Paying for a car parking space can be as frustrating as searching for one in the first place, a survey has revealed.
Nearly three-quarters of parking app users find it difficult and would rather use coins or a card, it found.
The RAC, which commissioned the research, urged parking operators to offer at least two different ways to pay, adding that motorists should not be forced to use an app.
The poll of 1,709 drivers found 73 per cent of those who had used a mobile app to pay for parking in the previous 12 months had suffered problems.
Most said they preferred using bank cards (46 per cent) or cash (33 per cent), compared with the 30 per cent who favoured an app.
The survey found that the most common frustration is a lack of signal (70 per cent), followed by the app not correctly recognising the car park being used (36 per cent), or the app crashing (35 per cent).
The poll of 1,709 drivers found 73 per cent of those who had used a mobile app to pay for parking in the previous 12 months had suffered problems (stock image)
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: ‘Mobile apps have an important and increasing role to play when it comes to parking our vehicles… but our figures show there is still plenty that drivers find frustrating about using them.
‘All parking operators, whether public or private, should offer drivers at least two different ways to pay.
‘No-one should be forced to use a mobile app when parking if they don’t want to.’
