First Great Western offers cashless parking payments

Train operator First Great Western has rolled out cashless parking at more than 60 station car parks, enabling passengers to buy tickets with their mobile phones.

Travellers can call through with their credit or debit card details giving the car park number, location number and their vehicle and payment details.

Subsequent calls simply require the location and length of stay and the calls are fast tracked, taking between 30 seconds and a minute.

First Great Western commercial director Tom Stables says the benefits include no coins, no tickets and no queues for passengers. VAT receipts are also available online for business travellers.

‘This initiative is part of our commitment to improving the customer’s total journey experience and parking is an important part of that process,’ he said.

‘The RingGo system is already proving to be a great time saver for customers as they can make the call while walking from their car to the platform.’

Other benefits include a summary text message, reminding drivers that their session is about to run out 10 minutes before it expires. Passengers can then extend their session by phoning back from wherever they are.

‘This is great when a meeting overruns and definitely heralds a new era in parking,’ added Stables.

Parking attendants can check number plates with a handheld device to ensure drivers have a valid mobile ticket.

The system has been rolled out at over 60 stations throughout the south and west of England, including Exeter, Bristol and Bath. The system was previously trialled at Bristol Parkway station.

First Great Western’s station car parks are run by APCOA, which opted for the RingGo payment system.

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Further reading

Passengers use mobiles for station car parking

West Berkshire Council implements mobile payment technology

SMS car parking arrives at station