Paying to park

paying to park cover

Policy area: Transport

Basic rules in pay to park areas

Pay and Display (and other pay to park schemes) are introduced in areas where demand for parking exceeds supply. In order for businesses, shops and local residents to receive visitors it is essential that some parking spaces are available at all times. In order to balance demand for parking against what is available, charges are introduced for parking and enforcement against meter feeding ensures that people do not stay longer than the maximum time.

check the signs and lines and make sure that you are parked correctly in a payment bay or area
check the times that apply – in some areas you must pay on bank holidays, in the evenings and/or weekends
decide how long you need to stay and pay for that time when you park – in most authorities you cannot go back and pay for more time later
do not exceed the maximum stay (usually two or four hours) for the bay
if you need to stay longer, move the vehicle to another street or beyond the double white lines at the end of a parking place
always have enough change on you for meters and pay and display – there is no time allowed to go and get change.

View all pages