Waiting for a paper ticket and the barrier arm to lift in the Alfred Street carpark building will soon be a thing of the past when the 10 year old parking system moves to Pay by Plate in November

Council’s Assets and Services Committee today agreed, subject to full Council approval, to extend Pay by Plate which is already operating in Blenheim and Picton’s outdoor carparks to the carpark building.

Councillor Brian Dawson, who holds the parking portfolio, says this is the final part of the Pay by Plate project which will now see a consistent parking system across Blenheim and Picton.

“Over the years the old ‘pay on exit’ barrier system has experienced ongoing issues and failures of one kind or another resulting in people not being able to exit the building, either due to faulty tickets, technical issues with the barrier or human error. The system was due for replacement so the move to Pay by Plate now makes sense,” Clr Dawson says.

“The main change for people to be aware of is that they will need to pay for their parking session when they park their car, rather than when they exit the carpark building,” he said.

To minimise queuing and speed up the payment process when people are arriving at work or attending an event at the Clubs of Marlborough or the Marlborough Events Centre, three Pay by Plate terminals will be installed. A QR (Quick Response) code will also be added as an additional payment option and the Paymypark App will be extended to include the carpark building.

Two terminals will be located at the entry stairwell, with one accepting coins and debit/credit cards, and the other accepting only debit/credit cards (a non-cash terminal). The third terminal will be located in the ground floor east lobby to enable people at that end of the building to pay. This terminal will accept coins as well as debit/credit cards.

Payment by the Payeasy QR code will also be available on all floors at a cost of 25 cents per transaction. This method allows drivers to use their mobile phone camera to scan the QR code and access a website allowing them to pay by Apple or Google Pay, MasterCard or Visa.

The parking charges for the building will remain the same at $1.20 per hour or $4.80 per day with the first hour free and just like the rest of Blenheim’s parking there will be a 5% Pay by Plate debit or credit card fee.

Those who lease carparks in the building on an annual basis will be moved to the Pay by Plate e-permit system.

© Scoop Media