APCOA parking at station

Fri 5 Feb 2016, 12:10

I notice that Car Park tickets can no longer be bought from the ticket office at Charlbury station, and also that Automatic Car Number Plate recognition is now said to be in operation. In addition, the parking machine near the ticket office is generally out of order, in one way or another, when I try to use it.

I see that I could sign up to use Autopay for the car park, and also that Late Pay is supposed to work for Charlbury Station. But I am cautious about signing up for Autopay as I'm only an occasional user of the car park, and often just want it to pick somebody up for a train or buy a ticket or railcard.

As there is no option for buying only 30 minutes of parking, Autopay could prove a costly option if an amount is deducted from my credit card every time I drive into the car park. As I understand it, the grace period for free parking is a mere 15 minutes which is often not long enough!

Has anyone received a car parking ticket when waiting to pick somebody up, especially when an expected train is late arriving? Also, has anyone used the Late Pay service and, if so, what is the premium that is charged? The APCOA website doesn't give too many details, simply saying that the fee for the latter depends on the car park.