NEW pay machines are to be introduced to city car parks which allow payment by plastic — but they still won't be able to provide cash change.
Swansea Council is investing £238,000 in providing the pay and display ticket machines which for the first time will accept credit and debit cards, as well as cash, from motorists wanting to park in the city.
Their introduction comes after some drivers felt they were being ripped off parking in city car parks because existing machines do not give change.
But the machines have been a long time in the planning and will help drivers who do not have the correct change to save money by giving them the option to use cards to pay the exact price instead.
And a Swansea Council spokesman said the reason the new machines, like the existing ones, would not give change was because manufacturers did not make them.
He said: "Manufacturers don't make pay and display machines for car parks that give change, so we can't provide them.
"One of the main reasons why they aren't made is because machines with a cash float would become more of a target for attacks, theft and vandalism."
Of the 55 new ticket machines, 41 of them will have the option to pay by credit and debit card.
They will be strategically located, with the busiest car parks having more than one machine accepting card payments, and are expected to be in place later this summer.
June Burtonshaw, cabinet member for place, said: "This is a major investment in our car parks, with 55 new machines plus upgrades to a further nine. It means all of our city centre car parks will have at least one machine that will accept card payments.
"Additional investment in the pay-on-exit equipment in the multi- storey car parks will also be extended to the park and ride sites. We will also be introducing options which will allow for the payment of parking fees via mobile phones. These are tough economic times and the council has been supporting city centre businesses in a range of different ways such as creating a 120-space car park a stone's throw from the Quadrant shopping centre just before Christmas.
"The council is supporting a whole range of summer events in the city centre and elsewhere to help boost visitor numbers and shopper interest.
"Pay and display cash payment machines will continue to be available for those who don't want to use their credit or debit cards."
Although the pay and display machines do not give change, pay-on- exit car park machines such as those at the Quadrant do give change.
But that is because they have entry and exit barriers, and have higher levels of security, with the machines in enclosed spaces where they can be monitored.
City centre manager Lisa Wells added: "This investment in new machines helps cater for the needs of today's modern shopper by giving motorists several options on how to pay, and that increased flexibility has got to be a good thing."
