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Paying for parking with Leap Card?

  • 28-04-2019 8:50pm
    #1
    Ger Roe
    Registered Users Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭


    I live outside the greater Dublin area, and so don't use my Leap Card as often as I used to.

    Recently however I had cause to drive to a Luas stop and park my car in an adjacent park and ride facility. A new development since I last used the system, is that the parking payment system has changed you no longer note your bay space when paying, I also found that you don't pay for parking separately (parking payment machines have been removed) and you now must pay for parking through the ticket machine at the platform. In short, parking payment has been integrated into a park and ride ticket option.

    The first niggle I have is that the instructions displayed at the parking lot on how to pay for parking were not as clear as they could be and only that I had someone who knew the score with me, I would have gone to the platform to pay by bay number, rather than by car reg number, as is now the case. (I was driving a hired car and did not memorise the reg number). The fact that each bay still has its number displayed, only confuses the matter.

    The second niggle is that it seems you can't use a Leap Card to pay for both a journey and parking. I tried several times to use the Leap Card when selecting to pay for both parking and journey and the system wouldn't let me. In the end I had to pay for the parking and journey option through a debit card.

    Was I doing something wrong, or has it really been decided to integrate parking and journeys as an option, without allowing payment to be made on the current integration payment system? If that's the case, it would seem like a stupid and retrograde decision to me. Why would anyone decide to ignore the current payment system by introducing a new option that it can't handle?


Comments

  • #2
    Dravokivich
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,360 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dravokivich


    Youd be better to write to whoever manages the car park and get their feedback on it.


  • #3
    Ger Roe
    Registered Users Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭Ger Roe


    Dravokivich wrote: »
    Youd be better to write to whoever manages the car park and get their feedback on it.

    But this is a leap card issue. An option of paying for park and ride has been added to the LUAS ticket machine and there is no longer an option of paying for parking separately, in the car park - the 'car park only' payment machines have been removed. This is the case at two LUAS park and ride sites that I am familiar with, carrigmines and balally.

    The requirement to pay for parking has now been transferred to the LUAS ticket machines, where we have previously been encouraged to use integrated payment through LEAP card, but this particular ticket option (park and ride) does not seem to be a LEAP card payment option and requires the use of alternative payment options, cash or bank card.

    If I have sufficient credit on my LEAP card, why can't I use it to pay for one of the ticket options now listed on the LUAS ticket machines?


  • #4
    goingnowhere
    Registered Users Posts: 4,131 ✭✭✭goingnowhere


    Leap is solely to be used for 'public transport'

    Using it as a cash purse for general use gets you into a problem as you then have a banking product which requires a license and massive increase in cost due compliance to keep the Central bank happy


  • #5
    Del2005
    Registered Users Posts: 18,851 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    goingnowhere wrote: »
    Leap is solely to be used for 'public transport'

    Using it as a cash purse for general use gets you into a problem as you then have a banking product which requires a license and massive increase in cost due compliance to keep the Central bank happy

    They are using public transport. There is an option to pay for parking and transport on the machine so you should be able to use your Leap card. I thought the idea was to encourage public transport use by making it simple, the Leap card, not add extra hassle of having to use your bank card.


  • #6
    Ger Roe
    Registered Users Posts: 2,105 ✭✭✭Ger Roe


    That's my point. I am not going to a random car park, it's the official park and ride facility. I can now only pay for parking as an add on to my LUAS ticket, at the LUAS ticket machine. I think I should be able to use LEAP card to do so. What is the point of the card if it doesn't allow you to pay for all ticket options available?

    I have now written to Leap Card customer service to ask directly if the card can be used to pay for the park and journey ticket option - just in case I was doing something wrong.


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  • #7
    Dravokivich
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,360 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dravokivich


    It has nothing to do with leap card and everything to those who are charged with controlling the payment services provided at the car park.


  • #8
    Be well and win
    Registered Users Posts: 329 ✭✭Be well and win


    In theory, there is no reason why it could not be used for parking, aside from an investment to set it up. However it's probably been passed out by the text/parking apps at this stage


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