Rochford District Council has welcomed its new installation of 26 Metric Aura parking machines in what its portfolio holder has described as ‘a move in the right direction.’
Councillor Keith Hudson, the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation, said he was pleased with the way the project had gone ‘smoothly forward.’
Speaking at the launch of the project, he said: "I am most happy with the different facilities we can now offer our customers and particularly the linear tariff."
With the introduction of a linear tariff, Rochford will substitute extra payment with time on the ticket. A payment of a £1 coin for an 80p hourly stay in an off-street car park will give the motorist another 20 minutes of time.
The off-street pay and display machines allow motorists to pay using coins and chip and pin and display details of how to pay by mobile phone which is offered through the Metric Mobile service.
The machines will also accept contactless wave and pay facilities for credit/debit cards which will be available soon.
Said Richard Boultbee, Metric’s UK Sales and Marketing Manager: "Rochford District Council is a very forward thinking authority which has offered their customers a very wide choice in how to pay for their parking, including an option to pay using their mobile phone via Metric Mobile."
The 26 Aura mains machines, which are for Rochford and Rayleigh, are fully networked via the Metric Web ASLAN Back Office.
Metric won a competitive European tender following Rochford’s detailed procurement review. They came out on top in offering a ‘high quality’ product against the best of the European competition.
