Car parking apparatus

Apparatus for monitoring the parking of a vehicle at a site such as a car park, the apparatus comprises entry/exit recording means CR1/CR2 arranged to record a time of entry/exit into and from the site, means to associate the time or entry/exit with an identification card, purchase association means arranged to associate purchase details with the identification card and automatic fee calculation means arranged to automatically calculate a fee based on one or more of the recorded entry/exit times and purchase details. The entry recording unit preferably comprises a camera C1 to record the image of each vehicle entering the site. A data input unit such as keypad allows user to identify and select the own vehicle image. A payment receiving unit accepts notes, coins, tokens or debit/credit card and optionally issues the receipt for collecting payment of parking fee based on scanning the user identification card such as store loyalty card.