Bristol City Council is launching a system for issuing digital parking permits.
It is planning to make the move this month with the introduction of the MiPermit portal in a project with Chipside, a software company that provides cashless parking and permits services on behalf of local authorities.
The council said the digital application will make it easier to renew or apply for a permit, although it will also continue to make paper permits available.
Residents and businesses in the Residents Parking Scheme (RPS) due to renew their permits will receive a letter directing them to MiPermit through the council’s website. From there, they can set up an online account, register vehicles, obtain resident and visitor parking permits online at any time of the day and start to use them immediately.
The council’s enforcement team will be able to digitally check if cars have a valid permit without the need to see one on display, which will improve parking administration and enforcement processes.
Enabling self-management
Councillor Kye Dudd, cabinet member for transport, said: “Moving to a digital system will significantly improve the customer experience for residents and businesses. The digital process will allow people to self-manage the majority of permit services themselves at any time of the day, including applying for digital resident permits or changing their vehicle registration number.
“It also means residents do not need to display permits in their vehicles, which could be lost, stolen or damaged, and removes the inconvenience of waiting for a new permit to arrive in the post when residents apply for a permit for the first time, renew an existing permit or if they have a need to register a new vehicle.
"Residents will also be able to apply for digital visitor permits, which are activated in the same way. This will be welcome news for people who receive regular visitors.”
The roll out of the system across all RPS areas has begun this week. It will be expanded to other council run permit systems, including the Central Parking Zone and other council owned and managed off-street parking, in the near future.
Image from Bristol City Council
