Almost three-quarters of drivers struggle with parking apps

Nearly three in four motorists have run into difficulties when paying to park by mobile app in the last 12 months, according to new research by the RAC.

The survey of 1,709 drivers indicated the most common frustration experienced while using parking apps is a lack of signal (70%).

This was followed by the mobile app not correctly recognising the car park the driver was in (36%), and the app crashing (35%).

Most drivers said they prefer using bank/contactless cards and Apple Pay/Google Pay (46%), or cash (33%), compared with (30%) who favour an app.

Many councils have removed payment machines from their car parks and told drivers to use apps instead, to save money.

In May, the Government announced the launch of the National Parking Platform, which is aimed at enabling drivers to pay for parking in all participating car parks using their preferred app.

It said at the time that drivers face “inconsistent parking rules, clunky user experiences and unnecessary barriers”.

The RAC said 10 local authorities are using the service including city councils in Manchester, Liverpool and Coventry.

“Mobile apps have an important and increasing role to play when it comes to parking our vehicles, and the best ones make parking an easier task for many of us.” said RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis.

“But our figures show there’s still plenty drivers find frustrating about using them – whether that’s a lack of mobile signal, problems registering bank cards, or the app crashing or behaving strangely.

“All parking operators, whether public or private, should offer drivers at least two different ways to pay.

““No-one should be forced to use a mobile app when parking if they don’t want to, especially those who struggle with technology or just don’t have a smartphone.”