While I agree that you don't need an app - you still need a smart phone to be able to buy that ticket from the website - unless you are carrying a tablet or laptop with a network connection.

I do sometimes carry a pocket wifi-only laptop in cities for working on the go which has gotten the job done in the past to prove I could.

In practice if they do not make it easy to pay then I just park without paying. The 1/10 times I actually get a fine works out to be cheaper than paying for parking up front.

Fair enough - you are lucky there - in the UK lots of city and council owned parking has ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) - just by driving onto the lot and by the sign you are deemed to have agreed to their conditions. If you don't buy a ticket you'll get an automatic fine through the post a week or so later.

That said, roadside parking is far more hit and miss for ticketing, but as a source of revenue, most councils take it fairly seriously here for the free money.

So your city/council actually have laws that require you to agree to the data sharing agreements with US companies like Google or Apple in order to use one of their devices to install an app in order to park?

And if you don't pay hundreds of pounds for a smartphone, you are not allowed to park? Or if your battery is dead? Or if your religion prohibits the use of smartphones?

If true, I bet framing it that way to the public would help get people on board with some law reform.

No one should be depending on Google or Apple at a government or city or educational level in any way, including in the US.

There is usually an unmanned machine you can go and type your number plate into, how long you want to park and pay by cash or card - as an alternative - but the apps are faster and usually offer more flexibility (such as a notification when you are getting to the end of your slot with an option to extend).

You can usually also find which car parks have spaces with the apps, to save driving around. It is possible to go cash only still - but it is a pain.