Paybyphone

[ImLostAgain]

Glancing through my far too many apps on my phone I noticed a paybyphone app. It's got to be about a year since I d/l & used it. A thought struck me, how does it know when you have left the car park or even if you have gone over your time?

[barry1010]

Your phone knows your location using GPS and you gave the app permission to track you, too

[MWG14]

Numberplate recognition?

[Buenchico]

The app doesn't know whether, having paid to park for (say) one hour, you're there for just one minute or one full day. The system still relies on a ticket inspector going around the car park to see who's paid for their parking and who hasn't.

If the inspector sees a valid ticket (issued by a machine) on the dashboard of the car, his/her job is done. If he/she doesn't though, they can then look at the app on their own phone to view the (searchable) list of vehicle registrations for those where payments have been made via the app.

[Buenchico]

PS: In this area the only car parks that I know of using the PayByPhone app are those at Ipswich rail station and Ipswich Hospital. So, like you, I rarely use that app. However I use MiPermit frequently (and RingGo occasionally too). I can't remember the last time that I paid for parking with coins. (It was almost certainly several years ago).

[ImLostAgain]

Cheers for that everyone. I remember using it on Holy Island (Lindisfarne) because they had changed over to that system and there was no other way to pay at that time.

[Buenchico]

PPS: My post at 2021 refers to the way that things seem to be done with most parking apps and in most situations. (I certainly see ticket inspectors checking on vehicles in the council car parks, where such apps are in use, in Ipswich and Stowmarket).

However it's also possible for such apps to link in with the ANPR cameras which are in use in some car parks. For example, Ipswich Hospital car park no longer has ticket inspectors. People without the app pay at the end of their stay (by cash or card), with the duration of that stay being calculated based upon the entry time of their vehicle (as detected by the cameras at the car park entrance). Those with the app on their phone though just pay as they would on any other car park, with the 'in' and 'out' cameras checking that they've paid the correct amount for the duration of their stay.