Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
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.

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!

KateyCuckoo · 10/09/2023 05:01

You sound about 3 years behind the UK

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:
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.

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!

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!

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.

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 ?!!!

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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 07:24

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.

Tbf this is how most pay and display car parking has always worked, whether you're paying by cash, card or app.

Mygazpachoistoocold · 10/09/2023 07:31

It's also a pain when you visit another country only to find the only payment option is by app. Trying to find coverage to download an app you'll likely only need once in your entire life is incredibly frustrating.
I do like being able to use my card for payment, but would prefer to have the option for card and cash on a ticket machine.

Theraffarian · 10/09/2023 07:32

Also in the U.K. I find it such a pain . Have no issue with contactless card ones , as the majority of cards are contactless , but the apps are not user friendly for a lot of the population. There are still some people who don’t have smart phones , or new enough phones for the apps to work .

I got caught out myself last year , as I don’t upgrade my phone until it gives up the ghost . Sod’s law on a day out to a place I’d never been before it turned out the upgrade to software I needed for a different parking app wasn’t available, so I couldn’t load the new parking app , two hours round trip away from home and ended up parking miles away from where I needed to be .

MuggleMe · 10/09/2023 07:33

Went to the cinema yesterday and the machine wasn't accepting card payments, there were a lot of stressed out people trying to get the app sorted and not miss the start time of their film (including me).

MoiraRosesBaybay · 10/09/2023 07:36

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.

But that’s how old school car parks with cash and tickets worked. You’d think about how long you’d need and buy the ticket for that long. The pain then would be that if you needed longer you had to go back to the car to buy another ticket rather than extend it on the app.

LilyLemonade · 10/09/2023 07:51

Absolute pain. What if you are only visiting the country and will have to download an app that you never need again using your roaming data. What if you have no smartphone, what if there is no signal?
I also wonder about the elderly, who are increasingly excluded by this kind of technology.
It’s very convenient for the parking company but not so much for the user.

CaputDraconis · 10/09/2023 07:51

I love being able to pay by an app.

I never have cash on me and not every car park takes card.

Also you don't have to guess how long you will be and rush back to the car if your time is running out.

It saves me money as I don't overestimate so I don't have to rush (see above) I can put say 2 hours on and if I'm going to be longer just top it up.

If you're visiting another town/county you can check on the apps beforehand how much they cost etc. and don't have to worry about machines not giving change or having to find change in the first place.

Milkand2sugarsplease · 10/09/2023 08:01

I don't mind using the apps but I do begrudge paying more to use than than if I use coins.