Cashless parking will be introduced at a car park in Rochester next month.
Less than two per cent of motorists who use the Rochester multi-story car park in Cory’s Road pay for their parking using cash.
The car park will go cashless from Thursday, 10 November.
The Rochester multi-storey car park became ticketless last year and uses automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
Residents and visitors enter the car park and park their vehicle and then, when they are ready to leave, they simply enter their registration details into the parking kiosks and pay for their parking using card or contactless. They can also pay by phone using the Go Mobon parking app or RingGo Pay Later. RingGo Pay Later will be introduced at the car park from Tuesday, 1 November.
The ANPR cameras will then automatically raise the barrier as motorists exit.
Residents can also sign up for an online parking account and ‘AutoPay’ option, which will record when a registered vehicle enters and leaves the car park and automatically bills the account holder’s payment account, without the need to go over to the kiosks or use an app.
Less people using cash to pay for parking
Cllr Phil Filmer, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Frontline Services, said: “Following a successful ANPR pilot at the Rochester multi-storey car park, we will be introducing cashless parking from Thursday, 10 November. Since the pandemic, there has been a reduction in the number of people who pay for their parking using cash. Since January 2022, only 1.7 per cent of motorists who use this popular car park have paid for their parking using cash. There are a number of ways that motorists will be able to pay for their parking including using their phones and setting up an online parking account. Plans are underway in introduce ANPR in other car parks in Rochester and more information will be announced in due course.”
When ANPR is introduced in other car parks residents and visitors will still be able to pay for their parking using card, contactless, cash or by phone.
Residents with electric, or hybrid, vehicles are able to park in the car park for free between 6pm and 8am Monday to Sunday, if they are charging their vehicles using the available charging points. To benefit from free parking, residents have to register their vehicle online to give them ticketless access. Motorists will need to pay to charge their vehicles.
Find out more about the changes at Rochester multi-storey car park, and parking in Medway.