Havering Council has decided to extend its contract with the RingGo app by two more years.

A document published on Thursday, May 2), signed by Havering’s Director of Environment, Imran Kazalbash, said the new contract with the cashless parking facility provider would last until April 23, 2026.

The council will continue to cover the convenience cost, also known as a transaction fee, within the tariff that is estimated to be £245,000 in 2024-25.

RingGo Limited currently provides the cashless parking service across Havering through its app, and via PayPoint for customers who choose to pay by cash.

In autumn 2024, the council said there will be a National Parking Platform (NPP) launched by the government that will allow motorists to choose their preferred cashless provider when parking at any pay and display provision.

Read More: Havering Council announces parking machines will go cashless

Havering has agreed to evaluate the NPP for use in the borough when it is available and has provided an indicative confirmation, with no binding commitment, of accessing it.

The council replaced old parking machines that accepted cash with modern terminals for contactless payments through the app in January this year, upsetting many residents who said this would make it harder for senior citizens to use the parking facilities.

A motorist, Colin Redpath, said: "You couldn't make it up, harder to do than just putting a couple of coins in a slot.

"Not everyone wants to muck around with a mobile just to park for an hour."

Some had also reported issues with the parking app and complained of being wrongly issued PCNs. Last month, on April 18, Councillor Gillian Ford issued an apology to motorists stating that there appeared to be an internet glitch due to which information was not reaching the hand held devices of the users.

“Urgent action is being taken to resolve the issue and in the interim, please appeal any wrongly issued PCN providing as much evidence as possible," she said.

She said the council was made aware of such instances since the Easter holidays, where customers have paid for parking sessions but have been issued parking tickets.

She added: “This was due to a technical error with our data systems which has now been resolved. 

“Customers are advised to appeal the tickets if they feel it has been issued incorrectly, the information on how to do this is included on the reverse of the ticket."