Coin free parking with new mobile phone payment system

12 June 2006

Cheltenham is the first town in Gloucestershire to trial a new mobile phone payment system in its off street car parks.

The six month pilot scheme, which is being officially launched by Cheltenham Borough Council on 19 June, will enhance the payment options available to car park users.

The system, supplied by local company Verrus UK Ltd, will give motorists the option of paying to park via mobile phone without the hassle of finding loose change for the meter or having to run back to the car park to top up their parking ticket.

Jason Benjamin, parking manager for Cheltenham Borough Council, said: "We have seen this payment system in operation in other areas of the country and we were very impressed with its reliability, ease of use and popularity with car park users. We hope it will be just as successful in Cheltenham."

Cllr Rob Garnham, cabinet deputy of environment, agreed it was a fantastic new scheme. He said : "This council is not in the business of trying to catch people out over parking and then issuing tickets. What we want to do is encourage responsible, safe and convenient parking for anyone using the town centre. This new system increases that convenience, stops the eternal hunt for spare change we all seem to go through and, most of all, allows us to relax and continue whatever we are doing without breaking off and rushing back to pay for more parking.

"Now you can browse in the shops and restaurants, continue with your meeting or have even more time relaxing in the parks and gardens but still be able to top up your parking from wherever you are. I think this system will be a real winner."

Motorists wishing to use the system just have to register either by texting or calling a number signed in the car park and entering their car registration number and debit/credit card details. They can then immediately pay to park by entering the number of hours they wish to park for and the four digit car park location number. On subsequent calls, the system recognises their mobile number and they simply enter the time they require and the four digit car park number which is displayed. Motorists also have the option to pre-register online at www.verrus.com.

Cheltenham is the fifth location in the country to adopt the new system, the others being Southampton, Salisbury, York and Cardiff. Motorists can use the Verrus payment system in any of the locations across the UK where it is up and running. They will just incur a small fee for the service on top of the parking fee.

Verrus CEO Robin Bevan said: " We have already seen how popular this service has become with motorists in York and Salisbury and we are confident that it will enjoy the same degree of success in Cheltenham. From our experience, motorists really appreciate the convenience of the system, in particular the text reminders and ability to top up their parking whilst they are out shopping or on business"

Parking attendants are being issued with Blackberry handhelds units as a method of enforcement. Attendants log onto the Verrus website and key in the location number. The registration number and expiry time of all cars parked under the system will then be displayed on the handset.

New signage is expected to cost the council just under £4,000 and it is hoped funds spent on car park pay and display facilities will be reduced in the long-term. Verrus is providing the technical equipment.

Notes:

Anybody using the Verrus system will incur a small cost on top of the parking fee. The charge will be 10p where the tariff is less than £2 and 20p where the tariff exceeds £2. A further 10p will also be charged for any text reminders or to extend parking times. The whole of the parking charge is then billed to their credit card account.

For example, if a customer wants to park for three hours, it will cost £3.30 and a 20p service charge.

The customer is told of the service charge upfront and have the option to decline the transaction if they decide they would prefer to pay by usual coin payment.

Verrus, based near Stroud, is the leading provider of phone based payment systems within the parking industry in North America. The Verrus service is currently available on over 130,000 parking spaces across North America - a number that is set to rise by the end of 2006.

Verrus set up an operation in Europe in late 2004 to roll out the same suite of services that have proved so successful in North America. After just 18 months of promoting the service in the UK, the system is now live in York, Salisbury, Cardiff and Southampton. Interest in the system is spreading fast and other locations are expected to be live before the end of 2006.

There are 16 car parks in Cheltenham where the verrus system will be used. They are: