MAYOR LAUNCHES PAY-BY-PHONE PARKING SERVICE

An innovative new service to allow motorists to pay for their parking has been officially launched by the Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson on Tuesday 26th October 2010.

Working in partnership with RingGo, Bedford Borough Council is offering motorists the opportunity to pay for their parking by mobile phone, including via an iPhone app. The option to pay by cash remains unchanged.

Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: "It is great news that we have been able to introduce the RingGo system to drivers in Bedford. The service is very quick and easy to use and offers motorists an additional, simple way to pay for their parking.

"It is already up and running successfully in other parts of the country. We are pleased to be introducing the service here and making it easier for residents and visitors to park in and around the town, even when they're out of spare change.

"I'm sure local residents and visitors to Bedford will welcome the extra flexibility the RingGo system brings."

RingGo Implementation Manager, John Wheeley, added: "We are pleased to be rolling out RingGo payments in Bedford town centre. Many local people will have tried the service at Bedford train station, where it has been offered for about a year. Take up there has been good, so we are sure that people using the service in the town centre will also like paying for their parking by phone."

First time users can register by mobile phone by calling 01234 813814 or in advance, by visiting www.myRingGo.co.uk. Registration takes only a couple of minutes but once completed, the service is much quicker to use.

Once registered, drivers use the same local telephone number (01234 813814) to pay for parking, simply by giving the car park reference number, which is on the pay-and-display machine, and stating how long they wish to stay for. No ticket is needed. Parking times can be extended by the same method.

Using the service costs a flat rate of 20p in addition to a car park's normal parking fees. No parking tickets are issued as parking attendants can accurately check which vehicles have paid using the RingGo system through special mobile phones, which link directly to RingGo's central data system.