Motorists in Brighton and Hove have reacted angrily after the council started removing cash parking meters and encouraged them to pay by phone . Motorists have reacted angrily after a city council started removing parking meters to encourage them to pay by mobile phone . The move away from simple pay and display to an online system has already led to one driver being charged more than £5,000 after they entered the wrong digits on their phone . Residents in Brighton and Hove have complained that it is making parking unnecessarily complicated . But the Green Party-controlled council insists paying by phone can be easier because drivers no longer have to scrabble around to find the right change . Many councils across the country have started to allow drivers to pay for parking on their mobile phones . In Brighton and Hove , half of all coin-fed meters will have disappeared by June as part of a cost-cutting move . Instead drivers will have to register online at home or from their mobile phones in the street when they want to park . Payments are made by calling an automated service , sending a text or using a smartphone app . It costs 10p to pay by phone or motorists can skip the charge by going to a local shop to pay . No tickets need to be displayed and parking wardens instead check whether people have paid by checking car numberplates on mobile devices . Steve Percy , of local campaign group People ’ s Parking Protest , said that the council is unfairly punishing motorists . ‘ I ’ m infuriated , ’ he said . ‘ Not everyone has a mobile phone and you can not always get signal ... It is especially unfair on older people. ’ The council has said that it could remove all parking meters by 2017 . Earlier this year it emerged that a motorist was hit with a £5,340 ticket after inadvertently entering the wrong amount while trying to pay for parking that should have cost them £15.30 . Payments are made by calling an automated service , sending a text or using a smartphone app . It costs 10p to pay by phone or motorists can skip the charge by going to a local shop to pay . Elsewhere , some London boroughs have reduced the number of pay and display machines to lower costs . In Camden the council introduced a new policy where the nearest parking meter can be up to a five-minute walk away . In November toll booths were removed on the Dartford Crossing between Essex and Kent . Motorists now pay the charge online , by text message or by phone , and it is enforced using numberplate recognition cameras .
Brighton and Hove councils complained about removing parking meters . Green Party - controlled council insists parking by foot is easier for people . Payments made by calling automated service , sending a text or with app . tickets do n't need to be displayed - instead wardens check ticket plates . Motorist hit with £ ##40 ##0 after inadvertently entering wrong amount .