The RAC has urged operators against leaving drivers reliant on mobile apps for parking, as councils look to remove traditional payment machines.
New research reveals that nearly three quarters of drivers who use mobile apps to pay for parking experience problems.
Commissioned by the RAC, the study of 1,709 UK drivers showed the most prevalent issue was poor mobile signal.
Other problems users flagged were the app not recognising the car park, and the app crashing.
Almost half of the survey respondents said they would prefer to pay by card or contactless payment.
It comes as the government announced the launch of the National Parking Platform (NPP), which is aimed at enabling drivers to pay for parking in all participating car parks using their preferred app.
The RAC said 10 local authorities are using the service including city councils in Manchester, Liverpool and Coventry, with more expected to sign up shortly.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis welcomed the NPP but said drivers should be offered “at least two different ways to pay”.
He said: “Mobile apps have an important and increasing role to play when it comes to parking our vehicles, and the best ones make parking an easier task for many of us.
“But our figures show there’s still plenty drivers find frustrating about using them – whether that’s a lack of mobile signal, problems registering bank cards, or the app crashing or behaving strangely.
“All parking operators, whether public or private, should offer drivers at least two different ways to pay.
“No-one should be forced to use a mobile app when parking if they don’t want to, especially those who struggle with technology or just don’t have a smartphone.”
In Deansgate North Q-Park in Manchester, one young man told the BBC he got a ticket after having trouble connecting to a parking app.
“I had to send receipts to basically prove I had a parking permit,” he said.
Margie Rimes, 77, from York told the broadcaster she gets “panicky” about paying for parking on an app.
But she endorsed the NPP, saying: “I think if they’re going to have apps it’s better to be standardised.”
Mr Dennis encouraged drivers to ensure they have downloaded the latest version of each parking app they use, to reduce the chances of them not functioning properly.
Recent Government figures show English councils made a £1.2 billion surplus from parking in the last financial year.
The RAC commissioned research company Online95 to conduct the survey across June and July.
