MORE than 80,000 mobile parking payment transactions now take place every month in the Bournemouth area, latest figures show.

Bournemouth Borough Council parking payment provider, PayByPhone, who released the statistics yesterday, have also confirmed more than a quarter of a million users have registered with them in the same area over the past year.

Figures show 84 per cent of new users now rely on the app to pay for parking.

PayByPhone UK operations director Hannah Fuller said: "Cashless parking is becoming very popular with drivers in Bournemouth.

"We have registered 250,000 unique users in the area over the past year, and the uptake of drivers using the app to pay for their parking is phenomenal.

"My parking tip for the Christmas season would be for people to download the PayByPhone app before they head into twon.

"That way they are ready to make use of it as soon as they park in Bournemouth, or in any of the other 37 towns and cities across the UK where PayByPhone operates."

These latest figures highlight changing habits by motorists, who are moving away from just paying for parking with change.

By using parking apps on mobile phones, visitors can also extend their parking sessions form anywhere.

Bournemouth is braced for around half a million people expected to visit during the six-week Christmas period.

Council highways and transportation head Gary Powell said: "Our town centre offers wonderful attractions and great shopping during the Christmas season every year.

"December can be a hectic time for drivers, but the PayByPhone app helps make the parking experience so much less stressful.

"Each parking session can be started and extended in a matter of seconds, which means that users don’t need to carry cash or rush back to their cars to feed a meter.

"It is nice to know that people can enjoy a relaxing day of Christmas shopping in Bournemouth without having to dash back and forth to their cars."