AN upgrade in Liverpool’s parking meters will see savings in maintenance costs, reduce risks and free up staff to focus on enforcement – and even boost the uptake of electric vehicles throughout the City.

An approval is being sought from the Council’s Cabinet (next Tuesday) to approve the installation of up to 80 new machines in key locations. All of the new machines would be contactless-enabled units that support card and mobile transactions only.

The City currently operates around 230 parking payment machines, of which approximately 85% have exceeded their 15-year design life.

While all machines accept cash and a portion process card payments, nearly 1/3 of parking income still arrives in coins and notes, even as digital transactions continue to grow.

The Council’s recent rollout of the National Parking Platform enables pay-by-phone convenience at every on-street and off-street location, but physical payment points remain vital in key areas. An analysis has identified sites where cash usage persists and pinpointed obsolete machines that can be removed without disrupting motorists.

This means that 150 machines will remain accepting cash payments – the equivalent of 2/3 of all parking meters in the City.

Councillor Dan Barrington, Cabinet Member for Transport and Connectivity, said:- “Modernising our parking infrastructure is about delivering greater convenience and safety for everyone. Going fully cashless in targeted locations will cut maintenance costs, reduce the risks of handling cash, and free up our skilled teams to focus on enforcement and resident support. It’s important to note that there will still be options to pay by cash where people need to do so. 150 machines will still be able to take cash payments. But clearly this is something that is significantly declining, and switching to contactless or app payment has huge benefits in cost savings for the council.”

The new machines are being specified with future emission-based charging and DVLA integration in mind, to align with the City’s commitment to cleaner air and net zero.

Liverpool City Council will launch a competitive tender for the new parking machines followed by phased installation and staff training.

During this time, essential business-as-usual parking services will continue uninterrupted.