PARKING PROBLEMS: RAC survey finds majority of drivers frustrated by parking apps
- Perry Richardson
- Oct 12
- 3 min read
Nearly three-quarters of UK drivers who used mobile apps to pay for parking in the past year struggled to complete their payments, according to new RAC research.
The study found that 73% of drivers experienced issues when trying to use parking apps, with poor mobile phone signal proving to be the most common problem. Seven in ten drivers said weak connectivity in car parks prevented payments from going through.
Other frustrations included apps failing to recognise the correct car park, reported by 36% of respondents, and apps crashing mid-use, affecting 35%. A further 30% said they faced other technical difficulties, while almost a quarter (24%) said their chosen app would not accept their bank card.
Thirteen per cent of drivers admitted they struggled to use the technology at all, rising sharply to 26% among those aged 75 and over.
When asked how they preferred to pay for parking, 46% said they favoured contactless card or digital wallet payments such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Cash remained popular with 33% of drivers, while 30% said they preferred mobile apps. Only 6% opted for QR code scanning, despite warnings from the RAC about the risks of ‘quishing’ scams that can target those methods.
The survey also showed that most motorists have to juggle multiple apps to park across different areas. Almost two-thirds (64%) have at least two parking apps installed, while more than a third (36%) have three or more. One in ten drivers reported having four or more apps on their phone.
To simplify the system, the Government has begun rolling out the National Parking Platform, which allows drivers to use a single app of their choice to pay for parking across participating areas. Ten local authorities, including Manchester, Liverpool and Coventry, are already part of the scheme, with more expected to join soon.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “There’s no doubt mobile apps have an important and increasing role to play when it comes to parking our vehicles, and the best ones make parking an easier task. But our figures show there’s still plenty drivers find frustrating about using them – whether that’s a lack of mobile signal, problems registering bank cards, or the app crashing or behaving strangely.
“Parking should, in theory at least, be one of the simplest tasks any driver completes but having to navigate a variety of differently designed apps – and register an account, vehicle details and bank cards with each one – can be a pain. Having card details saved with a myriad of different providers also isn’t ideal from security perspective, as unlike using conventional websites there’s generally no reassuring padlock symbol on parking apps to show card details are being shared securely.
“The launch of the National Parking Platform, which we welcome, should spell the end of drivers needing to download lots of separate apps just to park and simplify things enormously. This does depend on enough local authorities and parking companies up and down the country signing up, though.
“In the meantime, we encourage drivers to ensure they’re always using the latest versions of each parking app they use. This reduces the chance of the app not functioning and ensures they always benefit from the app’s latest features. But even then, those with older smartphones need to be aware that over time, parking app developers stop supporting their devices. This means these drivers will no longer be able to update their apps, which could lead to future problems using them to pay for parking.
“For anyone running into difficulty when paying by app is the only option, whether that’s struggling with phone signal or the app just not working, we strongly recommend they collect evidence of their attempts to park, including screenshots of any app errors. This can be used to challenge the parking operator in the event they send the driver a parking charge notice for apparently not paying to park, as it shows the driver did everything they reasonably could to pay.
“We also continue to believe that all parking operators, whether public or private, should offer drivers at least two different ways to pay. No-one should be forced to use to a mobile app when parking if they don’t want to, especially those who struggle with technology or just don’t have a smartphone.”
