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AIBU?

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Original poster

Parking apps

67 replies

mjf981 · 10/09/2023 04:42

I'll preface this by saying I live in Sydney, so maybe this is 'normal' elsewhere.

However, I've been 2 places in the past few weeks (Leichardt and the Blue Mountains) that now require you to download an app to pay for parking. Different apps. So rather than just depositing a few dollars in machine or even just paying via tap and go, I've had to stuff around for 5 mins figuring out how to download the app, upload my information just to pay for an hours parking. So frustrating and a waste of time. I'm praying this doesn't become the norm, or if it does, all places use the same app! AIBU to fear that all councils are going to jump on board with this in the next few years?

OP posts:
User19543785 · 10/09/2023 07:24

I hate them, we never go shopping out of town now, it's too much bother, fortunately we have an excellent out of town mall with 5 hours free parking and walkable if we want so the other towns with their shitty carparks with apps can get stuffed.

Dragonwindow · 10/09/2023 07:22

Once you've got the apps, though, it is much easier (I'm lucky that everywhere round me is Ringo or paybyphone).

Actually, the easiest of all is when they have contactless payment pads on the meter, so you literally just tap to pay.

usernotfound0000 · 10/09/2023 07:18

I hate these, wouldn't be so bad if they all used the same but it rarely is the same. In wales recently, the parking machine had cash/card but that wasn't working so the only option was the app but there was no signal to download it! Ended up finding a cafe with free Wi-Fi to be able the download it.

RampantIvy · 10/09/2023 07:17

TerfTalking · 10/09/2023 05:26

Yes, it’s a pain in the bum here in the uk. What is also a pain is the way the apps work. My big city council used to be RingGo which I didn’t mind, you start the parking then stop it when you got back to your car and they calculate your cost. Then they changed it to PayByPhone where you have to guess how long you need to park in advance then pay.

This doesn’t work for me in cities, as I may spend longer shopping, or may decide to stop for lunch. I feel it rules my day as I need to get back, a free meter may be an 20 minute walk to where I need to be, either that or I overpay and don’t use some of the time. Which of course, you never get back.

Is there not an option to top up without going back to the car?

Mydogisagentleman · 10/09/2023 07:17

Our local car park app is sheer shite.
Internet coverage is patchy and 9 times out of 10 the service is not available.

PollyPut · 10/09/2023 07:14

Eleganz · 10/09/2023 07:07

And don't forget that many of them also charge you a little fee for the privilege of paying by their app.

There is a car park in a council run attraction near us that only allows paying by app. Therefore you need a smartphone and signal to park there as well as them not mentioning the fee on any signage. I've complained but you just get the usual 2 page letter back that just tried to explain away the obvious issues with meaningless nonsense.

Put in a formal complaint through the complaints process. If no form of sensible response then the next stage is the ombudsman

PollyPut · 10/09/2023 07:13

It's a pain. Also a real problem if you don't have a smart phone (many people don't), or it's out of batteries.

MidnightOnceMore · 10/09/2023 07:12

mjf981 · 10/09/2023 05:06

Oh this doesn't sound promising and what I feared...why does it feel like technology is often just making our life more complicated, when it is meant to be doing the opposite? 😑

Because it is about transferring the cost of human time to you as the service user.

So the council no longer has to pay for a staff member to service machines, because the customer is doing the work.

In the UK voters/service users have spent a long time focused on 'efficiency' only for us to end up with this rubbish which isn't efficient at all, just cheap.

User98866 · 10/09/2023 07:09

They drive me absolutely insane. Every town round here uses a different one and many are absolutely shite. Why can’t they just make card machines pay with cash or card ?!!!

Eleganz · 10/09/2023 07:07

And don't forget that many of them also charge you a little fee for the privilege of paying by their app.

There is a car park in a council run attraction near us that only allows paying by app. Therefore you need a smartphone and signal to park there as well as them not mentioning the fee on any signage. I've complained but you just get the usual 2 page letter back that just tried to explain away the obvious issues with meaningless nonsense.

WaltzingWaters · 10/09/2023 05:34

I do like the option to pay by app. It means you can extend the length of stay on the app if needed/wanted instead of having to go back to the car park. But yeah, completely agree that the number of different apps needed is just ridiculous. And sometimes the car park is in an area with low signal, so trying to download the app and put all the details in is just impossible!

Dontsparethehorses · 10/09/2023 05:31

I don’t often have coins so an app is often helpful but card payment would be much easier/ especially when no signal to download or use the app required!

TerfTalking · 10/09/2023 05:26

Yes, it’s a pain in the bum here in the uk. What is also a pain is the way the apps work. My big city council used to be RingGo which I didn’t mind, you start the parking then stop it when you got back to your car and they calculate your cost. Then they changed it to PayByPhone where you have to guess how long you need to park in advance then pay.

This doesn’t work for me in cities, as I may spend longer shopping, or may decide to stop for lunch. I feel it rules my day as I need to get back, a free meter may be an 20 minute walk to where I need to be, either that or I overpay and don’t use some of the time. Which of course, you never get back.

Original poster
mjf981 · 10/09/2023 05:06

Oh this doesn't sound promising and what I feared...why does it feel like technology is often just making our life more complicated, when it is meant to be doing the opposite? 😑

OP posts:
KateyCuckoo · 10/09/2023 05:01

You sound about 3 years behind the UK

Kanyewestsboat · 10/09/2023 04:54

It's like this in the UK I currently have 6 apps on my phone and that's just for local ish car parks.

I'm not against app parking, but the number of different apps you need is annoying. You can usually still park using the machine if you want to, but I imagine they'll phase the machines out over time.

On a side note, who thought changing the Ringo app icon to pink was a good idea? Every single bit of signage is green. Now I often click on just park by mistake. Just another layer of annoyance!

PurBal · 10/09/2023 04:48

Where I am: all council carparks within our council use the same app but if I hop over the county boarder they use a different app. Private carparks are different again, and use a variety of apps. I now only have the council one that I use regularly and avoid the private carparks in the area I live. If I’m on holiday, I accept that I might need a new app which I download and then delete after use.