Drivers using their mobile phone to pay-to-park in Cornwall Council car parks will need to register with a new provider from next month.

JustPark will take over the Cornwall Council contract from current provider Phone and Pay. The switch to the new provider will save around £140,000 a year.

The council says these savings will be reinvested into maintaining the council's roads and car parks.

JustPark will run the service in 131 Cornwall Council pay and display car parks from Monday 4 December.

Current Phone and Pay users will have until the end of December to register their details with the new provider or download the JustPark app.

More than 250,000 customers have signed up use a mobile or app pay-to-park service in council car parks over the last two years.

The service is a popular choice with around half of the parking sessions in several car parks purchased using a mobile phone and a debit or credit card during the summer.

Giving people options on how to pay for their parking has many benefits, according to Cornwall Council portfolio holder for Transport Councillor Geoff Brown.

"This is about giving our residents and visitors a range of options. While you can still pay cash if you choose, using a mobile service means users don't need to worry about finding the right change for the machine. It’s good for our town centres, as the parking time can be extended by using the mobile app or by text message - shoppers don't need to race back to the car before the ticket runs out. It's also good news for taxpayers because it means the Council spends less time and money on emptying and maintaining the ticket machines, which means more of our surplus from car parks can be spent on maintaining our roads and car parks.

“The new app also has other features which are great for users and we couldn’t offer before. Using the app, you can locate a vacant space (when location services are enabled on your phone), and you have the option to receive free reminders via the Parking App instead of paying for text message reminders. We appreciate this will mean residents have to make a change, but we think the benefits make it worthwhile.”

JustPark won the contract to deliver the service over the next two years with an option to renew after this period.

A nationwide provider of cashless parking payments, JustPark has more than 1.5million users and a 96% customer satisfaction rating.

“We’re really excited to be providing innovative payment solutions for Cornwall Council’s car parks” said Anthony Eskinazi, founder and CEO of JustPark. “Our goal is to provide a positive experience for every driver, and we’re looking forward to making parking easier for Cornwall’s many visitors and residents.”

To mark the launch of the new payment service, JustPark will be offering free morning coffee to people parking in six of Cornwall Council’s car parks next week.

Wearing green jumpers, the JustPark team will be on hand to help customers download the app and use the payment service for the first time. You can meet members of the JustPark team on:

Monday 4 December 9am to 1pm

Trenwith car park, St Ives

Garras Wharf car park, Truro

Tuesday 5 December 9am to 1pm

Grove Place car park, Falmouth

The Manor car park, Newquay

Wednesday 6 December 9am to 1pm

Harbour car park, Penzance

Moorfield car park, Truro

When you want to pay to park, open the JustPark app and, if you have location services enabled on your phone, your location will be automatically detected. You can also manually enter the car park's location ID (shown on the car park sign with details of parking tariffs).

How to pay using the app

1 - Download the JustPark app on your smartphone and create an account by adding your vehicle's number plate and payment details.

2 - When you want to pay to park, enter the location ID of the car park (shown on the car park sign with details of parking tariffs).

3 - Select the length of time you want to park.

How to pay using your mobile phone

1 - Call the telephone number shown on the car park sign.

2 - Enter the location ID.

3 - Choose the length of time you want to park.

4 - (if you haven't already set up an account online) Enter your card details and JustPark will send you a text message. Reply to that text message with your vehicle's number plate.

I have a Phone and Pay account. Do I need to change over?

JustPark will begin providing the service from Monday 4 December. During December, you'll be able to use Phone and Pay or JustPark to pay for parking in our car parks. From Monday 1 January the service provided by Phone and Pay will stop.

You can delete your payment card details from the Phone and Pay app by clicking on 'Account' and then 'Payment Cards'. Tap on the card number and you will be taken to a screen which then gives you the option to delete the card.