NEW parking ticket machines will be installed in Basingstoke town centre car parks next month to give motorists more choice about how they pay for parking.

Drivers can choose either a ‘check-in, check-out’ system, to pay only for the time they park, or continue to use the pay and display method, as well as choosing to pay with cash, card or with contactless technology.

Motorists will still be able to pay using the Parkmobile app, whereby users download the app, register on arrival in the car park and de-register on departure.

All users will be required to enter their vehicle registration number at the new machines.

Those wishing to pay using the ‘check-in, check-out’ system will be able to register their payment card by presenting their credit or debit card at a card reader, as with contactless payments. On leaving the car park, users will present their payment card once more and they will be charged only for the time they have been parked, which will be automatically deducted from their bank account.

The new system will be implemented over a period of six weeks across Brinkletts, Castons, Churchill Way, Churchill Way East, Sarum Hill, Southern Road, Vyne Meadow, Albert Yard, Castons Yard, Central, Feathers Yard, Jacobs Yard and Joices Yard, Eastlands and Parklands.

The first machines will be installed in the week commencing 25 September, with all machines expected to be in place within six weeks.

Cabinet member for communities and community safety councillor Simon Bound said: “The changes we are making to our car parks will help to make sure that our services are fit for the future.”

“The new system will mean that visitors to the town no longer have to rush their cup of coffee or cut their shopping trip short.”

This new scheme is part of a three-year project to improve the town centre car parks, including lighting, more shelters and resurfacing work to give users a better parking experience in the town.