Buckinghamshire Council has begun a pilot of giving drivers a choice of apps when paying to use its car parks.
The local authority said that drivers using council car parks in Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Bourne End and Marlow will be able to use apps from JustPark, PaybyPhone and RingGo. Previously they could only use the latter.
The move is part of the National Parking Platform programme, led by the Department for Transport, which is aimed at giving drivers more flexibility in paying for parking. Buckinghamshire said that customers can choose which supplier works for them and the price they pay.
Its corporate director for communities, Richard Barker, said: The idea behind the scheme is to give customers a choice in what they pay for their parking and to go for the option that best suits them.
“With different suppliers offering different convenience fees across one area, it forces them to be competitive in their pricing. This drives down costs for motorists which is another positive.
“This is part of a pilot so we will be monitoring how it is used and will feed back our findings.”
Choice of app is one of the central feature of the National Parking Platform, which is also aimed at supporting the development of new apps and enabling councils to better understand the demand for and use of parking spaces.
