Does anyone have views on which of the two they prefer? I know that I prefer the former.
Our Bromley, Glades car park has just converted to the Pay on Foot type, and I naively thought that this would benefit my shopping habits and lower costs, as they used to charge 90p for 1 hour's parking and £1.80p for 2 hours. Invariably I came back within the 2 hour period to make sure that I did not have a penalty notice slapped on my windscreen.
Yesterday, however, with the new system in operation, I still came back in under 2 hours and when I placed my ticket into the new pay machines found that I still had to pay £1.80p even though I'd only been parked for 1.5 hours! Again, naively, I thought that these machines would have been more sophisticated and been able to apportion me a discount for arriving back earlier, but no, seemingly not.
I don't really know, from my point of view, what benefit this changeover has accomplished other than freeing up those staff employed from walking around the car park spotting people who've outstayed there welcome. All I know, is that a certain amount of congestion will be caused at peak times with people having to queue to get their entry and exit ticket verified etc.
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These are all revenue generators. You can't expect to save money by prudent use. I really hate the ones that won't give change. I feel that I'm tipping the dratted things!
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We used to have a multi-storey car park in our town (run by NCP) where you paid at a manned kiosk when you left, the charge being based on the arrival time on your ticket.
Not only was it cheaper than on-street parking, but you didn't run the risk of a parking fine due to over zealous (and still very much hated) traffic wardens.
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I once caused merry hell in this car park (Morrison's Stuartli?). It was a very busy Saturday and I'd come back to my car 10 minutes before the end of the two hour price band. Unfortunately there was only one kiosk in operation causing a huge tailback to get out. By the time I'd got to the front of the queue, the time of entry was 2 hour 10 minutes ago, meaning that the chap in the kiosk wanted to charge me for 2-3 hours' parking.
Now, I'd been shoe-shopping with SWMBO so, as you can imagine, I was not in the mood to suffer fools so I politely informed him that I had vacated the parking facilities within the 2 hour price band and had spent the remaining time wasting my petrol due to their not employing enough attendants. He still wanted to charge me the higher figure so I just switched off the ignition and sat there, stating quite clearly that I had no intention of paying that figure but was more than happy to pay for what I had actually used. He had to ring his supervisor who was on his lunchbreak and eventually it was agreed that I could pay the lower fee.
I know it was probably a little petty, but I wonder how much they made from people just meekly paying up?
Cheers.
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These are all revenue generators. You can't expect to save money by prudent use. I really hate the ones that won't give change. I feel that I'm tipping the dratted things!
The ones I've used have always given change.
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I have never, ever, found a parking machine on Pay & Display which gives change ie the pre-pay machines rather than put your ticket in at the end of parking and then pay. Around here it is right money or overpay and no change.
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I have never ever found a parking machine on Pay & Display which gives change ie the pre-pay machines rather than put your ticket in at the end of parking and then pay. Around here it is right money or overpay and no change.
Who said the Pay and Display give change - I didn't! As far as I know and have experienced, only Pay on Foot/Exit machines give change.
They have to, I would have thought, because one might not know what the car park charges are going to be when you return and therefore need the facility to give change for various coinage and notes in additon to being able to accept various credit/debit cards as well
Edited by oldgit on 16/04/2008 at 23:57
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In Edinburgh, you can pay for Pay & Display by mobile phone! (Only they don't advertise the number on the machines - typical Edinburgh Council.!!).
But at least, if you park near the end of the day when parking becomes "free", the ticket runs your time over to the start of the next day.
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"Who said the Pay and Display give change?" Nobody did! I think those who commented all agreed that they didn't and that it was another sneaky prectice!
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There's plenty of "pay on foot" machines round here that don't give change....
*(sorry if that winds you up oldgit - I know how sensitive you are ;-)
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There's plenty of "pay on foot" machines round here that don't give change.... *(sorry if that winds you up oldgit - I know how sensitive you are ;-)
I must come clean here. I do actually suffer from mild panic attacks and hate being cornered in any situation and of course it is Pay on Foot car park which exacerbate this problem.
My very worst nightmare and fears were realised in Jan this year. I regularly attend Classical concerts at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, underneath which is an NCP car park operating the P on F system.
When I book my concert tickets online, you are offered the option of being sent, in addtions to the tickets, a release ticket for said carpark. In Jan. I went to a concert that I'd booked last year and for which I had the release ticket. On leaving the concert at about 10pm I was heading a fairly long queue of cars towards the exit barriers. On reaching the barrier I inserted my ticket and waited and waited but the barrier did not lift. Panic set in and I realised that my ticket was invalid and had, as it transpired been 'old issue' expiring at Christmas! Fortunately, I'd kept the ticket issued on entering the car park albeit folded up several times and in the ashtray but miraculously this was accepted by the pay machine and I had to pay another £4.20 to exit the car park but I tell you, the queue of waiting motorists piling up behind me weren't too pleased.
I phoned the Fairfield Halls (who refunded my car park excess charges) and they told me that they must have had and been issuing, out of date tickets to some of its patrons. I now check that my car park tickets are current ones and will cover my next visit i.e. this coming Saturday - I hate these car parks.
Edited by oldgit on 17/04/2008 at 10:37
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......... I still came back in under 2 hours ......... I still had to pay £1.80p even though I'd only been parked for 1.5 hours!
Just because they've introduced a new method of payment, it doesn't mean to say they should have a new scale of charges.
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I went into a Pay on Foot the other week in the centre of Exeter. When I saw the charges for the day (we were planning a full day) I decided to try to park somewhere cheaper. To get out, I had to buy an exit ticket so the two mins from going under the barrier to exit cost me £1.
Edited by Round The Bend on 17/04/2008 at 08:34
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You should try Conventry City Hospital. If you want to drop someone off or pick them up you apparently have no choice but to enter the carpark - £3 minimum payment!!
(all other routes in or out are red-routes with cameras - stop anywhere else and it's an instant fine).
Disgusting.
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Ref Coventry Hospital - at least our hospitals allow a 15-minute free time for drop-off / pick up before the charges start. Still have to take a ticket at the entry barrier, but, if you are under 15 min, then it lifts the exit barrier without further validation.
The local shopping mall has a multi-story carpark which was being used as free all-day parking by non-shoppers, so the mall owners have introduced P-on-F with the first 2 hours free. Again, no validation required at the pay station, just shove the ticket into the slot at the exit barrier at 1 hr 59 min and escape.
Personally, I prefer the P-on-F system because I don't have to carry a bag of shingle for P-&-D. Our P-on-F units give change from notes. I was caught out badly in this regard 3 years ago when I last was in U.K. as a tourist in the West-country. No shingle, and no change-giving machines, so a lot of my intended stopping places were by-passed. I did find a manned carpark in Looe, but, before entry, I asked if he gave change. Yes, he did, so Looe got my tourist money.
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To get out I had to buy an exit ticket so the two mins from going under the barrier to exit cost me £1.
There has to be a minimum charge.
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"There has to be a minimum charge."
Of course there does n't! I've used stations and airports that give 15 mins grace.
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Last week, from the Heathrow Terminal 3 car park, I got a 10p change.
But the fact is, that 10p was a Hungarian 10 p!
So, obviously, the machine can't differentiate between British 10p & Hungarian 10p.
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There has to be a minimum charge.
Says who?
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Some of our local "pay on the hoof" car parks only charge for the time taken, to the nearest 10p increment. When I'm led along on shopping trips (as a beast of burden) I am grateful for the change as it means that I don't have to spend all day wandering back and forth to feed the P&D machine as she decides she just wants to pop back into M&S.........again.
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We have pay by mobile in Taunton which was very useful when I only had a £2 coin with me on Sat which the P&D machine didn't take - the system works well even if you do get charged a 20p convenience charge - grrrr!
I prefer Pay on Foot as usually you can pay by card, I rarely have cash with me.
DB.
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