A SYSTEM which allows users of Worcester city centre car parks to pay by phone has been used thousands of times.

An annual review of RingGo, which allows people to pay for parking using their mobile phone and a debit or credit card, showed it had 38,792 uses in its first 12 months.

The number of people using it also increased each week.

The project was set up by Worcester BID, a not-for-profit organisation which supports traders, and means people with no change or those who would normally have to curtail their shopping or leave a meeting early because their ticket is due to expire can use their phone to pay for parking or to extend their stay without having to return to the car park.

Worcester BID manager Adrian Field said: “The number of users in our first year is still a small proportion of overall car park usage but we are seeing more users each week who then continue to use RingGo.

“It is convenient for them as they don’t need to have change on them in order to park. It benefits the businesses and the public who use it and our first-year usage figures compare well against other cities.

“We expect it to be another way of making shopping in Worcester around this time of year a little less stressful.”

Sally Blundell, the owner of Exchange and Smart in New Street, said she had recommended the scheme to her customers.

RingGo operates in the 14 city council-operated car parks in the city centre. People can register their car details by calling 01905 880055 or visiting myRingGo.co.uk