A survey investigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the parking industry, has shown a shift toward cashless parking, according to parking app RingGo.
The company approached 140 local authorities across the UK and found that 86% said they will switch to cashless payments, with 72% predicting phone-based parking payments becoming a priority. According to RingGo, this trend has emerged in response to pressure on councils following news that Covid-19 can survive up to 28 days on surfaces.
Furthermore, RingGo said the shift to cashless parking payments was also being driven by a significant reduction in use of parking machines in 2020. According to the study, use of parking machines has more than halved this year.
The survey also found that 57% of councils across the country provided free parking for everyone during lockdown, with an additional 14% providing free parking for key workers. This coincided with an 86% reduction in enforcement, with over half suspending it completely.
According to RingGo, whilst there remains uncertainty, many councils are currently planning to make data-driven decisions when planning mobility and implementations in 2021.
Peter O’ Driscoll, UK managing director of RingGo, said: “RingGo has been in the parking business for a long time, so we understand how different, and difficult, 2020 has been for many of our customers and partners.
“However, it is great to see that they are taking it in their stride, learning from many of the decisions they were forced to make during the pandemic and turning these into opportunities.
“From embracing touch free parking to using data and becoming more environmentally conscious, these transitions would all have taken longer under any other circumstances.”
