Car parking gets mobile phone pay and display

Drivers in Edinburgh have this week been getting to grips with a new pay and display car parking payment system which requires them to use their mobile phones.

The system disposes with the need for cash, instead charging drivers via their mobile phone.

Users simply call a number to receive an ID code which they key into the parking meter. A ticket is then printed which is affixed to the windscreen as normal.

Users will also be able to feed the meter remotely - texting the service from the shops or their office if they realise the meter is about to run out.

However, it's unlikely the mPark system will prove popular with everybody - though it could be a real hit with the UK's growing band of handset thieves.

While it removes the need to mess about with small change it does mean users are required to walk around with their mobiles phones out - flying in the face of conventional wisdom which says car parks and busy city streets are exactly the sort of place you should keep your mobile phone out of sight.

However, a spokeswoman for the Lothian and Borders police service said "it's not a great concern", conceding that "we know people are going to use their mobile phones out on the streets anyway" regardless of high profile campaigns, such as those being run in London to deter them from doing so.

She added: "From a crime prevention point of view we would still advise anybody using their mobile phones in public to always be aware of their surroundings."

Councillor Andrew Burns, executive member for transport on Edinburgh City Council, told silicon.com that the service is only being used on the streets, and in the case of Edinburgh will not be rolled out in car parks. Though in any major city that is far from a guarantee of safety.

Last year in London more than a third of all reported street crime involved only the theft of a mobile phone. In a further 21 per cent of all reported incidents a mobile phone was among the items stolen.