Council backs plan to make it easier to pay and display at town centre car parks

And councillors have also agreed to axe the 20p 'convenience charge' for motorists who pay for parking via the RingGo smartphone app, with the council now set to cover the cost of the charge for at least a year.

The council has started work on a long-term parking strategy to support the ambitious plans to regenerate the town centre.

But reliability issues with the pay and display machines currently operating at the town centre's ten council-run car parks - and the need to extend the council's contract with RingGo - meant councillors considered measures to improve town centre parking in the short-term at a meeting of full council last night (Wednesday 10 July).

The current pay and display machines - which allow motorists to pay for parking with coins - have been increasingly unreliable and replacement parts have become difficult to source.

The council now intends to replace half of the pay and display machines, with each car park now set to have one machine which only accepts coins and another, new machine which only accepts card payments.

The RingGo app was launched at the town centre's car parks in 2022 and has proved popular with motorists. In the 2022/23 financial year, RingGo payments generated 17 per cent of the council's parking income, while a year later the figure had increased to 44 per cent.

Cllr Claire Edwards, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for communities and homes, regulation and safety, said the council had decided to absorb the cost of RingGo's convenience charge for at least a year in order to ensure all motorists pay the same parking fee.

"We want to offer residents and visitors a choice when paying for parking in the town centre, and while many motorists have embraced the 'cashless' payment option provided by RingGo, we know many people still prefer to pay by card or cash," Cllr Edwards said.

"This investment in new pay and display machines, together with the option to pay for your parking with cash at a number of PayPoint locations in the town centre, means motorists can choose to pay and display by card, coins or app while the council finalises its new parking strategy."

Councillors have also agreed to give the council's chief officer for regulation and safety delegated powers to change car park opening times and charges to support the town centre.

The move aims to give the council greater flexibility to extend car park opening times or offer discounted or free parking to support events in the town centre.

Cllr Noreen New, Rugby Borough Council's Liberal Democrat group spokesperson for communities and homes, regulation and safety, said: "Residents have made it clear they still want the option to pay by cash or card when parking in the town centre, so we made sure their views were considered when we discussed payment options with council officers."

The new pay and display machines look set to installed in the autumn, together with new signage at all council car parks detailing the range of payment options on offer.