Convenience and Inconvenience
Convenient, isn’t it, a parking app on your phone? It saves you from searching for a parking meter. But beware: a survey by the Consumers’ Association shows that parking apps can also result in hefty bills.
The Consumers’ Association had over 10,000 panel members look at ten parking apps. The ten applications were assessed on usage costs, functions, customer satisfaction, and accessibility of customer service. What turns out? Most users are very satisfied with the parking applications. Tango Parking in particular scores well, receiving a 9.3 as a grade. Rabo App also scores high: a nice round 9.
Users are least satisfied with EasyPark. That application is rated with a 6.3. Not only because of the seemingly poorly accessible customer service, but also because of the costs. These are said to be quite high. EasyPark adjusted its tariff structure this year, which increased costs. Incidentally, EasyPark is not the only parking app that raised its costs, Yellowbrick did as well.
The survey by the Consumers’ Association shows that not every parking app shows the parking rate in advance. Of the ten apps tested, seven allow you to set an end time for parking. Only three applications automatically stop ‘the parking action’ when the consumer drives away again. This means that with seven of the ten apps tested, you have to end the parking action yourself. This would regularly lead to unnecessary costs, concludes the Consumers’ Association.