Westminster Council has become the latest borough to trial cashless parking payments, with drivers in central London able to purchase tickets with a mobile phone.
Drivers in the busy West End and on Harrow Road can pay with a phone call or text message from today as part of the six-month trial.
They can also top up parking fees without returning to the car, thereby avoiding an encounter with the area's wardens.
Parking attendants can check that the correct payment has been made using a handheld computer, meaning no proof of purchase is required.
A Westminster Council spokesman says the scheme offers motorists coin-free convenience when paying for parking and the ability to pay for longer if running late.
The council will roll out the scheme across the city after the pilot and hopes to eliminate theft, fraud and vandalism to parking meters.
Drivers can first register by phone, SMS text or via a web site.
The scheme will be trialled in the G1 zone, which includes most of the West End, Covent Garden and Soho and the C2 zone around Harrow Road and Queens Park.
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Further reading:
First Great Western offers cashless parking payments
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