ALTERNATIVE ways to pay car parking charges are being investigated by West Devon Borough Council?s parking strategy group. Cathy Aubertin, car parking and contract performance manager, said there had been requests to look at different ways of paying in order to encourage visitors to stay longer and to make the system more flexible. One of the alternatives being considered is pay-by-phone, which has been introduced by several authorities in Devon and Cornwall. Should a motorist wish to pay by credit or debit card, they would contact the phone number on the tariff board and would be charged a small fee of 10p to 20p on top of the normal charge. The council would, however, incur a charge of approximately 3.6% per transaction. The method could also be used to top-up parking time if a motorist decided to stay longer than originally anticipated. Another alternative for topping-up payment is to install additional pay and display machines so that motorists would not need to return to the original car park to increase their parking time.
