Should pay and display parking cash machines be replaced by parking apps?

Pay-as-you-go parking machines are set to disappear from city streets, leaving drivers forced to use apps to pay for a ticket.

People will have to pay for parking through one of the many applications rather than paying on the spot using cash or card.

The move could make parking payments challenging for elderly or vulnerable motorists who may not have a smartphone, or struggle to use apps if they do, according to The Times.

Britian’s biggest parking app RingGo has up to 515,000 users currently but there are many other apps including ParkMe, Parkopedia, Just Park and PayByPhone which are needed across the country.

Brighton and Hove city council will scrap all of its pay and display machines by 31st May citing that changing machines to 4G would require a large budget. It admitted the move could cause ‘digital exclusion’.

And the London borough of Bromley will remove all machines by early April due to a total cost of £1million to reconfigure them all.

A common complaint among motorist regarding the switch to parking payment apps is how many there are, which can slow people down and result in missed appointments as they have to download yet another app.

Campaigners say the move over to widespread app use would be “disastrous for anyone without a smartphone” and could “alienate some people, including the elderly”

What are your views? Do you have a smartphone? Are you happy using parking Apps? Or would you prefer to keep to cash payments? Should parking be free for over 65s?