Card payment pilot for parking

Cheshire East Council has started introducing credit and debit card facilities at its car parks in Macclesfield and Wilmslow.

The new processes are part of a trial but could be rolled out across the county if successful.

Currently, customers either pay for parking with coins or, in areas where Ring-Go operates, through mobile phone technology. Payment by Ring-Go was introduced last November at 18 car parks across Cheshire East and has so far proved a success. Payment is made using mobile phone technology and a debit or credit card. Car parks featuring the Ring-Go service require customers to contact RingGo by telephone, Smartphone app, SMS or online.

Now Macclesfield Station car park and Broadway Meadow car park in Wilmslow will accept card payments at pay-and-display meters, as well as cash.

Cllr Rod Menlove, Cabinet member in charge of environmental services, said: "Using the latest technology for simple and safe card payment, motorists will hopefully welcome a much easier method of payment.

"We realise that cash is still the predominant method of payment, which is why we are trialling this method first.

"A number of customers have said they would like the option to pay by card, especially for longer stays in busy town centres or close to railway stations, where customers can park for up to five days."

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Customers would also like payment machines that give change Cllr Menlove, but then if they did that would stop you skimming even more money off people wanting to park and visit your local rate paying businesses.

By Nick

Cllr Menlove also forgets to mention that people wishing to use the card based payment system will have to pay more for the pleasure.

By Nick

Nick, most pay & display machine manufacturers don’t make machines that give change. The only one’s that do are the one’s in shopping centre’s etc and they are the size of a fridge – wouldn’t look good with 4 or 5 of them in every car park. Also a target for theieves! Oh, and you do have to pay to use the phone parking system but it texts you when your parking is about to expire allowing you to top-up and avoid a £70 fine. Worth the 20p I’d say!

By Steve

Ticket machines that give change don’t seem to be a problem on the Continent….

By iain

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