Fears raised over rise of ‘pay by app’

MILLIONS of mature drivers could be restricted from taking simple trips to town simply because they won’t have the capacity to pay for parking, says vehicle breakdown recovery provider Start Rescue.

As local authorities increasingly move to ‘pay by app’ systems, pensioners who do not have a smartphone will find themselves high and dry at parking bays in the UK’s towns and cities.

The move away from cash and card payments has been accelerated by mobile phone providers switching off 3G data networks, on which some parking machines operate.

Currently there are at least 30 smartphone apps to pay parking charges. .

Data from Ofcom shows that only 68% of those aged 65 or over use a smartphone to go online.

With more than 9.2 million drivers on our roads in the same age group, according to the DVLA, that suggests there are potentially 2.9 million older drivers without access to apps to enable them to pay for parking.

Concerns about how mature drivers will pay for parking have been raised by a number of organisations including the National Pensioners Convention (NPC).

Its general secretary, Jan Shortt, said: “The drive towards digital-only seriously disadvantages millions of older people who cannot afford smartphones, tablets or broadband to get online.

“We appreciate it is more convenient for councils and parking companies to opt for digital-only payments, but cash is still legal tender, and in the Queen’s Speech the

Government announced legislation to ensure that the option to pay by cash must remain.

“Technology is fine for most things, but when it excludes individuals from services, or does not work efficiently, then we have to ask why and especially if it is not compatible with the Equality 2010 Act that says goods and services must be accessible to all customers.”

Lee Puffett, managing

director of Start Rescue, added: “One might reasonably assume in today’s digital age that everyone has a smartphone, and therefore the ability to pay for all manner of goods and services.

“But when you consider that potentially 2.9 million people could be denied carrying out simple shopping trips because there is no way they can pay for parking, then it’s clear there is a problem.”

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