Comparison of the merits and costs of a Pay on Foot or Pay & Display system at Bridgeway Car Parks

Element / Pay on Foot / Pay and display
Advantages / Disadvantages / Advantages / Disadvantages
Ease of use / Customers do not need to pre-determine how long they wish to park for.
Customers do not have the stress of needing to return prior to their ticket expiring. / Barriers can be an
inconvenience to permit holders(approx. 750)
Pay machines can have periods where they are out of service and this is most likely to happen during busy periods.
At peak times or when there is heavy traffic on the gyratory system, queues can form, when motorists are waiting to get in to or out of the car park, causing traffic management issues.
Pay by Phone (RingGo) facility is potentially compatible with Pay on Foot car parking management systems, dependent on which system / provider is procured / Would allow vehicles to enterand exit the car park morefreely reducing traffic
management issues on the
gyratory
Compatible with Pay by Phone system which allows users to pay without coins, extend their parking session and potentially book parking sessions in advance in conjunction with local visitor attractions. / Moving to P&D would be changing an established system that regular users are familiar with and have become accustomed to; this could be mitigated by effective publicity and communication.
The absence of an exit barrier would mean vehicles exiting onto the gyratory system would not be regulated. This
could be mitigated by the
introduction of traffic slowingmeasures if required
Staffing / Staffing the Barrier controlled system negates the requirement for enforcement (except for ‘out of bay’) / Requires dedicated staff to
manage the Car Park (i.e. a
presence from 6am to 11pm, 7 days per week) / There is no requirement for apermanent presence
Patrolling can be accommodated within existing staffing levels. During periods
when activity is low,
patrolling can be reduced as
customer cannot be trapped
within the car park
Cost / Higher capital costs of system
£100,000+ depending on
specification
Higher maintenance costs, totalbudgeted maintenance for allparking machinery (46 Pay &Display Machines plus Pay onFoot) £33k Maintenance of POF
Equipment typically accounts for 50% of this
Additional revenue budget
pressure of approx. £38k p.a. as car park will need to be staffed until 11pm / Cost of a P&D system is
approx. £50,000 / More pay machines may be
required
Safety / Security / As the barrier system
requires the presence of a
CEO, there will be a
member of the parking
team on site during
working hours / Customers can get locked in Pay on Exit Car Parks / Uniformed patrolling is
deemed to be a bigger
deterrent to car park crime
than the presence of a barriersystem (ref BPA)
Paying for parking / Users are required to pay the exact amount for their parking.
Change is given / Users could park without paying for a ticket – this would be mitigated by CEO patrols. No change given – this would be mitigated by Pay by card and pay by phone
Requires the motorist to predict duration of stay – this would be mitigated by Pay by Phone which has the options to send reminders and for customers to extend their stay remotely.
Cash collection / audit / Change giving equipment is
complex representing a securityrisk for cash collection andmaking accurate auditing
difficult
System failure / Barrier failure rate due to technical issue is very low (less than 1 in 30) however this will inevitably increase over time as the equipment ages. Exact rate is dependent on which system / provider is procured
Prone to user error (e.g.
presenting an unpaid ticket onexit or having a damaged ticketwhich the pay machine cannot
read)
When the user/machine interface fails, the user will be unable to exit the car park causing an obstruction to other users. Early intervention from a
CEO is then required / Faults with machines do not affect the ability of users to enter and exit the car park.
Where multiple pay machines are located in the car park, a fault with one machine would simply require the user to purchase a ticket from another machine.
Pedestrian movement / Users make only two pedestrian movements across the car parking area (i.e. to and from the exit or stairs/lift). / Users make four pedestrian movements (i.e. to and from a Pay point which is located on the car parking area, to exit the car park and to return to the vehicle).
Vehicular movement / Barriers control entry
based on availability of
spaces (would not apply with an ANPR system) / Barriers in the entry lane restrict traffic flow to a maximum of 6 cars per minute (would not apply with an ANPR system)
If a car park has periods of high inflow (e.g. a commuter car park) a queue can build at entry point
Car parks that serve commuters and theatres-goers often have high peaks of exit flow which can cause long queues to form at both ticket machines and exit barriers
Barrier or system fault can lock vehicles in the car park. This ismore of an issue out of hourswhere staff are not on hand toresolve / A car park entry lane with no parking barrier can admit up to 15 cars per minute. / No regulation of vehicle entry could result in issues with vehicles moving around the car park to identify spaces when full.
Provision of pay points / Requires fewer pay points
(one at each exit /
stairwell) in car parks with
few pedestrian exits / Require relatively more pay
points as users need to returnto their vehicle with a ticketso immediacy of pay points ismore of a factor
Revenue / Motorists are obliged to
pay for the exact period of
time they have parked in
order to exit the car park
When the system has failed and the barrier has
to be raised / is locked
open, income is lost
System requires additional
space by the entry and
exit lanes utilising space
that could otherwise be
designated as parking bays / Users often pay more than
the correct amount as they
overestimate their stay
Additional paying bays could
be introduced if space by
entry / exit of the car park is freed up / Users could under-pay for the time they have parked or not purchase a ticket – this would be mitigated by effective patrolling.