Cash free parking future for Blackpool

But town hall leaders say the option to pay with coins will remain for the timebeing.

Following on from the successful introduction of a parking app in May for use in council car parks and on-street parking bays, drivers will be able to call a number so they can use bank cards over the phone.

Traffic wardens already use a hand held scanner to check if parking has been paid for by matching registration plates with a computer data base.

A paperless permit system will also be introduced.

But town hall chiefs say the increasing use of technology does not mean cash will be phased out “overnight.”

Coun Mark Smith, cabinet member for business, enterprise and job creation, said: “The parking app has proved successful since it was introduced.

“We will be monitoring how the use of cashless methods of payment goes and may reduce the number of machines which can take cash.

“But there are certain sectors of society who still want to use cash so we’re not going to go completely cashless overnight.

“It’s just another way of meeting people’s needs.”

A council report says: “Parking services have decided to implement cashless parking.

“This means that on parking machines in council owned car parks there will now be a notice giving customers a telephone number to ring to pay for their car park ticket.

“There is also an app that people can download to pay for their car parking.”

Coun Tony Williams, leader of the Conservative group of Blackpool Council, said he welcomed more flexible ways of paying for parking which most major towns and cities now offered.

But he added: “However for on street parking I think there should also be an option to pay by cash as well as card or app.

“Not everyone has a smart phone or wants to use their bank card. Victoria Hospital in their ground level car parks offers both options and it seems to work fine.”

The council introduced the phone app partly to limit the handling of cash and the need to touch payment machines to help reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.

It also said the move would reduce queues at ticket machines and be more convenient for drivers who can add to their parking using the app, without having to return to the machine.