Visitor Parking is Changing - and it's a Shambles

Shepherd's Bush residents are angry and frustrated at a new visitor parking system being introduced by our Council. The old Visitor parking permit system in Shepherd's Bush is being discontinued at the end of April, as LBHF switches to a new system, run by Ring Go.

The Council say that this is needed "to make renewing and applying for a permit easier and more convenient". So far, the experience of local residents trying to register with the new ringGo system is that it isn't easy or convenient at all.

What is the new parking system?
The new system in Shepherd's Bush is called a resident visitor permit (RVP), and replaces the old smart visitor permit (SVP). But, unlike the old system, which worked pretty well once you got used to it, the new system doesn't appear to be working well at all.

The trouble with RingGo
LBHF say that using the RingGo phone app means you can "book visitor parking sessions on the go, wherever you are", and "means you’ll no longer need to put an activated card in your visitor’s vehicle." But the problem is that registering for the new system isn't all all simple.

Without a physical activated permit in your visitor's car - the parking wardens are just handing out tickets anyway. In which case you then have the long and boring process of trying to have the parking ticket overturned.

Zone G Parking LBHF

Overturning Penalty Charges
One frustrated local resident explained to us that she now has two outstanding penalty charges - in plain English - "parking tickets" - that she is having to contest. 

The business of contesting tickets is time-consuming, and complicated by the fact that she is having to contest tickets on her visitor's vehicles, which means that no-one will talk to her, owing to "Data Protection".

Zone G Complications
Right now, the system does not work for visitors in Zone G (just west of Shepherd's Bush Green) who want to pay for parking after 6.30 pm, because the system won't let you.  The system is very complicated and the wardens themselves don't seem to understand it. This is how LBHF phrases it at the official RingGo website: "Zone G & JJ: No charge after 8pm from Monday to Saturday and no charge on Sundays but you must book and pay for parking sessions. "

Making a complaint
If you complain to RingGo, they say that you have to ring the council to sort it out. But LBHF won't sort it out on the phone, they say you have to send them an email, which then may or may not get answered.

The problem of visitors with Blue Badges
Under the old rules, visitors who were Blue Badge holders just have to display their registration document and a residents visitor parking permit - which did not need activating. It is not clear now whether under the new system disabled visitors have to pay the full price, or not? If not, it is not at all clear how you register them at RingGo? There is no information about this at the official website.

Briefing of Traffic Wardens
Traffic wardens don't seem to understand the new system.  Last week one local resident had a ticket when the visitor permit was activated, and also got a ticket when she had a visitor, and was unable to pay for parking after 6.30pm.

When our Council said, back in February, that visitor permits would become "easier and more convenient", we were pretty skeptical.  But the new system is such a train wreck that, even by local government standards, it seems implausibly badly organised. Parking is such a headache for everyone  in our neighbourhood that you might think someone at the Council would have thought about these problems before implementing a system that no-one seems to understand. 

To read more about the changes, follow this link, or paste this link into your browser: https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/parking/parking-permits/visitor-permits

The Shepherd's Bush Blog offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story about our neighbourhood, email us at shepherdsbushblog(at)gmail.com.