Pay and display is reportedly set to be abolished in the UK, meaning that drivers will now have to use a car park's designated app to pay for their parking. The decision has thrown up plenty of issues, including that there are an estimated 30 different smartphone apps in operation across the country, which means that motorists would have to download a plethora of different programmes to avoid risking a fine, and that many elderly and vulnerable people who don't have a smartphone or struggle to use them will be particularly hard hit.
Alongside the obvious technical difficulties of downloading an app, including phone signal and available storage, drivers could be made late for appointments as they are left with no choice but to sit and wait for another app to download onto their phone. Pay and display machines will stop being used in London boroughs Bromley and Enfield by April, while by May 31 the practice will also be ended by Brighton and Hove City Council. Both Harrow and Westminster in London have already removed all their machines.
Mobile phone providers switching off 3G data networks which run the parking meters is the catalyst for the change. The cost of updating all machines in Bromley, for example, would cost £1 million.
