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Car parking in Jersey is finally going digital.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) originally unveiled plans for a parking app in February 2016 - now its been announced that an app by UK company ‘PayByPhone’ will be trialled next week at Green Street car park, which allows users to remotely pay for, monitor and even extend their parking.
The trial will start on 13 September and, subject to its response, the app will then be rolled out to other DfI car parks.
Pictured: Assistant Manager at Parking Control, Terry Renouf, demonstrating the new PayByPhone app at Green Street car park.
App developers began bidding for the rights to develop the app 19 months ago with Minister for Infrastructure Deputy Eddie Noel hoping that the app would “...be in operation by the time schools go back in September.”
As schools go back (a year later), paycards are no longer the only way islanders can pay for their parking.
Pictured: Minister for Infrastructure hoped the parking app would be operational by last September.
Commenting on the delay to the scheme Deputy Noel told Express that: “It was a combination of the tendering process taking longer than expected as well as obstacles encountered whilst linking up payments made through the app to the Treasury’s software.”
Deputy Noel also said that because mapping software works slightly differently in Jersey to that in the UK, the app developers encountered bugs they haven’t seen before whilst programming the app for Android phones in particular.
Tony Moretta, CEO of Digital Jersey, welcomed this news, saying: "It is no secret that since coming to Jersey I have been a critic of pay cards when technology can provide a better alternative. I'm really pleased to see the hard work of the DfI team paying off with the introduction of mobile parking to Jersey and I'm sure that Jersey motorists will take to it quickly and confidently."
Islanders who use Green Street car park can register online from now ahead of the trial’s launch next week.
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