Council rules out pay-by-card parking meters

A suggestion that the parking meters in Mullingar be upgraded so that motorists can use credit or debit cards to pay for parking was made at the most recent meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District by Cllr Bill Collentine.

The council ruled out the suggestion on the basis that they would have to invest in new machines, and pointed out that the district has implemented SMS parking, app-based parking and IVR phone parking in the district.

"This parking solution is working extremely efficiently and effectively for the customers and the paid parking team," the written response to Cllr Collentine’s motion stated, adding that this solution did not require a capital investment and the implementation was seamless.

"A credit/ debit card solution would require capital investment for the purchase of these machines. The current solution allows the customers to use their credit/ debit card via app, SMS, or call," the response concluded.

Cllr Collentine was disappointed: "A lot of people go to the meter and they don’t have cash in their pocket," he said. Pointing out that people are not using cash any more," he added that it takes too long to go to a shop to get coins, and doing so irritates shopkeepers.