London calling: Motorists asked for their views on pay by phone parking project (19/03/2007)

The death knell could be sounded for the humble parking meter if motorists give their backing to Pay By Phone Parking in a consultation on the scheme officially launched by Westminster City Council.

Drivers using new bays which had meters removed have been paying for parking over their mobile phones during a six month pilot scheme across the West End, ending the old days of searching for piles of change in car doors and pockets.

Preliminary feedback in December showed that 85% motorists said that they had chosen to use the new Pay By Phone system as a way to avoid getting parking fines.

The council also hopes by extending pay by phone will see an end to the thefts from parking meters which has recently cost as much as £20,000 a week.

Speaking on the launch of the consultation, Councillor Danny Chalkley, Cabinet Member for Economic Development said: “We started the Pay by Phone Parking trial back in October to give coin free convenience to motorists and enable them to top up remotely their parking in order to help avoid unnecessary fines.

“We believe that this has been overwhelmingly successful based on the feedback we have received during the scheme and the high level of take up which has smashed our original expectations. We are therefore now seeking the opinions from Londoners who have used the scheme to validate this view.

“In addition to those motorists who now will no longer need to carry around pocketfuls of change, we think that Pay by Phone Parking has helped two particular types of motorists.

“Firstly, those tradesmen such as plumbers and builders who don’t always know how much time they will need for a certain job when parking initially. They are now able to remotely top up their parking whilst on the job, without having to return to their vehicle or meter.

“Similarly, those West End shoppers who may be stuck in a retail store trying on an item of clothing or alternatively relaxing in a restaurant or café, are now able to put extra time on their parking meter without having to return to their car."

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact Andrew Hadfield on 020 7641 2259 or email ahadfield@westminster.gov.uk

The consultation will begin on 19th March and will end on 31st March. Residents and businesses have been sent letters to ask for their views.

A number of those using the scheme will also be texted and emailed for their views. At the end of the consultation there will be a prize draw and the winner will receive an Ipod Nano MP3 player.

Take up rates of the Pay by Phone Parking scheme have smashed original expectations. It was hoped that the service would generate 15% of all parking revenue in the two zones by the end of the six-month period. In fact this target was hit in only week seven (19 weeks ahead of schedule).

Latest statistics show that we are currently at 60%. This is nearly twice as quick as Birmingham (a comparatively sized authority) and has vastly outstripped other local councils, according to the service provider.

Westminster Council Parking Department recently (Friday 9th March) won ‘Parking Team of the Year’ at the 2007 British Parking Awards. They received this accolade in response to their parking transformation from motorists’ nemesis over two years ago, to the blueprint council of best practice.

Westminster Council anticipate to announce the results of the survey by the end of April. They will make the decision to continue the Pay by Phone Parking pilot, or possibly even extend the scheme across the city, at a Cabinet Meeting likely to be sometime in April.

An agreement has already been made with the operator Verrus to continue the pilot scheme for up to six months after the end of March. This was done in order to ensure business continuity whilst the decision is being made. This scheme is part of the innovative Partnership in Parking project.

This is a cross London venture set up to achieve procurement efficiencies across the capital. This means that Westminster will be sharing the data gained through the trial with the other boroughs (Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Kensington and Chelsea, City of London) as well as Transport for London who are also considering the roll-out of Pay by Phone Parking.

For the past 18 months, Westminster has introduced different methods of cashless parking including the UKs first Chip & PIN pay and display machines.