Inclusive parking solutions: Hounslow Council’s trial to address digital exclusion

Hounslow Council is running a 6-month trial at selected car parks around the borough where people can pay by card for their parking with a simplified system after residents’ feedback revealed that some struggle with the PayByPhone app. The trial will start in the new year introducing card parking payment terminals across 13 car parks and 7 park and shop sites.

The council moved to completely PayByPhone parking in 2016 in an attempt to curb theft and reduce costs. However, for vulnerable or less tech-savvy residents the change caused complications, with PayByPhone requiring people to book spaces by calling providers or through an app.

Those who were hard of hearing or did not own a smartphone said that they “felt discriminated against” by the council’s decision to go cashless, something it is now looking to help rectify. The new terminals will provide a contactless card or phone payment service, allowing users to enter their vehicle registration to validate their session at the correct tariff.

It can accommodate 30-minute free parking sessions at stop and shop locations as well as emissions-based charging. The trial will help the council decide if the scheme will be expanded borough-wide.

The council currently uses the PayByPhone system across all council-owned car parks. It has described the move to PayByPhone as ‘largely successful’ with approximately 35,000 parking sessions booked per week.

However, based on resident feedback, it has become clear that some people felt excluded by the new technology. Councillor Salman Shaheen, Cabinet Member for Recreation, Public Space and Parking, said: “Hounslow is a listening council. We know the uptake of the PayByPhone system has been very smooth for the majority of residents.

“However, there are a small number of residents who’ve written to us concerned about digital inclusion. This is something we take very seriously, which is why we are launching a trial cashless parking terminal option using the card. We are a borough that stands for inclusion and not exclusion.

“Through the trial, we encourage users to provide us with feedback and the data we collect will help us to make a balanced and informed decision, always keeping the residents’ needs as a priority.”

PayPoint also operates more than 200 sites across the borough which already give drivers the option to pay via cash or card, removing the need for a phone. PayByPhone will still operate in these locations in addition to new on-site card payment terminals.

List of car parks and streets with the new card terminal options: