SMS car parking arrives at station

Passengers travelling from Bristol Parkway station will no longer need to find change to pay their daily £4.50 parking fee, thanks to an innovative payment system.

From next week, travellers who have registered for the system, developed by Cobalt Telephone Technologies, will be able to send a code via text message that will trigger an automatic payment against their pre-registered credit or debit card.

They will also receive a smartcard, based on radio frequency identity (RFID) technology, that can be displayed in car windscreens. Parking attendants have been issued with RFID-enabled Nokia 5140 mobile phones to read the smartcard and check that a vehicle owner has paid.

To encourage people to sign up for the new system, the station will provide a discounted daily rate of £4.30.

First Great Western transport integration manager Jonathan Radley says the rail company is happy to support the initiative.

'Anything that makes life easier for people who want to beat congestion by using public transport is very welcome. This scheme will make station parking quicker and easier,' he said.