Concern Over 'Woefully Short' Notice For RingGo Switch
Ealing Council changing to new online parking payment provider
Ealing Council has confirmed that the mobile parking platform PayByPhone will be taking over the provision of visitor parking sessions currently offered by RingGo from 1 April 2019.
A local councillor has expressed concern over the relatively short notice given by Ealing Council of their plan to switch providers for payment of parking charges.
From 1 April parking payments can be made by PayByPhone rather than the current service from RingGo which will stop operating in the borough later in the month . The new service will no longer charge for SMS reminders alerting users to the expiry of their parking session. RingGo will provide parking sessions for the first two weeks (1-14 April) after PayByPhone goes live in Ealing and will be issuing reminders to current customers advising them of the changes.
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Southfield ward Gary Malcolm said, ' How many people are aware of this with under a month to go? The transition period of two weeks seems woefully short? Many people use RingGo on an intermittent basis for visitors and will suddenly encounter no service. I hope the roll out of PayByPhone goes well, but on the past form of Ealing Council I am frankly pessimistic'.
As with RingGo payment can still be made via the app, online or by phone, without the need for coins. For those who prefer to use cash, some parking bays will be supported by PayPoint, allowing motorists to pay in any of their authorised stores.
Residents and businesses who currently purchase resident or business visitor permits will also be able to do so using PayByPhone although it is not clear whether they will have to resubmit an application to use the app in this way.
The RingGo app will still be used to park in neighbouring Hounslow borough.
Councillor Mik Sabiers, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, said, "We are always looking to make it easier and simpler for those who live and work in Ealing to park across the borough. The services we have secured from PayByPhone will help us do just that. There are a number of improvements including free reminders to drivers, which I'm sure will prove very useful."
Hannah Fuller, operations director for PayByPhone UK, says, "We encourage everyone who currently uses cashless parking for their parking sessions and visitor permits to download the PayByPhone app so they are ready to take advantage of the brand-new service on April 1."
11 March 2019