Bunbury introduces smart parking to CBD

Bunbury CBD shoppers will no longer have to trek to a parking ticket machine with smartphone technology now activated in the city.

The introduction of on-street smartphone parking marks the final stage of major changes to the city’s parking strategy.

Following a strong push from Bunbury retailers and shoppers, Bunbury City Council in June made a suite of changes including two hours free on-street parking.

Other changes include extended shopper carpark hours to three hours and free all day parking on Sundays and public holidays in on-street bays and in council-owned carparks.

The addition of the smartphone app PayStay eliminates the need for shoppers to collect a ticket from a parking machine and also pre-determining the time they require to be parked.

PayStay works by downloading the app onto a smartphone and registering an account.

After finding a parking spot, shoppers enter the parking zone number – which is displayed on parking signs throughout the CBD – and then select the start time.

The parking session can be stopped by the shopper when they return to their vehicle.

Shoppers can also set up SMS reminders before their parking expires.