Council leaves drivers to pick up parking app fee

Drivers using an app to pay for parking in Dorset will be charged more from April after the council announced it would no longer cover the app's transaction fee.

JustPark has been contacting users in the county to warn a 10p charge will be added to each parking session from 1 April.

It comes on top of Dorset Council's parking charge increases which will come into force from 3 April.

Dorset Council said the 10p fee could be avoided if drivers used payment machines.

JustPark said the transaction fee, which includes 2p VAT, covered the cost of providing and maintaining its payment system.

Dorset Council said the 10p charge would also be applied at town council-run car parks, but would not apply if paying by cash, card or contactless.

Place services councillor Jon Andrews said: "Until now, we have been covering the fee from our parking income, but we can no longer afford to do this without impacting other services.

"In most other counties where JustPark operates, the 10p fee is already paid by motorists who use the service."

The authority has also announced parking charge increases, typically of about 20p or 30p, depending on the location and duration.

Three hours at Weymouth Beach car park in the summer will go up from £6 to £6.30.

The same duration at Top o' Town in Dorchester will increase from £2.20 to £2.40.

Mr Andrews said: "With the increasing demands on council services, the ongoing reduction in government funding, and rising inflation, our parking tariffs will increase from 3 April to meet these challenges and continue to support our highways responsibilities."

The authority urged regular users of car parks to consider buying a parking permit to save money.

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