with the results? Have your say in the poll above. 



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