Home Money The closure of 3G will increase the cost of parking your car… Here’s why

The closure of 3G will increase the cost of parking your car… Here’s why

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The old pay and display machines run on the 3G network, but that network is due to close in 2025, so where does that leave councils and drivers?

The UK’s 3G network is expected to switch off at the end of 2025. While many now use smartphones with 5G, on the surface it makes sense.

But for drivers, the move away from 3G is causing problems as the UK’s parking display and pay network currently relies on the older network.

Not only are there problems with older and vulnerable people not being able to pay for parking in a cashless system, but there are also huge costs involved.

One council predicts it would cost around £1 million to switch current machines from 3G to 4G. Multiply it across the country and the cost is potentially enormous, with an increase in parking fees likely to help pay for the rollout.

New modern parking systems also offer councils the opportunity to start charging people for parking based on emissions, which could make drivers feel disadvantaged by owning more polluting cars.

The old pay and display machines run on the 3G network, but that network is due to close in 2025, so where does that leave councils and drivers?

How paid parking continues to depend on 3G

Many current pay and display machines operate on 3G data networks.

Reading Council noted in its Committee Report that 3G supports the connectivity of its pay and display machines, allowing the parking service to monitor faults and usage.

These services will be lost when the 3G network is turned off nationwide.

More precisely, the council explained that the modems inside the machines are programmed to work on the 3G network.

When 3G goes out this year, pay and display machines won’t be able to communicate with “the back office.” Therefore, there will be “no access data or transactions or alerts” when the machine loses connectivity.

The council’s report explains that operating the machines without this operation “will lead to additional costs, a possible reduction in revenue and poor customer service”.

The 3G blackout will not only mean that officers will be unaware of the status of the machines and customers will not be able to park, but the council says it will face a loss of income or the additional burden of having to check each machine. physically every day.

How many municipalities face this 3G problem?

Mail Online reported in 2023 that Brighton and Hove, Enfield and Bromley, as well as Harrow and Slough, had withdrawn all or almost all of their machines because they use the 3G network.

Mail Online reported in 2023 that Brighton and Hove, Enfield and Bromley, as well as Harrow and Slough, had withdrawn all or almost all of their machines because they use the 3G network.

Councils across the UK are facing the problem.

Between July and September 2023, the Local Government Association carried out a survey of local authorities to identify the impact likely to result from the switch-off of 2G and 3G by UK mobile network operators.

While most councils are aware of network closures and are making necessary preparations, almost two-thirds of councils that responded said they are still using devices and systems that rely, at least to a small extent, on 2G and 3G networks. .

In 2023, the BBC found that of the 244 councils in England responsible for parking, eight had already removed all pay and display machines and 14 had removed some.

Half of all London councils (16) had withdrawn some or all of their machines.

More than half of people over 65 are not comfortable using apps, according to a Consumer Intelligence survey commissioned by the Mail this month.

Mail Online reported in 2023 that Brighton and Hove, Enfield and Bromley, as well as Harrow and Slough, had retired all or almost all of their machines.

Many councils are considering the possibility of phasing out pay and display machines.

For example, Croydon Council announced in March 2024 that, in the first instance, pay and display machines would no longer accept cash.

Card payment was still available until 3G was shut down. By June 2024, the council had planned for all payments and machines to be closed and parking replaced by RingGo, Paypoint and other phone parking apps.

How moving away from pay and display can be ‘disastrous’ for seniors

Charity bosses and MPs have warned against removing pay and display parking, saying it could be

Charity bosses and MPs have warned against removing pay and display parking, saying it could be “disastrous” for older drivers.

As councils move away from using 3G-based pay and display machines, there are growing fears that drivers without smartphones will be left out.

Former Leveling Up minister Michael Gove was so concerned about discriminating against older people by forcing them to use smartphones to pay for parking spaces that he wrote to every local authority in England.

Gove said councils have a responsibility to ensure they “do not discriminate against older people or vulnerable people in their decision-making”.

A survey commissioned by the Mail found that more than half of over-65s have no desire to use parking apps such as RingGo and PayByPhone.

And two in five respondents of all ages said they would not like to go to urban centers that lacked parking meters.

Caroline Abrahams, of the charity Age UK, said: “The news that we may soon see the end of paid parking is disastrous for anyone without a smartphone, including millions of older people.”

What are some municipalities doing to try to serve everyone?

As well as some councils offering free parking in district centres, trials have been carried out to try to address concerns and issues.

Croyden Council said it has carried out four parking tests in preparation for the closure of the 3G network.

The council said it was “clear” that motorists want cash payment options available, so it has developed a “pay point” option as an alternative to cashless payment.

People can visit stores offering ‘Paypoint’ and book a free parking session or a cash or card payment session.

The move away from 3G is bringing with it other parking restrictions

New rates for petrol, hybrid and electric models were proposed in Bath in September 2023 from 8 September and are now in force.

New rates for petrol, hybrid and electric models were proposed in Bath in September 2023 from 8 September and are now in force.

New rates for gasoline, hybrid and electric models show sliding rate scale

New rates for gasoline, hybrid and electric models show sliding rate scale

The need to phase out 3G-based parking machines provides councils with the opportunity to incorporate emissions-based parking systems.

The reading council report pointed to the introduction of new vehicle registration recording machines as an opportunity to link driving and vehicle license data on tailpipe emissions.

RingGo and other similar apps already collect this data.

By modernizing systems and using these new machines and smartphone apps, councils can use emissions information, as Reading Council says, to “model a charging regime aimed at the most polluting vehicles” with the “main objective ” to encourage people to switch from highly polluting vehicles to zero-emission vehicles.

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