Time is finally running out for meters in central London

22 November 2006
 
Westminster City Council has started removing parking meters from across central London after thieves prompted the council to adopt a pay-by-mobile phone system.
In the past three months, the amount stolen from the borough’s parking meters has doubled to £20,000 a week.
Police believe rival gangs steal from five or six streets in one outing, often targeting one meter a street to avoid being caught.
The gangs sometimes pose as council workers, dressed in overalls and high-visibility waistcoats, and use angle grinders and pipe cutters to slice through meter posts and remove the heads.
In addition to eliminating theft and vandalism, the scheme is designed to reduce street clutter, reduce the costs of collecting and processing cash from the meters, and provide a better parking experience for motorists.
Motorists will now only be able to pay by plastic via text message if they want to park in the areas being trialled – namely Covent Garden and Soho in the central G1 zone, and Harrow Road and Queen’s Park in zone C2.
Drivers will call or text an automated service, giving their registration number and a four-digit number identifying their parking bay.
They will pay £4 an hour in G1 and £1 an hour in C2 for as long as four hours, in addition to an extra voluntary charge of 10p to receive a text warning them when their time expires.
A spokesman for the council said the scheme would be rolled out across the borough if it were deemed a success.

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