Latest news with #RhonaMackinnon
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
RingGo's parking enforcement on our street has left us stressed and pig sick – it's complicated and unfair
LOCALS have hit out at the parking service that handles permits on behalf of the city council. Glasgow residents say they are ''constantly on edge" and suffering ''unnecessary stress'' while they live in fear of receiving undue fines. 5 The locals say the RingGo system restricts how often family and friends can visit. Rhona Mackinnon had to write off her car in early April and added her new vehicle to the mobile app hoping to continue using her resident's permit. But she says after 21 days the app reverted to her old car without notice and she was fined. She claims she has been unable to get help from the company or Glasgow City Council and is fearful she could get more unfair penalties. She said: "I asked them to prolong the car that I have now. "RingGo said: 'You need to speak to Glasgow City Council', the council said: 'You need to speak to RingGo'. "It just doesn't allow me to add it to resident parking for whatever reason. "Now, my car is out there and I could quite easily get a ticket anytime. "When I'm working from home, I'm constantly on edge, I'm looking out the window. "I'm at my wits' end, they just make it as difficult as possible. "It's an unnecessary stress that I shouldn't have to deal with. I should be able to park outside my front door. "It's literally affecting my quality of life." Her neighbour, Victoria Ulph, agreed and explained her issue with visitor vouchers. Visitor vouchers are bizarre documents given to guests to log their visiting times and allow them to park in front of locals' homes. 5 5 All residents are entitled to five booklets, containing five visitor vouchers. This restricts residents to just 25 visits a year from friends and family, all within an allocated time slot. Victoria explained: "This means I have to say to my 85-year-old parents that there is a maximum 25 visits per year. "I asked and they said they can't give me any more. That's the limit. There's no rhyme or reason to this. "One time, my parents were five minutes late. Coming down the stairs, they received a ticket which I've had to pay for." She said the system means that cleaners, babysitters and garden workers cannot park in front of the properties while they work. Victoria pointed out that Glaswegians are less likely to come and use small businesses in the area because of the lack of affordable parking. She added: "It's stopping jobs, business and it's stopping, quite frankly, my right to a family life. "I'm absolutely pig sick of thinking of mum and dad. "Can you imagine the number of people who don't come here to use local shops because of this? It's crazy." "It makes everyone anxious. It's horrible." Parking issues are regularly raised at North Kelvin Community Council (NKCC) meetings. At the last meeting, Douglas Peacock, chair of NKCC, said: "This has been on the agenda a couple of times. "I have had a real big problem getting my RingGo to work for this year. "The council and the company were telling me different things about when to renew my resident's permit. "It's terrible. So many things don't work, the council has been no use. "On the RingGo site, there was a blank page." 5 An attendee added: "It doesn't work the way it should, it's very annoying." A RingGo spokesperson said they will liaise with Rhona Mackinnon to fix the problem. They added: "We are committed to making parking as simple and stress-free as possible for all users in Glasgow. We take all feedback seriously and are constantly working to improve our service and support. "We work closely with local councils to deliver parking solutions that meet community needs. "It is important to note that some policies, such as visitor voucher limits and parking durations, are set by our local authority partners. We support standardising a ten-minute grace period to ensure fair and consistent treatment for motorists, and welcome government efforts to enforce a unified code of conduct across the industry. "We have a dialogue with North Kelvin Community Council and would encourage council members to share any feedback that can improve our service with us directly." A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: "The Ringo App allows a vehicle, such as a courtesy car, to be added on a temporary basis. "After 21 days, the app will revert to using the original vehicle identified on a permit. "However, further temporary changes lasting up to 21 days at a time can be easily arranged by logging on to permit holder's account on the parking app. "This information has been communicated directly to Ms McKinnon by our staff. "Up to 40 vouchers are available initially and more can be requested as required. "A voucher lasts for six hours and more than one voucher can be displayed at a time, which allows for a longer parking stay."
Glasgow Times
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Glasgow Times
We are at wits end with tragic parking in this Glasgow area
They criticised RingGo - the firm handling parking permits on behalf of the council - and the local authority's parking policy for being complicated and unfair. Rhona Mackinnon had to write off her car in early April and added her new vehicle to the mobile app to continue using her resident's permit. However, after 21 days, the program reverted to the old car without notice and she was fined. Since then, she claims she has been unable to get help from the company or Glasgow City Council and she is fearful she could get more penalties. Rhona Mackinnon and Victoria Ulph, Glasgow (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) Rhona Mackinnon (Image: Colin Mearns) READ NEXT: Glasgow West End shop owners' anger over parking charge hike She said: "I asked them to prolong the car that I have now. RingGo said: 'You need to speak to Glasgow City Council', the council said: 'You need to speak to RingGo'. "It just doesn't allow me to add it to resident parking for whatever reason. "Now, my car is out there and I could quite easily get a ticket anytime. "When I'm working from home, I'm constantly on edge, I'm looking out the window. "I'm at my wits end, they just make it as difficult as possible. "It's an unnecessary stress that I shouldn't have to deal with. I should be able to park outside my front door. "It's literally affecting my quality of life." (Image: Colin Mearns) Victoria Ulph (Image: Colin Mearns) (Image: Colin Mearns) Her neighbour, Victoria Ulph, agreed as she explained her issue with visitor vouchers. This is a document where her guests need to log their visiting times to be able to park in front of her home. All residents are entitled to five booklets, containing five vouchers. This restricts friends and family members to 25 visits a year, all within an allocated time slot. She explained: "This means I have to say to my 85-year-old parents that there is a maximum 25 visits per year. "I asked and they said they can't give me any more. That's the limit. There's no rhyme or reason to this. "One time, my parents were five minutes late. Coming down the stairs, they received a ticket which I've had to pay for." She also said the system means that cleaners, babysitters and garden workers cannot park in front of the properties while they work. Also, Glaswegians are less likely to come and use small businesses in the area because of the lack of affordable parking. She added: "It's stopping jobs, business and it's stopping, quite frankly, my right to a family life. "I'm absolutely pig sick of thinking of mum and dad. "Can you imagine the number of people who don't come here to use local shops because of this? It's crazy." "It makes everyone anxious. It's horrible." READ NEXT: Concerns raised about drug use at historic Glasgow site We are at wits end with tragic parking in this Glasgow area (Image: Colin Mearns) Parking warden in Glasgow (Image: Sourced) (Image: Colin Mearns) Parking issues are also frequently raised at North Kelvin Community Council (NKCC) meetings. At the last meeting, Douglas Peacock, chair of NKCC, said: "This has been on the agenda a couple of times. "I have had a real big problem getting my RingGo to work for this year. "The council and the company were telling me different things about when to renew my resident's permit. "It's terrible. So many things don't work, the council has been no use. "On the RingGo site, there was a blank page." An attendee added: "It doesn't work the way it should, it's very annoying." A RingGo spokesperson said they will liaise with Rhona Mackinnon to fix the problem. They added: "We are committed to making parking as simple and stress-free as possible for all users in Glasgow. We take all feedback seriously and are constantly working to improve our service and support. "We work closely with local councils to deliver parking solutions that meet community needs. "It is important to note that some policies, such as visitor voucher limits and parking durations, are set by our local authority partners. We support standardising a ten-minute grace period to ensure fair and consistent treatment for motorists, and welcome government efforts to enforce a unified code of conduct across the industry. "We have a dialogue with North Kelvin Community Council and would encourage council members to share any feedback that can improve our service with us directly." A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: "The Ringo App allows a vehicle, such as a courtesy car, to be added on a temporary basis. After 21 days, the app will revert to using the original vehicle identified on a permit. "However, further temporary changes lasting up to 21 days at a time can be easily arranged by logging on to permit holder's account on the parking app. "This information has been communicated directly to Ms McKinnon by our staff. "Up to 40 vouchers are available initially and more can be requested as required. A voucher lasts for six hours and more than one voucher can be displayed at a time, which allows for a longer parking stay." Sorry, should have clearer – happy for the info given in relation to Ms McKinnon and the visitor vouchers to be attributed to a council spokesperson.
