Pay for your parking using your mobile phone!

From today (Monday 10 October 2011), visitors to Lichfield City centre’s short-stay car parks will not have to search for loose change at the pay & display machines

Following a successful trial at the Lombard Street/Cross Keys car park over the summer, Lichfield District Council is rolling out a new payment system, called Dash Park, across all its short-stay city car parks. 

Using Dash Park will allow drivers to pay for their parking using their mobile phones, so they no longer need to worry about whether they have the right amount of change on them to cover their time in a short-stay car park. 

Councillor Louise Flowith, Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet Member for Operational Services, said: “Visitors to our short-stay car parks can still use change to pay for their parking if they prefer, but now they have the option of paying over the phone.

“Cash-free payment systems are common in larger cities, and, as we had lots of positive feedback about our summer trial, we are confident visitors will enjoy having the option to use it in Lichfield.

“There are lots of benefits, including not having to carry loose change on you, and you can extend your payment at the touch of a button if you are running late to your car – as long as you haven't exceeded the maximum stay in the car park.” 

To use the system, drivers first need to ‘sign up’ online at www.dashpark.co.uk or by calling 08456 800 104.

Once registered, the next time they park in one of Lichfield’s short-stay car parks they can pay for their parking with a telephone call or text message. They simply need to follow the instructions on the signs next to the pay & display machines. 

There is also a Dash Park iPhone application, which can be found by searching for 'dash park' in the App Store, or by following the link at www.dashpark.co.uk. 

“When you use Dash Park, you don't need to display a traditional paper ticket on your dashboard. This is because all our parking attendants carry a hand-held computer. If they see a car without a ticket, they enter the car's registration number into their computer, and it will tell them whether the driver has paid for parking using Dash Park,” continued Cllr Flowith.

To find out more, visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/dashpark