MILLIONS of motorists have been warned about a major change in the way they pay for parking – does this affect you?
It comes after pay-as-you-go reports parking machines will disappear from the city streets, leaving the drivers behind forced to use apps to pay for a ticket.
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Municipal payment terminals have already been abandoned in some areas in the past.
And further changes could soon bring more than two million motorists live in areas without parking meters.
Brighton and Hove The city council will reportedly remove its parking meters on May 31, while the London Borough of Bromley will do the same in early April.
The cost of updating all machines in Bromleyfor example, would cost £1 million.
Harrow finished dumping all of its machines in January and Enfield plans to have all meters gone by early April.
While Westminster City Council has run out of payment and display machines since 2019.
Other boroughs that have had some machines removed include Richmond, Merton and Barking and Dagenham.
Elsewhere, half a dozen councils confirmed their meter readings had been cut – with further cuts being made in Ealing.
The West London council had 196 machines in 2016, but by the end of this year it will be down to 60.
Municipalities are reportedly scrapping traditional pay and display machines as cell phone operators shut down the 3G data networks that power the meters, according to The times.
While East Suffolk Council says it has cut its gauges from 126 to 96 to “reduce carbon emissions associated with cash collection”.
Spokesmen for many town halls said motorists can still pay for their tickets in cash through the ‘Paypoint’ system in shops.
Apps such as RingGo and PayByPhone allow drivers to communicate card details over the phone.
However, they may also charge additional fees of up to 30 pence per hour.
But municipalities are blaming the cost of switching to 4G from the meters as cellular carriers prepare to shut down their 3G networks.
Both Vodafone and EE will completely switch off their respective 3G networks by the end of 2023, while Three will shut down in 2024.
One benefit of using a smartphone app is that it often gives users the option to add extra time to their stay without having to rush back to their vehicle.
There are up to 30 different smartphone apps currently used to pay for parking, including ParkMe, Parkopedia, Just Park, and PayByPhone.
But these numerous providers usually all require users to key in both their contact details and car details – which takes a lot longer than simply inserting coins or a debit card into a machine.