I am planning on a visit to Buxton, Derbyshire soon. Apparently not one parking machine in the town offers a card or app alternative to cash only (no change given)! How mad is that?
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Somerset is the same [glad I’m in Dorset]? There is a system in use though but a 65p parking charge becomes £1.10 with fees and texts. I use the Just Park app where possible. Free and 1st class. R-
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That makes no sense at all.
I appreciate that they are trying to recover card and platform costs with the extra charges, but cash isn’t free either (someone has to go and collect, sort it, bank it, reconcile it, etc) and there is a cost to inconvenience - people will just drive away.
They would probably make money off parking if it was possible to pay by card or app for no added fee.
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They’ve had a bit an issue in Cornwall I believe with car park machines rammed full of cash but very few people to empty them when they’re full. So folks turn up at the car parks and don’t pay and the Councils lose out. The simple thing to do, would be to do away with cash payment machines and make them all debit card or app only payments, but as is usual, someone will always cry foul and whinge and whine because there’s no cash alternative.
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There you go - the real world “problems” with cash.
Too often we are told some variation on: “we can’t go cashless, what about x, y & z”.
Those who are staunchly pro-cash often fail to mention cash drawbacks in the same argument!
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They are not daft in one way though in Buxton, because all the car parks seem to charge odd amounts…not rounded to pounds (e.g. £5.40) and they don’t give change.
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Very sneaky!
Not only does it come across as sneaky, but I think you’ll find it’s done very much on purpose. So lets say the parking charge is 70 pence an hour, the people who set the charges know full well people don’t carry pockets full of change, but they do know that people will more likely carry a pound coin or two in their pocket. By deliberately setting the parking rate at 60/70 or 80p an hour and either use machines that don’t give change or purposely set them not to give out change, they often make a healthy ‘profit’ out of people. Worse still, they don’t add any extra time on for the 30 p or whatever it might be because you only had a pound coin in your pocket. It’s very much daylight robbery.
Unless it was absolutely impossible, I would look for somewhere else to park (probably in a street somewhere) and they would lose out on the money.
Stuff them if they won’t accept card, I don’t carry cash!
I’m sure their tactics work, though, as most people do carry at least some cash as you say.
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Absobloodylutely! I did that very thing today. Purposely parked 1/2 mile outside of the town centre in a residential street and walked in. Spent about 2 hours in town at zero parking cost to me. I could have paid to park via the parking app, but to be honest, my local town council can go stuff themselves, they get enough Council Tax out of me as it is!
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Exactly, they miss out on revenue, it potentially annoys locals which the car parking is set up to avoid - eventually the message will get back to local authorities if more people do this.
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I will park in retail parks, supermarket car parks, and side streets (with a walk) to avoid most car parking charges.
The way I see it is I’m there to support local business, so our attendance should be encouraged, not discouraged.
Parked in Sainsbury today. 3 hours parking. Spent possibly 5 mins in store, thanks to Smartshop app.
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It’s only tangentially related to the topic, but Sainsbury’s SmartShop, M&S Scan & Shop and Waitrose Quick Check are great.
They save time by letting you bag-up your shopping as you go around the shop, help you stay aware of what you’re spending and alert you of offers.
Plus no need to use cash - and you can even pay on your phone in some cases!
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And you don’t need to use handsets that other customers have handled either
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But you might touch something in the shop that someone else has touched ! The horror !
Of course!
How do you think they get on the shelves 
That’s why I then wipe the products and my phone with disinfectant wipes when I get home.
Then I also put my phone in my PhoneSoap UV cleaning device for good measure!
But I’m much more fussy than most, I admit!
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And there it is ….!
Just when I’d thought I’d finished spending for the day. 
What do you clean the PhoneSoap UV cleaning device with ? And what do you clean what you cleaned the PhoneSoap UV cleaning device with ?
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I use it to clean my phone, no actual soap is involved!
The inside of the device cleans itself, but if the top gets dusty I can always wipe it down. It’s made from durable plastic.