We’ve been watching for the conversion of car park and rail ticket machines to accept the new £1 coin introduced on 28 March. We asked before their introduction whether the machines had been adapted, and if not whether warning stickers would be put on them. In response Southeastern categorically assured us that all the machines would accept the new coins. This was a bit surprising, since the car park machines took months to adjust when the new 10p coins were introduced a few years ago. But it seemed good news.

However as soon as we had some of the new coins we went to check – and found that all three of the machines in Sevenoaks Car Park 4 rejected the new coin. Clearly, despite Southeastern’s assurances, they were the Wrong Sort of Pounds.

Putting this on social media eventually led to a statement from Indigo, who are Southeastern’s sub-contractor for car parking, that they “are in the process of upgrading all machines by October 2017 cut-off date” (our emphasis) and that “you can always pay online” . That was very different from what Southeastern had told us, and deeply unsatisfactory as by October most of the old £1 coins would have been withdrawn from circulation (they cease to be legal tender on 15 October) and it could be very difficult to pay for car parking.

Then over the Easter weekend some stickers started to appear on car park ticket machines saying that “this machine does not currently accept the new £1 coins”. These are a good idea – and one we had suggested earlier to Southeastern. At least customers know that the machine has not been converted yet.

However then a darker part of the plot started to emerge. There were reports from stations on the Hastings Line that some machines would be removed completely, rather than be converted, in order to save money. Then during this week temporary signs have started to appear – certainly at Bat & Ball and then at Knockholt – saying that, indeed, the pay and display machine would be removed soon and that “other payment methods are available”. That conflicts with Indigo’s assurance that all machines would be converted (if the machine was being replaced there would be no need for these notices).

Southeastern have directed any questions about all this to Indigo, and we understand that our colleagues elsewhere who have contacted Indigo have been directed to Southeastern! Since the machines are “railway property” that Southeastern maintain during the period of their Franchise, it seems that they are ultimately Southeastern’s responsibility, and Indigo are just their sub-contractor. But it’s not unusual for Southeastern to try to hide behind a sub-contractor.

What’s going on? We fear that Southeastern and Indigo are quietly trying to phase out cash payment for car parking, without any consultation or clear statement. The costs of adjusting the machines for the new £1 coin has given them a pretext to do so. However the “other payment methods” are not suitable for everyone:

• Indigo are pushing their smartphone application, but not everyone has a smartphone.
• There’s a Pay by Phone option – but you cannot withhold your number, and we understand that there is an extra charge for buying tickets this way.
• A parking ticket can be bought at the Ticket Office – but for Sevenoaks Car Park 4 that’s a long walk and for Bat & Ball it’s not an option because there’s no ticket office.
• Some people prefer to have a paper ticket for evidence against officious parking checks and reliance on Southeastern’s IT systems. This is already a problem.

More fundamentally we think that Southeastern should have been more open and consultative about their plans – and they should have told us about all this when we originally enquired. Trying to impose a fait accompli by stealth is not the way to tackle cusotmers who are already more dissatisfied with Southeastern than they were five years ago.

Update 25 April: Our colleagues at Marshlinktrains have been told by Southeastern that “In the past 18 months there has been a significant move from people paying by cash for their car park ticket to people preferring to use cashless payment methods. We and our contractors Indigo are responding to this change by moving some of our car parks to a cashless system. …the proposed changes will come in to affect by the end of
April” So it does seem that Southeastern are removing the option of cash payment from at least some of their car parks. It’s a bit rich to say that this is responding to customer demand – it’s highly unlikely that those customers who want to pay by cash have been demanding the removal of the ability to do so!