Pay and Display

One aspect of living near Milton Keynes is that – in comparison to many other places – Milton Keynes is pretty damn great for parking. There’s lots of spaces, although the massive majority of them are Pay and Display. (for overseas readers, this involves buying a ticket for a period of time, and then showing it in the windscreen of one’s car) The rates are pretty decent – again, in comparison to many other places – and it’s easy.

Apparently there are 20,000 spaces – including 12,000 that charge 40p per hour, and another 4,350 ‘premium rate’ ones (which are right next to the shopping centre on all sides) at £1.40 per hour.

As well as the normal machines, there’s also now the ability to pay via mobilephone/smartphone using services like RingGo. (or alternatively pay by phonecall with a credit/debit card) It’s easy to do, and – I assume – most people would expect to pay to park, particularly if they live anywhere near-ish.

So why is it that whenever I go to Milton Keynes and park, there are always people who seem to be categorically incapable of using the parking ticket machines, amazed that such machines exist, disgusted that Milton Keynes charges for parking, haven’t got change, or can’t manage to pay by phone? None of it’s really a challenge, but it seems to be for many, many people.