Rye’s pay and display parking machines could go card only if a money-saving measure gets the go ahead from council leaders. On Monday (October 9), Rother District Council’s cabinet is set to decide whether to move ahead with plans to remove the coin payment option from its machines.
If approved, people using these Rye car parks would have to pay by card at a machine or use the RingGo service (which takes payment online and by phone): Gibbet Marsh, Lucknow Place, Bedford Place, Rye Sports Centre, the Strand and Cinque Ports Street.
According to Rother, card and app payments are used more frequently than coins. Customers would still have the option to pay with cash, but would have to use a PayPoint service to do so.
The move comes as the council’s contract with a firm which collects the coins from the machines is set to expire next year. This contract currently costs the council £30,000 a year, but would be expected to increase in price should it be renewed. Officers say the change would also help the council reduce its carbon footprint by approximately 5-6 tonnes of CO2 per year, as cash is currently collected from the machines three times a week.
Rother District Council runs 24 pay and display car parks within its borders. Of these, 17 currently have pay and display machines which can take cash payments. While not recommended, officers have put forward two alternative options for cabinet members to consider. The first would be to keep things as they are, but officers say this would neither achieve savings nor reduce carbon emissions. The cash collection contract would also need to be renewed. The other alternative would be to maintain coin payments at the three car parks which account for the majority of cash transactions in Rother – none of which are in Rye.
If agreed the change, would be expected to come into force in March next year.
Image Credits: James Stewart .
It may be ok for some, but the older generation will suffer AGAIN .
Although I tend to agree with your comment, especially as being part of the older generation!, I still feel that EVERYONE should have the choice of using cash OR card. Having witnessed people trying to use the RINGO procedure, it looks most frustrating and with many of them resorting to card payment. If we are paying for something, we deserve to pay as we choose.
The other concern is that it costs more to use RingGo than it does to use cash – 15% more in Gibbet Marsh. So this will bake in more expensive parking.
If the older generation (of which I am one) can drive a ton of metal at speed through our streets we can use a credit or debit card or simple app to park it surely?
The excuses for saving money and the environment are both patronising and dark. Has nothing to do with either. It has everything to do with creating a ‘cashless’ society. The regular comment about ‘older people’ is also incredibly patronising. It too is used all the time.
If there is no choice but to use Ringo to pay for parking, then there should be no separate fee for doing so – this is a charge on a charge, rather akin to having to pay compulsory admission to enter a Post Office to buy a stamp (not wishing to give Royal Mail another idea for fund raising!).
I recall my first encounter with the possibility of using Ringo to pay for a short stay whilst I popped into Boots in Rye High Street for some medication when charges were first introduced; the Ringo fee required comfortably exceeded the parking charge itself.
why does there seem to be very little choice about paying cash for parking ,we have all paid for the car parks with our council taxes over many years.
If you want to attract people to visit a town, make parking easy by either by giving choice – phone or cash – or having free parking as in quite a few towns, and avoiding the need for expensive invasive street furniture and the hassle of “wardens” (who drive to each town).
Surely the choices of Debit Card (ie pay now), Credit Card (pay later), Ringo – now or later from anywhere via an app – All of which are much cheaper to administer than cash have to be enough to suit everyone – who owns a vehicle yet does not have a debit card?
There is no charge for using Ringo – the charges people complain of are for expiry time reminders – you just ensure you have not opted to have reminders – bingo – no ‘extra charge’.
That’s not quite what the Ringo website says:
“At many locations across the UK there is a small convenience fee for using RingGo, which is charged on top of your standard parking tariff. You can check details of how much each location costs at
http://www.myRingGo.co.uk/wiw.