Motorists will no longer be left scratching around for loose change when state-of-the-art contactless card payment machines are installed in three East Staffordshire car parks.
The modern ticket machines are set to be introduced at the Cooper's Square and Burton Place car parks, in Burton, and the Maltings car park, in Uttoxeter.
Work on the £80,000 units started on Wednesday and it is thought they will be ready for use by Tuesday, April 24.
It comes as parking bosses move to replace their old machines, which had been in situ for "many years."
They hope the new devices will reduce maintenance costs and time spent by officers repairing faults and coin jams.
Councillor Greg Hall, deputy regulatory boss at East Staffordshire Borough Council, which runs the car parks, said: "It’s important that the council continues to improve the service that it offers to residents and visitors to the borough.
"Starting with our largest car parks first, we are installing new, modern machines that provide a variety of payment options for our car park users and will future-proof the three largest council-owned car parks in the borough.
"Contactless card payment is commonplace in car parks across the country, so it’s important that we invest in our facilities, giving our users a more convenient payment option."
Parts from the old machines will be used as spares in other council-run car parks - a move designed to save taxpayers' money.
While the new units are installed, there will always be at least one old-style payment station available, parking bosses said.
Traffic wardens will be on hand to show people how to use the new machines, which will include "clear" written instructions.
On the roads...
How much does parking cost in East Staffordshire Borough Council's car parks?
On Friday, September 1, new tariffs came into force in the council's car parks.
The charges are now £1 for up to two hours, £2 for up to three hours and £5 for more than three hours - a tariff which lasts all day.
Along with the new system, which saw the "up to four hours" and "over four hours" tickets scrapped, the cost of annual permits rocketed.
The annual cost of a permit for The Maltings or Trinity Road, in Uttoxeter, became £575.
For Trinity Road parkers, this represented a 259 per cent increase on previous prices, while users of The Maltings would have to pay 64 per cent more.
