Parking Review Issue 390

The SUV Alliance wants to see parking costs varied based on the size of a car

Can oversized cars be cut down to size?

The soft blur of a child running in front of a wall of hard edges. This month’s striking cover illustrates the sheer scale, and peril, posed by the sports utility vehicles (SUVs) that are increasingly common on our streets. Supersized SUVs are crowding out space in towns and cities, warns a coalition of environmental, air quality and road safety groups. The SUV Alliance – which brings together organisations such as Clean Cities, AdFree Cities and Mums for Lungs – says oversized cars increase road wear while reducing the space available for children, pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

On 23 March over 300 families rode through central London to highlight the problem of ‘carspreading’. Three days later, the SUV Alliance launched a manifesto calling for central and local government to take actions that would make driving large cars in towns and cities less attractive, such as a tobaccostyle ban on advertising SUVs and basing parking costs on the size of a vehicle. The bigger the car, then more expensive it should be to park.

The SUV Alliance has set out a compelling case for action. But will central and local government be brave enough to take a stand on carspreading?

Mark Moran Editor

A coalition of campaign groups is calling for controls on SUVs

CRISPIN HUGHES

Is it time to make a stand?

Tuesday 15 July - 15

Enforcement Excellence 2025 will explore how public authorities and their private sector partners can encourage compliance with the regulations governing how we use roads, car parks, public transport and the urban realm in an effective and ethical manner.

This respected Landor LINKS conference will discuss policy thinking, legislative developments and operational best practice in the fields of traffic and parking, tackling antisocial behaviour, and the collection of unpaid penalties.

The programme

If you have an idea for a talk, contact the event’s programmer Mark Moran, Editor, Parking Review at: mark.moran@landor.co.uk

Networking opportunities

Enforcement Excellence 2025 will provide an opportunity to meet peers, colleagues and other professionals in both structured discussions and during informal networking sessions, including a drinks reception to close the day.

Presented by:

Organised by:

The day will include a focus on:

Parking enforcement

Enforcing moving traffic regulations

The pricing of penalty charges

The important role of appeals and adjudication services

The problem of cloned and ghosted number plates

Getting traffic and parking signage right

Regulating parking on private land

Reducing nuisance behaviour

Protecting frontline staff

Identifying persistent offenders and penalty evaders

Exhibiting opportunities

The exhibition will enable attendees to check out the latest systems and services on offer.

Exhibitors include:

To participate contact Jason Conboy on: 020 7091 7895 or email: jason@landor.co.uk

Cutting oversized cars down to size

Driven by worries about ‘carspreading’, the SUV Alliance is calling for oversized cars to pay more to park on urban streets

Looking

purse

The RAC Foundation has analysed local authority parking revenues and expenditure in England for 2023-24

Blue Badges: Making parking accessible

The Department for Transport releases data on the take-up and operation of the Blue Badge scheme for disabled people

Cleaner

fairer parking in Camden

Camden is implementing parking tariff and permit measures that discourage the use of older petrol and diesel vehicles

North East Parking Show 2025

The role of parking in revitalising town centres was a core conversation at a Landor LINKS event in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Parkex: The preview

Parking professionals will be heading to the CBS Arena in Coventry on 21-22 May for Parkex 2025

Challenging King Cash

The AA reveals that while cash remains popular, cashless options are gaining in popularity among younger drivers

EVolution

The latest policy developments in zero-emission transport

Moran Tel: 020 7091 7871 mark.moran@landor.co.uk Deputy editor:

Huseyin

020 7091 7872

Stonham

SUVs are becoming bigger and heavier

‘Carspreading ’ eats up streets

SUV Alliance calls for fairer parking charges and taxes on oversized cars based on their size and risk they pose to vulnerable road users and pedestrians

The growing popularity of large cars means that more than 1 million of the vehicles sold in the UK each year are now too big to fit a typical urban car parking space. Guidelines state that on-street parking bays should have a minimum width of 1.8m, and length of 4.8m which is the typical size in urban areas. The problem is that supersized sports utility vehicles (SUVs) now regularly measure more than 1.8m wide and 4.8m long – a process some refer to as ‘carflation’. SUVs are getting heavier and larger: 400kg heavier in the last seven years, according to research by Autocar.

SUVs are continually becoming longer, wider and heavier. They are also becoming ever more popular. Around 4.6 million SUVs have been sold in the UK since 2021, according to researchers at Clean Cities, a European network of organisations calling for healthy and climate-friendly transport in cities.

Clean Cities is worried that SUVs are crowding out space in towns and cities, causing more road wear and more likely to cause fatal injuries for children, cyclists and those driving smaller cars. Campaigners call this phenomenon ‘carspreading’.

As cars get bigger, so do the risks. People hit by larger cars when walking or cycling are far less likely to survive. According to a Europe-wide study, which included the UK, when vehicles are 300kg heavier, the risk of fatal injuries is 30% higher for vulnerable road users. Pedestrians and cyclists are also 30% more likely to be killed if they’re hit by a car with a bonnet that’s 10cm higher than average. The research was conducted by the Belgian Road Safety Institute. The data analysed 300,000 car passengers and vulnerable users over four years.

In a collision between a 1,600kg car and a lighter 1,300kg car the risk of fatal injury reduces by 50% for the occupants of the

heaviest car and increases by almost 80% for the occupants of the lighter car. In the event of an increase in mass of 300kg, the risk of fatal injuries is also 30% higher for vulnerable road users.

The SUV Alliance

A coalition of charities and campaigners are now taking on the ‘carspreading’ phenomenon. The campaign includes organisations such as Clean Cities, AdFree Cities and Mums for Lungs.

The SUV Alliance is calling fairer taxes that favour lighter and more appropriately sized cars. The alliance’s manifesto argues city leaders should make parking policies fairer by varying costs based on a vehicle’s size. The logic is straightforward. Bigger cars take up a lot more space, but the cost of parking stays the same. The alliance is thus calling for parking costs in cities to be based on the size of a car.

At the national level, government should adjust taxes in favour of lighter and more appropriately sized cars. There should also be maximum width, length and height limits for new cars. Current regulations allow for cars to be built as wide as a truck.

The campaign advocates for a national ‘tobacco-style’ ban on SUV advertising (including hybrid and electric SUVs) in outdoor spaces. The alliance argues that advertising is driving demand for larger SUVs, rather than demand creating the supply.

The SUV Alliance wants to see mandatory ‘eco-scores’ published for all new electric vehicles, combining engine efficiency and lifecycle CO2 emissions, to make clear their impact on the planet.

The campaign also wants to empower local authorities to introduce ‘progressive parking tariffs’ on heavier, bigger, and more polluting vehicles, due to their climate impact and danger for road users. It cites examples like Paris – and in England, Bath (Somerset) and Islington (London) – which have introduced

increased parking charges for larger vehicles.

Oliver Lord, UK head of Clean Cities, says: “Cars are getting bigger every year, while our streets are not. We need carmakers to prioritise normal sized cars that can be parked more easily and are less dangerous to people walking around. It’s only fair if you want to buy a massive SUV that you should expect to pay more for the space it takes up.”

Jemima Hartshorn, a parent who set up the Mums for Lungs group, says: “There is a real problem on our streets, the cars are getting bigger and bigger, and more dangerous. The chance of a road death or serious injury if you collide with one of these big SUVs is huge. Of course we want everyone including young children to cycle on our roads, but it is unsafe these days.”

The SUV Alliance encourages supporters to share the manifesto with local MPs and councillors to introduce anti-SUV policies.

The SUV Alliance formally launched its manifesto at an event in the House of Lords on 26 March. The reception was hosted by Green peer Jenny Jones and brought together national policymakers and representatives of local councils.

Baroness Jones said: “Sales of SUVs have leapt up in the last two decades, yet many urban streets and car parking bays are simply too small to accommodate the increasing girth of these vehicles. I like what Paris has done to discourage their use, by charging the largest cars as much as three times more to park. In the UK, Bath and Islington councils have introduced similar measures. The government should encourage other councils to replicate these efforts.”

An expert view

A new UK academic paper shows that heavier cars are more likely to be involved in fatal collisions and average car weight in the UK is increasing. This may lead to a rise in fatal collisions if the trend continues, the academics warn. Reducing car weight could mitigate the severity and frequency of collisions, while the academics suggest that policy makers could consider “taxation on heavier cars” and that “local authorities could adjust parking policies to charge higher fees for heavier cars.

The study, led by civil engineer Ruth Carlson with a co-author from the University of Huddersfield, is based on preliminary findings with the full paper out later this year.

Solutions to a taxing problem

New taxes could reap significant rewards for HM Treasury and the Department of Transport. As well as the additional revenue, discouraging sales of heavier cars could reduce road maintenance costs. According to ‘The Fourth Power Law’, a formula developed by US Highway Officials, the damage done by a vehicle to a road surface is proportional to the fourth power of its axle weight.

A two-tonne SUV therefore does 16 times more damage than a one-tonne car, says the SUV Alliance. The potholing of road surfaces is even worse when it rains because heavier vehicles create much stronger hydraulic pressure, forcing water into any flaws and breaking up the road surface. www.suv-alliance.org.uk

The SUV Alliance’s five asks

1. Reform Vehicle Excise Duty to introduce a progressively higher tax on the most polluting vehicles proportional to their weight.

2. Set maximum width, length and height limits for new car sales from 2030 so that carmakers cannot continue to sell passenger vehicles that are too big for parking spaces.

3. Follow the lead of Edinburgh and The Hague and introduce a national tobacco-style ban on SUV advertising – including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric SUVs – in outdoor advertising spaces like billboards and bus stops.

4. Mandate that carmakers must publish an “eco-score” for all new electric vehicles, combining engine efficiency with the carbon footprint at the vehicle’s production stage including the battery, steel and aluminium.

5. Empower and encourage local authorities to introduce progressive parking tariffs on heavier, bigger and more polluting passenger vehicles.

Carspreading: What the public thinks

Clean Cities survey reveals car owners back higher tax and parking charges to fix potholes

Car owners back imposing higher tax and parking charges on SUVs if the funds raised are used to fix potholes, reveals a survey commissioned by Clean Cities. According to the YouGov polling, 61% of UK passenger car owners agree that “SUVs take up too much space”, while only 19% disagree.

Some 71% of car owners also agree that SUVs make parking more difficult, while only 14% disagree.

When asked how the money raised from additional Vehicle Excise Duty and parking charges on SUVs should be spent, the most popular measures amongst car owners were to fix the millions of potholes (54%) on Britain’s roads, which increase danger and repair costs for motorists and cyclists.

The next most popular spending priorities were safer roads (40%) and better public transport (36%). Only 19% said there should be no additional measures for SUVs.

Harriet Edwards, a concerned parent from Sutton, said: “It’s not just the added stress of not being able to find somewhere to park, it’s the sense that if I’m involved in a collision with one of these giant SUVs, that me and my family are far more likely to be seriously hurt or killed. If you cause more danger, create more potholes and take up more parking space, it’s only fair that you pay a little bit more.”

How should the money raised from any additional charges on SUVs be spent?

Not applicable: I don’t think there should be any additional charges on SUVs 19%

Thinking about SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles, e.g. Nissan Qashqai, BMW iX, Land Rover Defender etc.)…

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: SUVs take up too much space

According to Dataforce, in 2023, 60% of all new cars bought in the UK were SUVs. If this trend continues, SUV registrations could make up 75% of new cars by 2027.

Thinking about the growing trend for SUVs...

To what extent do you agree or disagree with statement: more SUVs will make parking more difficult?

The YouGov interviewed a weighted sample of 2,133 adults of whom 1,404 were passenger car owners on 22-23 January 2025.

Private parking firms are on course to issue a record 14.5 million charge notices to drivers this year, suggests RAC analysis of DVLA Keeper At Date Of Event (KADOE) data. Parking charge notices are issued for alleged parking contraventions of terms and conditions covering parking on private land.

When pursuing payment of charges, parking operators belonging to an accredited trade association can request vehicle keeper data from DVLA. There are two accredited associations – the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC).

In the first half of the 2024-25 financial year, requests to the DVLA from car park management companies for vehicle keeper details hit 7.2 million. The RAC says this is the equivalent of 41,000 a day. It represents a 12% increase on the same period 12 months before, when 6.5 million requests were made.

Analysis of the DVLA data shows just five companies were responsible for making nearly half (45%) of the requests to the DVLA for vehicle keeper details. These are: ParkingEye (1.1 million); Euro Car Parks (891,600); Horizon Parking (439,896); Smart Parking (423,809); and APCOA (367,465).

ParkingEye was responsible for 16% of the total. The RAC calculates that just 10 companies made nearly two-thirds (64%, 4.6 million) of all the requests to the DVLA. Each request costs £2.50 to make.

The RAC calculates the value of 14.5 million charges, if paid the full rate of £100 would equate, to over £1.4bn. However, drivers can pay charges at a reduced rate if they are settled early. Drivers whose appeals are rejected by parking companies can appeal to adjudication services run by the BPA and IPC.

The number of vehicle keeper requests is running at more than double the number issued out six years ago (2018-19), before the passing of the Parking (Code of Practice) Act, which was intended to regulate the sector. However, the government withdrew the Private Parking Code of Practice in 2022 and paused plans for a new appeals service following legal challenges from private parking and debt recovery companies.

The BPA and IPC published their own code of practice in October 2024 and have appointed a scrutiny panel to review its operations. However, the RAC is calling for the reintroduction of the government’s code.

Calls for a government code

The RAC says the withdrawal of the official code of practice means the behaviour of private parking companies has not been scrutinised as intended by the Act.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s very concerning that private parking firms are growing and on track to issue a record 14.5 million parking charge notices to drivers in the space of just 12 months. As drivers don’t generally set out to break the rules, we fear more may be being treated unfairly by private parking companies that are still operating without government scrutiny.

“Unfortunately, despite legislation being passed more than five years ago to prevent

14.5m parking charge notices set to be issued

RAC analyses parking operators’ DVLA vehicle keeper data requests

poor industry conduct, the Private Parking Code of Practice has never come into force due to a legal challenge. Eight-in-10 drivers we surveyed were frustrated by this, but we know the government is committed to getting the official code across the line. We believe this needs to happen as quickly as possible, particularly as the number of parking charge notices issued has more than doubled since the law was passed to introduce the code in 2019. If anyone feels they’ve been wrongly told to pay £100 by a car park management company, they should challenge it.

“With firms prone to sending debt collection letters after 28 days and then threatening court action, we realise the process can be pretty daunting, which is why we’ve published a step-by-step guide on what to do at each stage. We hope this will help drivers get unjustified parking charge notices cancelled.”

The parking sector responds

The British Parking Association’s chief policy and engagement officer Alison Tooze said that while the daily rate of 41,000 vehicle keeper data requests may seem like a large

number in isolation it should be understood in context. She explained: “Of those who enter a private car park in the UK, only 0.3% receive a parking charge. This has held steady for many years, meaning 99.7% of people park with no issue. This demonstrates that the increase in number of charges overall over time relates to more car parks under management rather than a higher probability of receiving a parking charge. If landowners weren’t finding an increasing need to get parking on their land under control, there would be far less demand for operators. The reason there is demand is simply that a problematic percentage of people do not park considerately and choose to ignore the terms the landowner sets for parking on their land.”

The government view

A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Motorists must be protected when using private car parks, and we are determined to drive up standards in the industry. We know how much of an issue this is for drivers, which is why we will set out further details on the private parking code of practice as soon as possible.”

Cardiff drops plan for road user charging

Welsh Government raised concerns over levy’s regional impact, reports Rhodri

Clark

Road user charging has been excluded from the Cardiff Capital Region’s draft Regional Transport Delivery Plan, which lists the transport priorities of local government for 2025 to 2030. The Welsh Government said that it is focussed on delivering other transport priorities.

Cardiff Council proposed a road user charging scheme in its Transport White Paper in January 2020. Its preferred option was a £2 charge for vehicles entering the city, with Cardiff residents exempt.

The exemption led to criticisms that the charge would be a tax on drivers from poorer outlying areas, including former coalmining communities.

Six days after the White Paper, Ken Skates, minister for economy and transport, wrote to Cardiff Council’s leader to emphasise that road user charging should take account of the wider region “which includes some of the most deprived com-

munities in Wales.” He said the Welsh Government would commission a detailed study into the benefits and challenges of demand management approaches, to inform national and regional policy positions.

In 2021, Llwybr Newydd, the new Welsh transport strategy, listed as one of the government’s priorities the delivery within five years of a “strategy for fair roaduser charging in Wales as part of a broader package of measures to improve travel choices”.

The Cardiff Capital Region has now commenced consultation on its draft Regional Transport Plan (RTP), the first RTP since

the Welsh Government unexpectedly abolished the South East Wales Transport Alliance in 2014. The draft RTP’s policies on private cars aims to: “Reduce the number of private car trips into the region’s towns and city centres to address congestion and air pollution and improve the efficiency of our road network.

“This will be achieved by prioritising the development and delivery of evidence-based network charging measures and controls to reduce the number of trips made by the private car on the region’s busiest, most congested corridors e.g. emissions

Welsh pavement parking ban delayed

UK government inaction on footways hits Wales, writes Rhodri Clark

Action to tackle pavement parking in England is still not scheduled, five years after the UK government undertook a public consultation on proposed options to tackle the problem.

Scotland legislated in 2019 to introduce powers for local authorities to ban pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs, with certain exemptions designated by authorities. The powers became available to authorities in December 2023.

The Welsh Government previously expected to introduce similar powers in 2022 but the UK government did not make the required amendment to regulations.

Last year, the Welsh Government said it would wait to “piggyback” on any actions taken by the UK government in

relation to England.

In April Ken Skates, cabinet secretary for transport and North Wales, told the Senedd: “This is a hugely challenging, complicated issue to get to grips with. I met with UK government ministers recently about pavement parking, and there is recognition that it has to be addressed.

“My understanding is that the Department for Transport is considering amending Regulation 103 of the road vehicles regulations to create a specific offence of unnecessary obstruction of the pavement. Longer term plans may also include considering a wider ban on pavement parking, which is a menace in many communities.”

Parking Review asked the Department for Transport (DfT) whether Skates’s understanding was correct, when any such amendment would be consulted on and come into force in England,

charging, congestion charging.”

It will also be achieved with evidence-based management of parking supply, investigating and supporting opportunities to introduce Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) schemes and supporting formalisation of “park and share”, car sharing, car clubs, bike sharing and Mobility as a Service.

The draft RTP also outlines numerous rail schemes and potential measures to fund them. One objective is: “Secure commensurate long-term funding (capital and revenue); including consideration of demand management measures (e.g. WPLs, road user charging), Community Infrastructure Levy, tax increment financing, etc.”

The accompanying Regional Transport Delivery Plan (RTDP) lists “the proposed schemes and interventions that are priorities for local authority development and delivery over the next five years up to 2030”.

None of the schemes listed in the RTDP are for congestion charging, road user charging or road pricing. The suggested Workplace Parking Levy schemes are also missing from the delivery plan.

and why the DfT was taking so long to act on pavement parking.

In response to all of the questions, the DfT said: “Our priority is to make it as easy and as accessible as possible for everyone to get around, and we recognise the problems pavement parking can cause for people, especially those with mobility or sight impairments. The government continues to review the issue of pavement parking nationwide and will update in due course.”

Edinburgh City Council introduced its pavement parking ban in January 2024. In the following 12 months, it issued 5,098 penalty charge notices for footway parking, 1,591 for dropped kerb parking and 1,607 for double parking.

Since enforcement began, there has been an overall decreasing trend in PCNs issued for pavement parking, with the exception of the busier summer months.

Highway Code features Scottish pavement ban

The Highway Code has been updated to include restrictions in Scotland on pavement parking, blocking dropped kerbs and double parking. From 10 April the code has included a revision to Rule 243 which sets out where parking is not allowed on the highway.

New Rule 243: In Scotland you MUST NOT double park or park anywhere the kerb has been lowered to help pedestrians or cyclists. Exceptions are allowed in limited circumstances.

Rule 244 has also been revised. It used to just apply to London, where there is a blanket ban on pavement parking. It now reads: New Rule 244: You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London or Scotland. Exceptions are allowed in limited circumstances. You should not park partially or wholly on the pavement elsewhere unless signs permit it.

RHODRI CLARK

Portsmouth Park & Ride returns for summer

Visitors will be given option of swapping to new look bus services

Visitors to Portsmouth will enjoy a direct park & ride route to Southsea seafront as the PR3 summer weekend service makes its return in June. Portsmouth City Council has announced that First Bus Solent will operate the PR3 weekend service for the 2025 summer season, running from 7 June to 31 August.

First Bus was appointed last year to manage the regular PR1 service for the next five years. The site and PR1 buses have recently been rebranded with a new look, and customers benefit from new signage at the site, which is conveniently located just off the M275.

The earlier start date of the PR3 will allow visitors from the LGBTQ+ community, along with their friends and supporters, to attend free daytime activities and a community-led parade for National Pride on 7 June – the

first major summer event on Southsea Common.

Portsmouth Park & Ride is designed to offer a low-cost, stress-free alternative to city driving, allowing passengers to avoid traffic and enjoy a smoother, more relaxing ride into the heart of Portsmouth, Southsea and

Warwickshire County Council has issued an urgent plea to drivers to avoid unsafe and illegal parking on Rugby’s Clifton Road following further dangerous incidents.

On 23 February, a bus was unable to get onto stand due to several parked cars, causing a blockage.

When the driver attempted to pull away, a car pulling out of Moultrie Road attempted to overtake the bus and hit the front of it causing damage although, thankfully, nobody was injured.

There have also been numerous instances where cars parked in the bus stop have been trying to pull out when the bus is double parked, putting passenger safety at risk.

The council is also advising residents that parking enforcement is set to increase at the popular shopping area along Clifton Road, making it increasingly likely that anyone parking illegally there will be fined.

Since February 2024, there have been 173 penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued on Clifton Road, with 94 PCNs being issued to cars parking in the restricted bus stop area.

The council is reminding all residents that parking at bus stops is strictly forbidden and that anyone who is caught parking in the bus stops along the Clifton Road is liable to be issued with a penalty charge notice.

seafront. By reducing traffic congestion, the park & ride service plays a crucial role in enhancing air quality while providing an affordable and efficient way to commute and explore the city.

Journeys to Clarence Pier on the PR3 take 16 minutes, with buses running every 30 minutes

at the weekend.

The first bus departs at 9.35 am, and the last bus returns from Clarence Pier to the park & ride site at 7.24 pm.

Additionally, a special service will operate every 10 minutes on the weekend of 26 and 27 July to accommodate the large number of visitors expected for the colourful Portsmouth International Kite Festival.

Customers are encouraged to car share, supporting Portsmouth’s vision of becoming a greener and healthier city. Portsmouth Park & Ride costs just £4 for up to five people to travel all day on either the PR1 or PR3 services.

New ticketing options have also been introduced in partnership with First Bus, making it easier for visitors and commuters to purchase tickets.

Flexible fares can now be bought via the First Bus app, and day tickets can be purchased directly from the bus driver, using cash, contactless or card payments.

£600k bill for Cheltenham permit plan

Almost £600,000 has been spent on the roll-out of residential parking restrictions in Cheltenham. The Zone 15 scheme was set up by Gloucestershire County Council to discourage commuters from parking in residential roads within the All Saints area.

Launched in December 2023, residents soon complained over its operating hours and a lack of clarity in its signage. Thee complaints led to the council issuing an apology.

Changes made following public engagement had improved the scheme, which has now gone live.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed the total cost of planning, consulting and implementing the scheme came to almost £595,000 as of 19 February this year.

The breakdown includes the cost of consultants, third parties and direct costs to the authority.

The FOI response reveals that consultant Atkins’s project costs were £136,947.

A total of £124,796 was spent on design consultants and £12,151 on printing and

posting materials.

The review of the Zone 15 scheme cost £99,903 while the project set up, inception and ongoing management had cost £2,440.

The community engagement and consultation cost £78,878 and site investigations, preliminary designs and review cost £18,585.

The work to install the signage and paint the road markings came to £121,284.

Council leader Stephen Davies told the BBC: “The Zone 15 parking zone covers a large area with many localised issues and competing priorities for parking and road space.

“The council has undertaken a review to see how the zone can be improved to ensure that the resident parking scheme meets the needs of the majority of residents and businesses in the area, with rules that are clear and understandable to all motorists.

“Following the initial plan we have reviewed processes but it is important that we have responded to public concerns and there is a price tag to doing the right thing.”

Clifton Road

Portsmouth Park & Ride’s new look website

Tackling dangerous parking in Rugby

Peterborough to curb car cruisers

PSPO proposed to prevent antisocial driving in car park

A Public Space Protection Order is being considered as a way to tackle the problem of anti-social behaviour in a Peterborough car park.

The Pleasure Fair Meadow surface site has become a hotspot for unauthorised car meets and car cruising events.

There have been reports of meets of up to 300 cars and smaller gatherings of vehicles where some drivers drive dangerously and carry out doughnuts and handbrake turns.

There have also been reports of persistent noise, smoke, odours and littering.

One driver has been jailed and banned from driving after doing doughnuts at Pleasure Fair Meadow car park.

Peterborough City Council has launched a consultation asking for views on the idea of implementing a public space protection order (PSPO) to tackle the

problem. A PSPO would see new rules imposed on motorists to prevent “vehicle-related nuisance and anti-social behaviour”.

Drivers who breach them could face fines of up to £1,000 if they breach them.

It would cover Pleasure Fair Meadow Road and car park accessed by Oundle Road, leading to Railworld Wildlife Haven Car Park, and up to and including Steve Baker Walk bordered by the railway line.

The consultation closed on 28

March and received over 170 responses. The council will consider the responses before making a recommendation on whether the PSPO should be put in place for three years.

Launching the consultation, Alison Jones, cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “We are fully committed to working with partners to keep members of the public safe. We want to develop strong and sustainable communities, which PSPOs are helping us to achieve.”

Hereford car parks collected £5.5k on a ‘free’ offer day

More than 1,600 people paid a total of over £5,500 for parking in Hereford on an afternoon when it was supposed to be free.

From midday on Saturday 8 February no payment for parking was required at most Herefordshire Council-owned parking spaces.

The council said the machines still accepted payments on the day for people who wanted to park beyond the times of a promotion designed as part of the city business improvement district’s annual Love Hereford event.

The campaign covered car parks and on-street pay & display spaces.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that over the course of the afternoon drivers made 1,607 payments, both by card and cash at the machines and via the app, totalling £5,510.60.

The council said: “The reason to not change the machines directly to not accept any money was for people parking outside the event parameters – before or after, or for longer, or for longer tickets.”

Car cruisers creating donuts at Pleasure Fair Meadow

NPED launches Drive Legal campaign

National Persistent Evader Database leads call for action on antisocial motorists

Vehicles that do not comply with tax, insurance and safety rules are threatening the integrity of the UK roads network.

Non-compliant vehicles are often linked to criminal activity, anti-social behaviour, and substantial financial burdens on law-abiding motorists. They also lead to significant revenue losses for the Exchequer.

Organisations working in the traffic, policing and parking sectors are being encouraged to join a national campaign that aims to tackle the problem of non-compliant vehicles.

Drive Legal has been devised by the NPED Services, the organisation behind the National Persistent Evaders Database initiative. Research by NPED Services reveals that over 10 million vehicles in the UK exhibit various forms of non-compliance, including:

• lack of vehicle excise duty (road tax)

• no valid MOT certificate

• vehicles not registered with the DVLA

• absence of insurance coverage

• persistent evasion of parking offences

• use of cloned number plates

• non-compliant number plates, such as ‘ghost plates’

• overseas registration beyond the legal six-month limit.

Gatwick warns about rogue firms

London Gatwick Airport is warning travellers about rogue parking firms.

The problems surround ‘meet & greet’ services that collect cars from passengers arriving at Gatwick and then park them off-site.

Holidaymakers have complained about long waits for their cars return, some of which were damaged, at the hands of third party car parking operators. In some cases cars are being left in fields and on local highways.

The number of complaints has nearly doubled over two years. West Sussex Trading Standards statistics show that 130 customers reported issues with car parking companies at the West Sussex airport in 2024, up from 73 in 2022.

Oliver Bedford, car parking director at Gatwick Airport, said: “The challenge we have is that these operators can

operate in the airport as long as they don’t break any of our bylaws. Although they may have Gatwick in their name there’s no association between those operators and the airport.”

Some operators only open up over peak holiday periods and are then closed down.

Bedford said the airport is taking steps to combat the problem via an operation with Sussex Police to clamp down on the car parking companies. Two arrests have been made.

Bedford said passengers should look for the Park Mark, an accreditation mark issued by the British Parking Association, as well as Trading Standards information to ensure that the businesses they use are legitimate.

Customers could also look for independent reviews online, and be wary of prices which are too good to be true.

tion, and reform, we can address this growing issue and create a more compliant road network that works for everyone.

“Drive Legal aims to unite organisations, parking operations, and the general public to form one unified voice advocating for change. This movement strives to redefine how the nation perceives and manages our vehicle community, ensuring fairness, compliance, and safety for all road users.

“Drive Legal invites all stakeholders to join this pivotal campaign and help drive meaningful change. Together, we can ensure that every vehicle on the road adheres to the law and contributes to a safer, more equitable driving environment for all.”

Launching the Drive Legal campaign, NPED founder Alan Wood, said: “Our roads network is the backbone of the UK’s transportation system, and the presence of millions of noncompliant vehicles undermines its efficiency, safety, and fairness. Through collaboration, educa-

Wood has described the National Persistent Evaders Database as “Santa’s naughty list, but for cars,” because it identifies vehicles sought for non-payment of parking tickets and links them to other offences such as no MOT, insurance or vehicle excise duty.

The NPED project is supported by organisations including the British Parking Association (BPA), International Parking Community (IPC), Disabled Motoring UK and Disability Confident.

Police investigate fake attendants

Police in Leicestershire are investigating a series of frauds relating to suspects posing as car park attendants to fraudulently obtain people’s bank details.

During each incident, a person impersonating a car parking attendant approaches someone who is intending to pay for their parking.

They have then guided the person to a specific meter and told them after they have entered their bank card to read their PIN number out loud to allow the machine to register the number.

The machine, which clearly has been tampered with, refuses to return the card and the victim believes it has been accidentally retained.

When the victim leaves the machine with the card still inside, the fraudster retrieves and fraudulently uses the card with the read-out PIN number.

Of the three cases reported to the force so far, two happened at car parks in Coalville while one happened in Glenfield and as much as £1,300 has been taken from one victims bank account.

Nicole McIntyre from Leicestershire Police’s economic crime unit said: “This is a new type of scam we have unfortunately started to see and in each case, the victims have been elderly, so we know that these people are targeting those they believe are vulnerable.

“You should never be asked to verify your PIN in such circumstances and if you are unsure that someone is a genuine car parking attendant, ask for a verified ID. If you are not sure and have any suspicion a criminal offence is being commented, please do not enter your card into the machine and contact police.”

The Drive Legal campaign logo

London’s boroughs have agreed to raise parking and traffic penalty charges for the first time since 2011.

The new penalty charges and fees came into effect from Monday 7 April 2025.

Boroughs say the increase is necessary to ensure penalty charge notices (PCNs) remain effective deterrents and properly incentivise drivers to drive and park safely.

The money raised by PCNs cannot go into the council’s general funds for any purpose. Instead, local authorities have a legal duty to ensure any net revenue raised by PCNs is reinvested in traffic and transport schemes. In London this includes paying for the Freedom Pass providing free public transport for 1.2 million older and disabled Londoners.

With some PCN levels having been unchanged for 14 years and others for 18 years, boroughs were concerned that charge levels were not high enough to encourage compliance.

The number of PCNs issued in the capital has increased by around 70% since 2010 (from 4.8 million in 2009-10 to 8.3 million in 2023-24).

The boroughs say the impact of inflation on penalty charge levels has meant a reduction in the real value of these charges and additional fees over time. The costs to boroughs for providing a parking and traffic management service have also increased significantly since 2011.

Following a public consultation, the decision was made by London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, which is responsible for setting parking, bus lane and moving traffic penalty charges on borough roads, plus additional parking fees.

The increase brings the highest level of boroughs’ PCNs in line with the penalty charges on roads managed by Transport for London, which were raised in 2022.

The changes agreed by London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee have received the required approval from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. No objection was raised by transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who has the power to veto the changes within a set time period, which has now passed.

Stephen Boon, London Councils’ chief operating officer, said: “Boroughs have a duty to ensure London’s roads remain safe and accessible for everyone. Through using PCNs to manage parking and traffic, boroughs can reduce congestion and incentivise road users to drive and park safely, protect access, crossing and junctions, and increase active travel such as walking and cycling. Boroughs can also improve bus prioritisation, reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

“The vast majority of motorists who abide by the rules will be unaffected by these changes. Penalty charges have not changed since 2011 and the evidence clearly showed they needed to be increased to remain as an effective deterrent for the small minority who don’t abide by the rules.

“Any net revenue raised from PCNs is reinvested in transport schemes, including paying for the Freedom Pass providing free public transport for older and disabled Londoners.”

Over

London PCN fees rise

Parking and traffic penalty costs increase for first time since 2011

The capital is split into roads controlled by London boroughs and those controlled by Transport for London (TfL). TfL has similar responsibilities to London boroughs for setting penalty charges on their own roads – the Transport for London Route Network (TLRN), or Red Routes.

In 2022, following a consultation in 2021, TfL increased parking, bus lane and moving traffic penalty charges on the roads they manage from £130 to £160.

DfT looking at cost of PCNs outside London

The Department for Transport is assessing the case for increasing the cost of penalty charge notices issued outside London.

While the value of PCNs in London is decided by the mayor, for those outside the capital the fee bands are decided by the transport secretary.

Alex Mayer, Labour MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, submitted a written question to the Secretary of State for Transport asking what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the decision to increase parking penalties in London on her department’s review of penalty charge notice research.

On 2 April Lilian Greenwood, minister for future of roads, responded by writing: “This government believes that transport decisions in London, including the level of penalty charge notices (PCN), should be for the Mayor of London. A group of local government and other stakeholders has submitted research to ministers on PCN levels outside London. The department will consider carefully their findings and recommendations along with other relevant evidence before any decision is taken.”

The new fees

Parking penalties

London boroughs’ parking penalties at the higher level have increased by £30 to:

• £160 (Band A) reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days from the date of issue of the PCN

• £140 (Band B) reduced to £70 if paid within 14 days from the date of issue of the PCN.

Parking penalties at the lower level will increase by £30 to:

• £110 (Band A) reduced to £55 if paid within 14 days from the date of issue of the PCN

• £90 (Band B) reduced to £45 if paid within 14 days from the date of issue of the PCN.

All penalties are reduced by 50% if paid within the discount period.

Bus lane and moving traffic penalties

Moving traffic contraventions will also increase by £30 to:

• Penalty for contraventions of bus lane regulations = £160

• Penalty for moving traffic contraventions = £160

These penalties are also reduced by 50% if paid within the discount period.

Other fees

Additional parking fees will also rise:

• Release fee from wheel clamp = £100 up from £70

• Release fee from car pound = £280 up from £200

• Daily storage fee = £55 per day up from £40 per day

• Disposal fee = £100 up from £70.

8 million PCNs are issued in London annually

Summary of parking accounts for England (£millions)

* Cellsmaynotaddupexactlyduetorounding.

billion and counting

RAC Foundation analyses council parking revenue in England for 2023-24

Councils in England made a surplus of more than £1 billion from their parking activities in 2023-24. Analysis by the RAC Foundation of the returns made by local authorities to central government show that total income from on-street and offstreet parking activities was £2 billion whilst total costs were £989m, leaving a surplus of £1 billion. This is compared with a surplus of £884m in 2022-23.

The councils are budgeted to make a £1.12 billion surplus in the financial year just ending (2024-25).

In 2023-24, more than half of the English surplus (55%) was generated in London, with Westminster City Council in central London accounting for £75.9m (7.5%) of the total.

The report uses the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) tables on parking income and expenditure for the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24 (UK Government (2024a)). All councils are required to report their financial information to government, in a consistent format, although there may be some differences in interpretation of what that format is and what it covers. Councils also submit less detailed budgets for the subsequent 2024-25 financial year (UK Government (2024b)) and these figures are included where appropriate. The figures have to be on an as-received cash basis without any provision for bad debts or any allowance for capital charges (interest or deprecation).

The RAC Foundation report also includes calculations using data on income, expenditure and budgets for previous financial years. The analysis is based on data from the 304 local authorities in England that had reported data at the time of writing (out of a total of 317). National parks reporting parking data are excluded from the main analysis.

Summary

Total income from parking in 2023-24 in England was £2.01 billion, 15.0% higher than in 2022-23. On-street income rose by 8.6% and off-street income by 27.4%.

Expenditure rose by 10.0% for on-street and by 21.2% for offstreet parking, reports the RAC Foundation. As a result, the combined surplus from both on-street and off-street parking was £1.019 billion, 15.3% higher than the previous financial year and 19.7% higher than four years ago.

Local authorities exceeded their 2023-24 budgeted surplus of £983 million by 3.6%. Their budgeted surplus for this next financial year (2024-25) is £1.12 billion, 9.9% higher than the actual for 2023-24. If the 2024-25 budget is exceeded by the same proportion as the 2023-24 outcome, then total parking surpluses would amount to £1.16 billion.

The on-street parking surpluses must, by law, be used for transport projects. Overall, local transport net expenditure in 2023-24 increased to £4.9 billion. Without the contribution from parking surpluses, net expenditure would have been 20.7% lower.

The RAC Foundation found that last year the surpluses for London have increased by 5.5%, which is less than the average annual increase observed over the preceding four years, which was 6.2%. For the rest of England excluding London the surpluses have increased by 30.8%, which is more than the four-year average annual increase at 2.9%.

On average, parking surpluses in Great Britain have risen by about 9.6% annually over the four years for which data are available compared with 4.6% annually for the Retail Prices Index during the same period (Office for National Statistics 2025).

Income

Parking income is derived from three main sources: meter income (including ticket machines and apps), residents’ and business permits, and penalties, says the RAC Foundation. Other sources are towing and storage charges although relatively few councils operate pounds now.

Total income in 2023-24 was £2 billion, 15.0% higher than in 2022-23. In London boroughs the

England was £1.1 billion, 24.0% more than in the previous year.

In England as a whole 189 councils increased their income over the past year and 76 decreased their income. Another 14 councils’ incomes stayed the same. There are 44 councils that did not report income data in this or the previous fiscal year, so the RAC Foundation cannot define the change.

The top three English councils by income were Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Lambeth – between them they accounted for 11.8% of parking income.

The three councils which had the largest year-on-year percentage increases in income were Fenland (up 7700.0%), Bexley (up 66.2%) and Norfolk (up 56.8%). The biggest decreases were in Tandridge (44.5%), and Bury (35.0%) (excluding Halton, Bolsover, and Hyndburn where income was under £30,000).

Expenditure

Overall expenditure on parking rose to £989 million, up 14.6% from 2022-23 for both on-street and off-street, says the RAC Foundation. Expenditure in London went up by 7.0% and up by 19.7% in the rest of England. Expenditure represents 44.4% of income for on-street parking and 57.4% for off-street.

Overall expenditure has risen by £126 million (14.6%) after a rise of £36 million last year.

In England as a whole 171 councils increased their expenditures over the past year and 99 decreased them. Another nine councils’ expenditures stayed the same. There are 44 councils that did not report expenditure data in this or the previous fiscal year, so the change cannot be defined.

The top three English councils by expenditure were Westminster, Lambeth, and Hammersmith & Fulham – between them they accounted for 8.6% of parking expenditure in the country.

The largest increase in expenditure in England occurred in Bexley where it increased by 124.2% while Fenland and Broadland increased by 115.3% and 93.8% respectively. The biggest decreases were in Bassetlaw (361.1%), and Bradford (85.3%).

Surpluses

In total, the RAC Foundation calculates that councils in England made a surplus of £1.02 billion in 2023-24, 15.3% higher than in 2022-23. Of this total, £566 million (55.5%) came from London

and £453 million from the rest of England. This excludes a £1.6 million surplus from parking in National Parks. Money from any workplace parking levy schemes is excluded from the analysis for the sake of clear comparison between local authorities. It is currently unique to Nottingham.

The total surpluses for London amounted to £565.7 million between 33 authorities, of which the top three–Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Lambeth – accounting for 26.2%.

No London councils made a loss last year

Overall, parking contributed £565.7 million to local authority finances in London in 2023-24 compared with £536 million in 2023-24, an increase of 5.5%.

Sutton increased their surplus by 110.8% while Hillingdon and Croydon increased by 61.1% and 55.4% respectively. The biggest decreases were in Greenwich (41.6%), and Hounslow (25.5%).

None of the London boroughs has had a deficit two years in a row.

The total surplus from parking outside London of £453 million in 2023-24 was 30.4% higher than in 2022-23. Brighton & Hove was the highest earning council outside London, ranking as the sixth largest nationally, and with a surplus in 2023-24 of £29.9 million, 0.9% lower than in 2022-23.

The total surpluses outside London amounted to £1029.7 million between 225 authorities, of which the top three – Brighton & Hove, Nottingham, and Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole –accounted for 14.0%. 46 councils made a loss with the total of parking deficits rising to £10.82 million from £10.75 million last year.

Wyre increased its surplus by 1462.5% while Ashford and Chorley increased by 820.7% and 273.7% respectively.

The biggest decreases were in Sandwell (77.8%) and Welwyn Hatfield (76.4%).

South Ribble increased their deficits by 1600.0% while Stokeon-Trent and Essex increased by 1440.0% and 232.9% respectively The biggest decreases were in Crawley (77.7%), and Durham (51.6%) (excluding Rugby, and East Staffordshire with a deficit under £30,000).

Local Authority Parking Finances in England 2023-24 www.racfoundation.org

Parking revenues – England

Blue Badges issued annually: England, since the year ending March 2020

Making parking accessible

Department for Transport releases data on disability, accessibility and Blue Badges

There are over 2.8 million Blue Badges on issue in England, according to the latest figures released by the Department for Transport. The report Disability, accessibility and Blue Badge statistics, England 2023 to 2024 also reveals that the number of Blue Badges issued has increased by 10%.

Blue Badges are disabled parking cards that are issued by local authorities to help people with mobility issues park closer to the goods and services they need to use. The Blue Badge is associated with the individual to whom it is issued rather than a specific vehicle.

In August 2019, Blue Badge scheme eligibility criteria were extended to include more people with non-visible and neurological disabilities that may affect their ability to access goods and services.

Blue Badges are issued according to need of the applicant and are not related to any specific condition. Anyone may be awarded a Blue Badge if they meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria. Badges can also be issued to organisations who transport people with disabilities.

Upon issue, a Blue Badge is valid for a period of up to three years.

Headline statistics

Statistics on parking badges for disabled people (Blue Badges) in England are obtained from the Blue Badge Digital Service (BBDS) database. According to the latest BBDS data in England, as at 31 March 2024:

• 2.84 million Blue Badges were held, an increase of 10% compared to March 2023

• 4.9% of the population held a Blue Badge

• 38% of people who were automatically entitled to a Blue Badge held one.

In England, between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024:

• 1.13 million badges were issued, similar to the previous year. This figure includes badges issued following reapplications from existing badge holders

• 41% of these were issued without further assessment.

Blue Badges issued in the year ending March 2024

The number of badges issued includes those issued to people who did not previously hold a badge, and those resulting from reapplications from existing badge holders (badges usually last three years).

There has been an overall increase in the number of badges issued per year since 2020. There were 1.13 million Blue Badges issued in the year ending March 2024. This is a similar number of badges issued compared to the previous year.

Blue Badges issued for people with non-visible disabilities annually: England, since the year ending March 2021

Out of the 1.13 million Blue Badges issued in the year ending March 2024, 662,000 (58%) were subject to further assessment, 465,000 (41%) were issued without further assessment and 7,000 (1%) were issued to organisations.

Out of the badges issued without further assessment, 94.8% were issued to those who met the relevant criteria under Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The remaining badges were issued to those registered blind (4.7%) and those on War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement or the Armed Forces and Reserved Forces Compensation scheme (0.5%).

Data from before 2020 are not comparable to data from 2020 onwards, due to a change in the data collection methodology. For more details on this and other changes to methodology since 2010, see the quality report.

The number of Blue Badges issued for people with non-visible disabilities has increased since 2021, the first full year where data is available. Out of all badges issued in the year ending 31 March 2021, 2.2% (18,000) were issued under the eligibility criteria for people with non-visible disabilities. In the year ending 31 March 2024, 4.3% (49,000) of all badges issued were for people with non-visible disabilities. This is similar to the year ending 31 March 2023, when 4.0% (46,000) of all badges issued were for people with non-visible disabilities.

Blue Badges held as at 31 March 2024

There were 2.84 million valid Blue Badges held as at 31 March 2024, an increase of 10% (263,000 badges) when compared with the previous year. Of the badges held, 4.0% of all badges (115,000) were held by people with non-visible disabilities. This was an increase from 3.3% (86,000) in the year ending 31 March 2023.

As at 31 March 2024, 2.93 million people (5.1% of the population in England) were entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment (previously known as automatically entitled). The number and proportion of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment has been rising since 2015.

The percentage of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment who hold one has been decreasing since 2020. On 31 March 2024, 38% of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment held one. The equivalent figure was 46% in 2020.

On 31 March 2024, 4.9% of the population in England held a valid Blue Badge, up from 4.6% the previous year. The region with the most Blue Badge holders as a proportion of their population was the North East (5.8%). The region with the lowest proportion was London (3.3%), which also had the lowest regional proportion of retired people. Similarly, metropolitan areas such as Birmingham (4.1%) and Manchester (3.4%) also had comparatively low proportions of Blue Badge holders.

Lost and stolen badges

In England, 6,400 badges in the year ending 31 March 2024 were reported to be lost or stolen. Of these, 75% (4,800) were reported to be lost, and 25% (1,600) were stolen. The figures reflect cases that have been recorded in the database. It is possible that not all instances of loss or theft will be reported and recorded, and therefore will not be included in these figures.

Blue Badges held: England, annually since March 2020

Car trips that count

The National Travel Survey reveals the important role of the car in the lives of disabled people

Statistics on trips taken by disabled people are obtained from the National Travel Survey (NTS), a household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary. NTS 2023 was the first year since 2019 to operate with a fully face-to-face data collection.

In 2023:

• the average number of trips made by disabled adults in England was 25% lower than the average number of trips made by non-disabled adults. This difference was similar to previous years

• disabled adults made an average of 740 trips per person, compared with non-disabled adults who made an average of 989.

A trip is defined as a one-way course of travel with a single main purpose. Trips consist of one or more stages; a new stage is defined when there is a change in the mode of transport.

Main mode

Where a trip consists of multiple stages, the main mode is the transport mode for the stage with the longest distance travelled.

In 2023 disabled adults (aged 16 years and over) in England made 740 trips per person, compared to 989 for non-disabled adults.

The difference was larger for those aged 60 or over, where the average number of trips made by disabled adults was 34% lower than the number taken by non-disabled adults of the same age (649 trips per person compared to 986).

The average number of trips made by disabled adults aged 16 to 59 was 16% lower than non-disabled adults of the same age (836 trips per person compared to 990). These differences between travel patterns for disabled and non-disabled adults showed little change compared to the previous year.

Trends in number of trips taken over time

Care should be taken when interpreting long-term trends, due to changes in the methodology of data collection, changes in travel behaviour and a reduction of data collected during 2020 to 2022, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The average number of trips taken per person in 2023 compared to 2022:

• increased by 8% for disabled adults (2% below 2019)

• increased by 8% for non-disabled adults (3% below 2019)

Despite the reduction in the average number of trips made since before the pandemic, the difference between disabled and non-disabled adults has remained similar over the last few years. Before COVID-19, disabled adults made around 25 to 30% fewer trips on average than non-disabled adults. This remained largely unchanged during the pandemic.

Mode of travel

Compared with non-disabled adults, disabled adults made a higher proportion of their total trips (20% compared with 12%) as car passengers, while taking fewer trips as car drivers (42% compared with 48%). Both disabled and non-disabled adults made over 60% of all trips by car in 2023. On average disabled adults took a similar proportion of their trips by bus (5%) compared with non-disabled adults (4%). These figures are all similar to the previous year.

Purpose of travel

Escort trips refer to trips where the traveller has no purpose of his or her own, other than to escort or accompany another person.

In 2023 the three most common trip reasons for disabled adults, in descending order, were shopping (28%), personal business (12%) and other including just a walk (10%).

For non-disabled adults, the three most common trip reasons were shopping (20%), commuting (17%) and other including just a walk (10%). In 2023, of the most common trip purposes, the largest difference between disabled and non-disabled adults was in trips for commuting (8% vs 17%PO). This was also seen in 2022.

Unity5 acquires Chipside and MiPermit

Parking permit and enforcement solutions providers to merge

Chipside, one of the UK’s largest developers of public sector parking permit and enforcement software, has been purchased by Unity5. The deal encompasses Chipside’s MiPermit cashless and virtual permit solution, as well as its range of back office and notice processing services.

Based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, Chipside was launched in 2000.

Founding chief executive Paul Moorby OBE is leaving the company. Chipside’s head of business development Simon Cheung and Richy Aplin-Clements, director of research and development, will remain with Chipside.

Exeter-based Unity5 is a provider of cloud-based enforcement management. Its products include Zatpark, Zatpermit and Zatenviro. Unity5’s clients are primarily private parking operators, though it also provides permit and enforcement services

to the public sector.

In 2022 growth investor Synova made an investment in Unity5, providing capital for targeted mergers and acquisitions activity that expanded Unity5’s product set and supports its international expansion.

The companies say the acquisition will see the organisations combine their expertise to serve customers across the public and private sectors. The companies say that existing customers and

ParkHub becomes JustPark

ParkHub, a North American provider of event parking technology, has rebranded as JustPark following its merger with the UK parking platform in April 2024.

Under the new brand, the company aims to build its footprint in the event parking industry. The platform claims to be powering around $1bn in booking volume for over 500 B2B customers in the US.

Jeff Shanahan, chief executive of JustPark said: “We’ve always believed parking is unnecessarily complicated and we’re continuing to remove barriers to make it easier for drivers to find, book and pay for parking at any given destination, while empowering businesses to deliver profitable, best-in-class parking experiences.”

Since the merger, the company has been expanding globally, bringing the simplicity of the UK space reservation capability to some of North America’s largest venues including the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The system is also being used for parking reservations at Reno Tahoe’s

International Airport and for campus parking management at US universities.

There are now plans to expand the US event parking platform in the UK.

In the UK, where the app has been used by around 14 million drivers, JustPark’s clientele is a mix of private, public sector and commercial clients in the UK.

Shanahan added: “Both brands have a proud history of disrupting the parking industry with exceptional customer experiences, live data-backed insights and a strong tech platform. By uniting on our strengths, we’re shaping a more powerful, futureproof business, one that evolves with our customers and continues to add value through innovative products, bespoke partnerships, and a consistent brand experience.”

JustPark founder and president Anthony Eskinazi said: “Launching the JustPark brand into the US is a key milestone in our growth journey from the UK’s favourite parking app to a global driving force that makes parking effortless and stress-free for people and businesses around the world.”

employees can expect continuity in service and operation.

Mark Wilson, incoming chief executive at Unity5, said: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Chipside into the Unity5 group. This acquisition is not just about growth – it’s about collaboration. Both companies share a strong commitment to innovation and exceptional customer care. By working together, we can bring the best of both organisations to the table, ensuring that we

continue to support our customers with reliable, forwardthinking solutions. Our priority is to maintain stability for both teams while creating opportunities for shared learning, product enhancements, and longterm success.

“We sincerely thank Paul Moorby OBE and the rest of the departing Chipside leadership team for their vision and leadership in building Chipside into what it is today. We are pleased that Simon Cheung and Richy Aplin-Clements will continue with the company in key leadership roles.”

Paul Moorby OBE, Chipside’s founder, said: “Building this company has been an incredible journey, and I am immensely proud of what our team has accomplished. As we enter this next chapter under Unity5, I am confident that they will build on the innovative and customer focussed values we have always held at our core. I leave knowing that the company is in great hands and poised for even greater success.”

DCBL launches Tackling Credit

Debt resolution company DCBL has launched a campaign that aims to take the stress out of debt by bringing about technological change and providing tailored support.

The Tackling Credit in 2025 (TC25) initiative aims to empower DCBL customers to make informed financial decisions and regain control over their finances. The yearlong campaign draws on DCBL’s 25 years of industry experience, comprehensive market research and investment in new technology.

DCBL has commissioned extensive market research, exploring the financial trends of UK adults and the effects debt has on their mental wellbeing. Collating the results of the research with third-party data, DCBL produced a report identifying the key factors affecting financial stability and potential solutions.

The Understanding an EverChanging Customer Base Report revealed the current deficient state of financial support channels in the UK, which has compelled it to take action to improve the situation for their customers and provide them with the tools and resources to take control of their finances.

DCBL’s report reveals that

messaging is now the preferred communication channel by 61% of UK adults, and a staggering 93% feel more in control of their finances when there is an app available.

The research findings led to the creation of the DCBL Customer App. Developed and designed in-house, with the support of its customer engagement and welfare experts, the bespoke app allows users to manage their payments 24/7, with as much or as little direct communication as they desire.

Darren Connor, managing director at DCBL, said: “Leveraging technology to improve accessibility is an effective method of improving people’s financial and mental wellbeing – especially for vulnerable customers, who can actively ease the stress of debt by utilising digital tools. We understand that financial hardship is about more than just numbers – it’s about real people.

“Through the Tackling Credit in 2025 campaign, we are committed to making a real, measurable impact by providing the tools, resources, and support necessary to help our customers regain financial independence and take the stress out of debt.”

Paul Moorby OBE, Simon Cheung and Richy Alpin-Clements

Walker elected as BPA chair

NEPP’s head of parking will lead British Parking Association’s board

Richard Walker, head of parking at the North Essex Parking Partnership, has been elected as chair of the British Parking Association’s board of directors.

The BPA is a trade association that has around 750 members drawn from across the public and private parking sectors.

The board of directors develops strategy, oversees the objectives and management of the association. It collectively maintains legal responsibility for the association. The board is selected by the BPA’s Council of Representatives, a body whose members are elected from across the association’s different membership groups.

The board is currently led by vice chair Philip Hammer, parking operations manager at Cambridgeshire County Council. Hammer stepped up to this role following the resignation of Anjna Patel MBE in December 2024.

Richard Walker has led the

North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP), a grouping of local authorities, for 14 years. The organisation is a partnership between Essex County Council and Braintree, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Tendring and Uttlesford councils, with Colchester Borough Council as the lead authority. Walker was

previously parking manager at Colchester City Council.

Currently serving as the BPA’s president, a largely ceremonial role, Walker will step into the chairmanship’s role in July when he hands over the presidency to Mike Marrs, chief executive officer of debt recovery company APN Group.

Dorset NHS trust appoints Saba UK

Saba Park Services UK has secured a contract to manage parking for staff, patients and visitors across the University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust’s estate.

The contract includes running car parking facilities at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Poole Hospital, Christchurch Hospital and Alderney Hospital. It also includes the future development of a multistorey car parking facility at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

The contract is set for ten years, with the potential for a five-year extension.

A trust spokesperson said:

“Bringing Saba’s expertise and investment in facilities will benefits patients, visitors and staff. We appreciate parking can be challenging due to lack of spaces around our hospitals. Saba is part of the solution. They will help us ensure the car parks use the latest technology and data, to better meet the demand. Feedback from other hospitals has been very positive and we look forward to working with Saba.”

We currently supply and have vacancies around the UK for Permanent and Temporary positions:

• Civil Enforcement Officers

• Environmental Enforcement Officers

• Parking Back Office (Appeals/Notice Processing/Correspondence)

• Parking Change Management

• Interim Parking Managers

• Car Park Attendants/Marshalls/Stewarding

• Parking Supervisors (Both Enforcement and Back Office)

• Parking Management (Both Enforcement and Back Office)

• Heads of Parking/Directors

• Parking Technologies (Business Development and Project Managers/ Field Service Engineers/General Managers)

• Off Street Parking (Business Development, Contract Managers and Regional Managers)

• CCTV Operators – SIA and BTEC qualified

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Richard Walker and Mike Marrs

Active travel and use of public transport are being encouraged

Cleaner and fairer parking

Camden is implementing parking tariff and permit reforms that will discourage the use of older petrol and diesel vehicles in the London borough, writes Sam Margolis

Motor vehicle parking fees and charges are a key factor in the decisions many people make when it comes to owning and using a motor vehicle. The London Borough of Camden hopes that, instead of encouraging car use, its parking policies will actually contribute to meeting the borough’s sustainable transport, road safety, climate change, air quality and public health ambitions.

The council’s Cleaner, Fairer Parking plan will see multiple changes being made to Camden’s parking fees and charges, as well as to its terms and conditions for street parking. At Camden we are revising the carbon emissions-based charging structure for resident, doctor, business and car club permits. We are also introducing a simplified emissions-based structure for paid-for parking, visitor permits and hourly business permits.

Camden is home to culture and commerce

Camden is a borough in Inner London. It was established on 1 April 1965 from the former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn, St Pancras and Hampstead. It shares parts of the West End with the City of Westminster and also borders the City of London.

The cultural and commercial land uses in the south contrast with bustling mixed-use districts such as Camden Town and Kentish Town in the centre and leafy residential areas around Hampstead Heath in the north.

Well known visitor attractions in the borough include The British Museum, The British Library, Parliament Hill, London

The road to cleaner, fairer parking

In Autumn 2023 a number of key proposals were set out in a public consultation called Healthy Streets, Healthy Travel: Cleaner, Fairer Parking. Ideas included:

• carbon-emissions based charging across all parking products

• a new ‘Air Quality Surcharge’ applying across a range of parking products, incorporating older petrol vehicles for the first time

• merging two, currently separate paid-for parking tariff areas into one

• reducing the ‘maximum’ stay time in paid-for parking bays

• only allowing one vehicle on each resident/business parking permit

• charging for ‘solo motorcycle parking’ bays in the borough (currently free) and introducing new motorcycle parking products

• removing visitor parking permit scratchcards for the majority of customers (a digital system is in place)

• no longer providing, for new applicants, dedicated parking bays for doctors permits across the borough and business permits south of Euston Road.

The proposed changes were designed to meet the borough’s ambitious transport and environmental goals, which are set out in the Camden Transport Strategy and environmental strategies such as the Camden Clean Air Action Plan and Climate Action Plan.

Zoo, BT Tower, the iconic Roundhouse entertainment venue and Camden Market.

in Camden

Camden has talked to stakeholders to ensure its parking programmes meet the needs and aspirations of residents and visitors

Following consideration of consultation feedback, amendments to the proposals included the following recommendations:

1. phase in the proposed charges for all parking products in the review over two years (rather than implement in one year only)

2. reduce charges for electric motorcycles on all parking products

3. retain scratchcards for ‘assisted customers’ and improve systems to assist those who need help transitioning to digital visitor permit

4. undertake a bespoke approach to existing doctors permit bay locations

5. introduce a two-year ‘sunset’ clause for existing permit holders with more than one vehicle on each permit.

In Spring 2024 Camden’s cabinet approved a series of changes to its highways (on-street) parking fees, charges, terms and conditions, subject to statutory traffic management order (TMO) consultations.

Camden has now applied a revised carbon emissions-based charging structure to resident, doctor, business and car club permits and introduced a simplified emissions-based structure to paid-for parking, visitor permits and hourly business permits.

The council has also replaced the diesel surcharge with an air quality surcharge covering both older petrol and diesel vehicles and applied this across further parking products.

Parking charges for car clubs are now set at the same level as business permits. The changes mean there has been an increase in the fees and charges for the majority of reviewed parking products.

Camden has restricted all paid-for parking bays to a maximum stay of two hours (or one hour where in controlled parking zones with two hours of operation), except for bays in the immediate vicinity of hospitals.

The council consulted and talked to a broad range of stakeholders – both internally in terms of multiple teams within the council and with our communities and wider stakeholders – to ensure its parking programmes meet the broader policy and strategic ambitions of the council as well as the needs and aspirations of residents and visitors to the borough.

Welcome to Camden

Investing in healthier and vibrant places

Camden is to invest £22m in more environmentally friendly, healthier forms of travel and creating more welcoming streets and neighbourhoods. On 13 November 2024 Camden’s cabinet agreed to implement the next phase of its transport strategy for 2025 to 2028. The new strategy envisages the following improvements to active travel, public transport and high streets:

• Healthy routes: A new primary and secondary cycle network. A key component of the proposed network is connectivity, ensuring that continuous links and journeys can be made. The ‘primary’ cycle network, which currently contains 27km of main road segregated cycle routes, is planned to expand to 45km. Currently, around 56% of the borough live with 400-metres of a high-quality strategic cycle network route, this would increase to over 85% under the plans.

• Walking and accessibility improvements: An example is the Euston to King’s Cross Wellbeing Walk. Camden is currently developing plans for a high quality, pleasant walking connection on the south side of the Euston Road between these two locations, including better pedestrian crossings, reduced traffic, new street trees and urban greening and enhanced lighting. The whole route is expected to be completed within the next three-year period.

• Electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints: Camden has plans in place to install a further 600 plus EV chargepoints (a mixture of fast and rapid chargers) by the end of the current three-year plan (2027/28), with bids in place for a further 500 lamp column charging points. Around 50 of the fast-charging points will support car clubs to support EV operation of car clubs at those locations.locations.

• High Street improvements: Camden plans further neighbourhood centre enhancements in the vicinity of high streets, with public realm, urban greening, sustainable travel, and road safety measures. Key examples being the trial pedestrianisation of sections of Camden High Street and the public realm improvements on Kilburn High Road.

• Car clubs: Camden will explore options to promote the use of car clubs with the aim of freeing people from the need and cost of private car ownership.

• Timed restrictions around schools: By 2026 Camden aims to have delivered the majority of locations where it is possible to implement Healthy School Street timed vehicle restrictions.

Recognition and rewards

The work being done in Camden is widely regarded as being best practice. During 2024 the borough was recognised for the extent of its transport and streetspace scheme delivery.

The borough was ranked fourth by the independent Healthy Streets Scorecard (third excluding City of London), recognising in particular work in rolling out segregated cycle lanes, controlled parking zones, 20mph zones, and more. The Scorecard further recognises Camden as the top performing inner London borough as “delivering beyond its expected score when adjusted for density compared to other inner London boroughs”, scoring first under this metric.

Camden has also been recognised at a number of transport and public realm award ceremonies, including:

• winner of the Public Space category at the Pineapple Awards for the West End Project, and the Best Borough-led Project at the Building London Planning Awards

• shortlisted in the Creating Better Places category at the CIHT Awards for its Micromobility Parking Hubs

• winner in two categories at the 2024 CiTTi awards – The Traffic Management Award and The Micromobility Award.

Sam Margolis is head of transport strategy and projects at the London Borough of Camden

A sustainable urban drainage system on Goldhurst Terrace in Camden

Transport plays an integral part in the lives and wellbeing of Camden’s residents and those who visit, work and study in the borough. Creating healthier, greener, safer streets and travel helps improve public health and the environment, and supports local businesses and a strong, sustainable and inclusive economy.

We Make Camden, the council’s joint vision for the borough, was developed in partnership with Camden’s community.

The council’s ambitions are that Camden should be a green, clean, vibrant, accessible, and sustainable place with everyone empowered to contribute to tackling the climate emergency.

The Way We Work is Camden Council’s response to We Make Camden. These proposals are expected to contribute to ensuring that Camden’s communities support good health, wellbeing, and connection for everyone so that they can start well, live well, and age well.

The vision for transport is: “To work alongside residents and partners in transforming transport and mobility in Camden, enabling and encouraging people to travel sustainably; nurturing healthier lifestyles; creating radically less polluted places; and upgrading the transport network to meet Camden’s needs and those of London as a growing capital city.”

Camden has set highly ambitious sustainable transport, environmental and public health goals. Road transport contributes 13% of Camden’s greenhouse gas emissions, and almost a third of nitrogen dioxide emissions. The borough has declared a Climate Emergency, with ambitions to become net zero by 2030, and to achieve stretching World Health Organisation air pollution limits by 2034.

Over the years local communities have told Camden of the importance of these issues to them, and the desire for healthier, more sustainable, and safer forms of transport to connect them to jobs, services and opportunities.

The Camden Transport Strategy (CTS) identifies multiple policies and measures at the council’s disposal to help address these issues.

Prioritisation factors for developing the Camden Transport Strategy delivery plan

A vision of a bet ter Camden

The Camden Transport Strategy aims to transform the lives of residents and health of its local economy

Although significant challenges remain, the council has made extensive progress in delivering safer, healthier streets and travel in Camden since the Camden Transport Strategy was adopted in 2019. Camden is currently ranked fourth amongst all London boroughs by the independent Healthy Streets Scorecard assessment.

Experience of delivering healthier, safer streets and transport has been combined with prioritisation methodologies, stakeholder feedback and other considerations such as funding to develop a CTS Delivery Plan for 2025/26 to 2027/28.

Camden Council’s cabinet has also approved proposals for Transport for London Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding bid submissions and for £22m of further Council Capital Healthy Streets funding to support the three-year plan.

For its three-year CTS plan, Camden has adopted three new ‘spotlight’ areas: buses, car clubs and motorcycle safety, alongside conducting an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) on the new Delivery Plan.

In line with previously approved

transport strategy processes, each individual project within the proposed three-year Delivery Plan is subject to scheme-by-scheme consultation and decision-making processes, equality considerations and funding availability.

The council will also consider how relevant projects within the programme contribute to its three overarching themes of public health, environment and local economy.

Since the initial adoption of the Camden Transport Strategy in 2019:

• Cycling amongst residents has increased from 3.6% in 2017 to 6.7% of all trips and walking now also accounts for half of all residents’ trips (up from 42%).

• Motor traffic volumes on streets has dropped by 15% between 2019 and 2023.

• The number of cars owned in the borough reduced by 22% between 2016 and 2022 – the largest such reduction anywhere in London.

• NOx emissions in Camden from road transport has halved since 2013, CO2 levels have reduced by 15% and PM10 by 27%.

www.camden.gov.uk

Red. Amber. Green. Rethinking parking

Camden has been rolling out controlled parking zones

Changes to parking spaces in Camden since 2019 Colour-coded

Camden has undertaken a study that sets out how controlled parking zone (CPZ) reviews should be prioritised based on the Camden Transport Strategy objectives. The council scores all of Camden’s 19 CPZs on a Red Amber Green (RAG) scale which reflects the degree to which reviews of parking controls are required using criteria such as volume of traffic, expected/planned development, air quality, etc. Priority is then given to the CPZs in the red part of the scale. The study was first undertaken in 2020 and updated in 2022, to assess any impacts/changes arising from the pandemic.

Over the past few years, Camden has made considerable progress in delivering parking control changes in many the high-priority areas, especially those in the southern part of the borough. The council will undertake a review of all of the CPZs in the ‘Central Activities Zone’ part of the borough –CA-C, CA-D & CA-E – and conclude the reviews of CA-F, CA-X & CA-G as part of the upcoming threeyear plan.

Implementing the Camden Transport Strategy (CTS) has resulted in some significant changes to the borough’s kerbside. Policy 1c of the CTS notes: “Camden will change how road space is allocated, including reducing kerbside space for parking/loading provision, and reallocating carriageway space to active, sustainable travel modes, if necessary, to enable and encourage people to walk and cycle, to improve road safety and deliver enhancements to the public realm.”

Over the last five years, close to 2,000 parking spaces previously allocated for private motor vehicles have been repurposed for other uses, including cycle lanes, new pavements and areas of public space, cycle parking, electric vehicle charging and so on. Changes include:

• a 13% reduction in the availability of paid for

parking spaces in Camden, with almost 500 such spaces converted to other more sustainable kerbside uses

• over 1,000 resident permit/permit holders’ spaces repurposed for other uses

• over 50 dedicated/general Blue Badge use disabled bays have been created.

Moving to the proposed forthcoming three-year

plan, it is likely that additional, significant changes to Camden’s kerbside will be required in order to continue to meet multiple CTS and related environmental, public realm and safety ambitions. In reallocating kerbside spaces and repurposing other hard-standing areas, in the last five years the equivalent of half a football pitch of new green space and/or sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) systems have been created.

T he power of positive parking

Positive parking: Driving economic growth and strengthening communities

The North East Parking Show returned to Newcastle upon Tyne for its third edition, cementing the event’s position as the region’s premier conference and exhibition. The focus of this year’s event was on the positive role parking plays in supporting local communities, stimulating economic growth and the wellbeing of those working in the sector.

The event brought together parking professionals, facility managers, local authorities and technology providers to explore how parking can be a positive enabler. The day’s key themes were:

Delivering a positive parking experience

An exploration of how parking can act as a catalyst for economic revitalisation, community accessibility, and environmental sustainability in towns and cities.

Parking as an economic enabler

An examination of the ways in which parking can support local economies by improving access, encouraging footfall, and enhancing the overall urban experience.

Protecting front line staff

Parking officers face aggression and violence on a daily basis. The parking sector is working to better support its people and send a strong message that antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated.

The North East Parking Show 2025 was hosted by Newcastle City Council, programmed by Parking Review, sponsored by Apex Parking and organised by Landor LINKS.

Happy delegates

PANEL: Guy Watson (Apex Parking), Chris Wade (People & Places), Andrew Potter (Parking Perspectives) and Richard Walker (President, British Parking Association)

Landor LINKS’s Rod Fletcher checks out the exhibition

Networking in Newcastle

Welcome to Newcastle

Newcastle City Council is providing a positive experience for its citizens, businesses and visitors

Newcastle City Council’s parking team is focussed on providing customer-focussed services to its communities. Over the past 18 months Newcastle City Council has been working to modernise many of its parking services. Some projects include:

• Going cashless: By explaining the rationale and offering different ways of paying, cashless payment has been introduced with minimal complaints while delivering a modernised service and operational efficiencies.

• Red routes: Local residents were suffering from illegal parking at all hours, creating regular verbal and some physical assaults. The implementation of priority ‘red routes’ has significantly improved the situation and had a positive effect on residents.

• Camera enforcement at schools: Targeting where poor driver behaviour by parents dropping their kids off was putting other children’s safety at risk. Newcastle has seen significant improvements in school road safety where it has deployed camera enforcement.

• Cycle storage: Bike theft in the city centre and car parks was a real problem. Newcastle has installed secure storage in two of its multi-storey car parks and is reviewing opportunities to roll out more.

• Click & collect: InPost lockers have been installed in a number of city council car parks.

• 24-hour opening: Newcastle is considering opening two of its car parks throughout the weekend to support visitors and enhance the safety of those working in the nighttime economy.

Newcastle City Council is looking at creating a ‘transport hub’ service in some of its car parks, moving away from the traditional idea of a car park solely as a place to park cars.

The presentation was developed and delivered by David Hall, assistant director city operations, Steven Foster, parking team manager, and service manager Lynne Ryan

People, places and parking

Chris Wade of People & Places highlights the role of parking in supporting the High Street

Putting more smiling faces on our high streets. This is a shared purpose for parking and place managers, said Chris Wade, director of People & Places. He explored how a customer-focussed approach places the provision of parking within a wider sense of place that takes account of issues such as communication, signage and pricing.

Wade shared analysis by People & Places and its regular partner on parking audits Park Consult which reveals:

• half of businesses perceive parking as a problem

• parking is potentially a limiting factor in only 20% of towns

• place leaders lack confidence and capacity to engage in parking

• parking managers are focussed on white lines and bottom line

• uncertainty exists about links between parking and place within councils

• the reported £1 billion annual parking surplus made by the public sector is viewed with ambivalence.

Wade stressed the importance of integrating parking with other options for travelling to town, with particular attention being paid to incorporating orientation and onward waymarking at car parks. It is also important to remember that many shopping journeys start with people checking out retail offers and parking options before travelling. “Parking needs to be seen as a link in wider ‘sofa to shop’ thinking on trips to town,” said Wade. “Parking providers only get one chance to create a first impression. This starts online, meaning there is need to ensure parking advice is clear and that messaging around free and discounted parking offers is market tested.”

Parking providers need to:

• link up use of data for parking, catchment and footfall

• provide usable online advice on ‘how to get there’

• match parking purpose and customer needs

• agree road signage to help informed choices

• monitor impacts of promoting parking and place.

There is a need to coordinate tariffs in order to balance on-street and off-street demand. Parking operators should be using technology to provide a fair and seamless experience. And profits should be reinvested to benefit both parking and place.

“A key objective for place managers and parking providers alike is to create a seamless parking experience in which people promptly pass through parking areas to places they want spend time and money in,” concluded Wade.

Steven Foster

Lynne Ryan

Chris Wade

Know your customers

Guy Watson of Apex Parking provides insights into how to provide user-friendly parking experiences

For many people their retail experience starts in the car parks serving stores and shopping centres. And while retailers set great store by creating a relationship with customers, the identities and experiences of car parks users usually remain unknown. This places retail destinations at a disadvantage when competing with online marketplaces.

One solution is to get to know retail car park users. This is the aim of Guy Watson, managing director of Apex Parking, an operator which specialises in managing retail parking. Apex Parking’s technology-led approach involves marketing to known customers, developing loyalty schemes that encourage repeat patronage. “We never take our customers or clients for granted,” he said. “Instead, we prioritise making their lives easier through competitive pricing, the right products, and open, honest communication. Our priority is always balancing revenue growth with long-term customer retention.”

Retail parking involves a number of partners: the landlord, who owns the destination and its car parks; the centre manager; the retailers; and the parking operator. A common challenge is when the deal structure between the various parties gets out of sync, he said. This can negatively impact the customer experience and parking revenues. A first step in aligning the interests is for the parking operator to engage with the landlord, centre manager and retailer to agree key performance indicators (KPIs) that meet the needs of the destination and expectations of all the partners.

Watson said that areas to address include: commercialisation; retailer engagement; moving unknown visitors to being known

We have the technology

Technologists offer positive parking solutions

Putting data into action

Ralph Bates, head of business development at Clearview Intelligence, discussed Insight Parking, an integrated solution designed to simplify the management, monitoring and analysis of parking assets. Reliable real-time data helps local authorities to understand how parking is being used, to support decisions on redesignation of long and short stay parking, he said.

Parking

bay monitoring

Karen Weech, commercial director at VREO Innovation, talked about using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to monitor parking and electric vehicle charging bays. This enables real-time parking availability updates and supports reservation-based parking and ensures compliance through automated detection and enforcement.

Digital permitting

Jamie Broadfoot, business development executive at Unity5,

customers; customer experience; and volume growth.

“Apex Parking specialises in uncovering value, where others necessarily don’t, by focussing on three key pillars: product, price, and service. We drive sustainable revenue growth through customer acquisition and retention, delivering a customer-centric experience with a tailored range of products for each car park. As specialists in car park turnaround and recovery, we understand what it takes to rebuild revenues and foster customer loyalty –transforming underperforming sites into high-value assets.

“Delivering a seamless and invisible parking experience requires a great deal of unseen effort,” he said. “I have no illusions that parking will ever be a welcomed part of the customer journey –but being unremarkable and unnoticed? That’s the goal.”

explained how the Zatpermit system simplifies the management and processing of parking permits at scale. The system can be used by local authorities for resident and business parking, as well as clean air schemes, bay suspensions and cycle lockers. Zatpermit is also available for use at NHS hospitals, on university campuses and by business parks.

Guy Watson

Ralph Bates

Jamie Broadfoot

Karen Weech

Protecting our people

The parking sector is developing initiatives that tackle aggression against frontline staff

Civil enforcement officers, parking attendants and other public-facing staff face verbal and physical aggression on a daily basis. Newcastle City Council parking team reported that there is feeling that there has been general increase in antisocial behaviour and aggression towards parking staff since the COVID pandemic.

Newcastle is investing in staff safety via training, equipment and, most importantly, joining up with other council services, such as community safety and licensing teams, as well as Northumbria Police.

Steven Foster, Newcastle’s parking team manager, said: “We need to demonstrate to those individuals who abuse our staff, whether casually or in a more severe manner, that this is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Civil enforcement officers should not accept that abuse is just part of the job. And we should support and encourage them to report any issues that they face in the knowledge that the organisation will provide the right level of support.”

A panel chaired by Carole Kenney, director, welfare, road traffic & road user charging, CDER Group endorsed this view.

Vikki Main, parking manager at Gateshead Council, shared the experiences of frontline colleagues who had been left physically and emotionally traumatised by assaults.

Alexandra Hobbs, parking manager at South Tyneside Council, called for violence against parking staff to be taken seriously by the police and government. ”We cannot and should not allow a culture where enforcement officers are seen as easy targets for frustration and aggression,” she said.

Hobbs called for better training for frontline staff. “We need to ensure our officers are fully equipped to de-escalate situations and handle conflict effectively,” she said.

The police and legal system need to support parking officers and prosecute those who attack them. “We need a zerotolerance approach, like the protections given to emergency workers.”

There also needs to be a concerted effort to help the public understand that enforcement officers are serving the community via awareness campaigns, she said.

She concluded with a call to action “This is not just about

A route back to work

NSL’s Paolo Orezzi has a positive story to tell about helping homeless people back into employment

safety, it is about fairness. Every enforcement officer, every public facing worker, has the right to do their job without fear of abuse. Whether you are an enforcement professional, a policymaker or a leader in your organisation, I urge everyone here to take this issue seriously. Let’s push for stronger training, greater police support, and a clear message: abuse of enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”

‘Beyond the Uniform’

The parking sector is developing approaches to raise awareness of the issue of violence against parking officers. One initiative is ‘Beyond the Uniform’, a public information campaign focussed on humanising the role of civil enforcement officers who experience abuse from the public.

The campaign has been devised by North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) and Brighton & City Council with funding support from PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulation Outside London). Sarah Baxter, PATROL’s democratic services and policy manager, explained how tackling violence against parking staff was the theme of the Driving Improvements Awards. She said: “Funding was awarded jointly because Brighton & Hove and NEPP both submitted fantastic bids that focussed on telling the human stories of enforcement staff and engaging with the public on the vital work of enforcement in communities and the individuals involved.”

Brighton & Hove and NEPP are reporting back to PATROL on the outcomes and learnings from their respective campaigns.

Sarah Baxter said: “The campaign assets will be ‘white labelled’ and made available for use by PATROL’s authority membership for a wider national push.”

Parking patrol officers working for NSL encounter homeless people on the streets every day. Keen to make a positive difference, Paolo Orezzi, service director at NSL, explored the idea of helping homeless people back into employment. Over the past four years, he has built relationships with homeless charities and third sector recruiters such as St Mungo’s, Radical Recruit, Beam and Social Bite.

To date, NSL has employed over 60 people from the homeless community in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. The company is looking to set up more partnerships across the UK, and particularly keen to expand into Northern Ireland, Durham, South Coast and South West.

“We have overcome initial obstacles,” said Orezzi. “Flexibility, changing perceptions and removing stigma are key to making this work. Recruitment is not the end, it is just the start. Support is needed from day one for at least 12 months.”

Orezzi said there is need to find other organisations that can support employers with candidates who are work ready.

“Finding these organisations is key to the success of employing more people, employers cannot do this on their own,” he said.

A University of Edinburgh study into the benefits of employing homeless people concluded that every £1 spent on programmes such as these yields £3.71 in social benefit.

“Funding is urgently required, employers and charities cannot be expected to foot the bill. The University of Edinburgh study demonstrates the financial benefit of this. We must use this data to lobby central government. Prevention is better than cure. How do we work together in preventing homelessness in the first place?”

Sarah Baxter, Alexandra Hobbs and Vikki Main

Paolo Orezzi

CAR PARKS

Rail parking will be removed and replaced

Greater Anglia demolishes Colchester station car park

A parking deck at Colchester train station has been demolished to make way for a new facility which is due to open in summer 2026.

Greater Anglia closed the Colchester car park in July 2024 after a structural survey revealed potential deterioration of the structure, requiring it to be closed to the public.

The de-construction of the car park was undertaken by Capel CD, which will also create the replacement car park.

The contractor undertook Form C and Form G surveys for electrical works and provided temporary propping works predemolition.

The car park services consisting of power, data, communications and ANPR were rerouted and re-positioned from the structure, and protection

was applied to assets within its footprint.

Capel undertook ALO (Any Line Open) planning and mitigation with the Network Rail ASPRO team to ensure no damage could occur to its assets and the operational railway.

The contractor also liaised with Rail Infrastructure due to the car park’s close proximity

Worcester car park plan approved

Developer Prime has been given the go-head to build a hospital multi-storey car park by Worcestershire County Council. The 850-space car park will serve Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

The proposal also includes a school, which is set to open at the start of the September 2028 academic year.

The planning and regulatory committee approved the proposals. Cllr David Chambers, cabinet member for education, said the school was much needed and that the car

park would improve congestion and provide increased parking capacity for staff, patients and visitors.

As part of the development, a joint application by the council and healthcare property developer Prime for an access road for vehicles off the A4440 Nunnery Way has also been approved. “This will serve the car park, helping to manage traffic and minimise its impact on the surrounding area,” said Guy Kippen, associate development director at Prime.

to the train tracks.

Given that Colchester train station experiences high traffic and activity throughout the day, all deliveries of equipment and material removals from the structure required planning to work within the provided space.

The de-construction works were split into two phases to protect the public, as well as

maintain access to the rest of the car park, depots and signal box during the de-construction stage.

Temporary traffic lights were installed, and upon completion, a new double lane access road was installed for safe access to pedestrians, and the separate single access to the depots and signal box was re-opened.

“We know many people choose to park at our station, and this essential work will improve the car park at Colchester,” said Simone Bailey, asset management director, Greater Anglia.

“Capel’s team are currently working on optioneering with Greater Anglia to re-design the layout of the area with design work now underway. The scope the new car park aims to deliver an increase in the overall number of accessible bays. There will also be new walking routes, improved lighting, and CCTV, along with new cycle parking and motorcycle parking.”

Gillette Factory to become studios

The Art Deco Gillette Factory in west London is set to become home to a movie studios.

The new studios on Syon Lane in Isleworth will be used for film, virtual production and digital content creation. Six sound stages will be built alongside several offices, workshops and a café accessible to the public.

Development plans submitted by The Vinyl Factory were unanimously approved by Hounslow Council’s planning committee, subject to completion of Section 106 agreements and Stage 2 Greater London Authority approval.

None of the site’s listed components will be demolished. The Gillette Factory building, NatWest Building, and the south wing of the Campbell’s Building will be retained and refurbished.

Some non-listed buildings will be knocked down. These include the Old Mould Shop, the Caxton Building, Vanmatic Building, the north wing of the Campbell’s Building, a multistorey car park and various smaller outbuildings.

A new six-storey car park with 413 spaces has been proposed. This has raised concerns about car dependency as the site proposes five times the car parking spaces than the London Plan would permit.

Road improvements will include restricting A4 access to emergency vehicles only to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.

The development is expected to generate an additional 108 bus trips at morning peak time, and 164 extra trips at evening peak time. Transport for London has requested £1.15m to cope with increased demand.

The reimagined factory

Demolishing the car park

CAPEL CD

The development sites

Top deck set to be sports venue

Swindon multi-storey could become home to an activities centre

Rooftop activities could be a feature on Swindon town centre’s skyline if plans to remodel a multi-storey car park are approved. A new sports and activities centre is being planned for Whalebridge car park in Islington Street as Swindon Borough Council seeks to reenergise under-utilised areas of the town centre.

The council recently submitted a planning application to convert the top floors of the town centre car park into a dedicated community sports space. If approved, the new location could feature a variety of sports, space for street food vendors, a recreational hub and more.

The plan is the latest in a series of initiatives the council wants to introduce to generate footfall and activity in the town centre in an effort to boost the local economy and make the area more appealing to visitors.

Improving the town centre is at the centre of the council’s Heart of Swindon vision, which aims to stimulate investment to transform the area over the next decade. In the vision, the council calls on local land and

property owners to bring forward new uses for their own empty assets.

The council hopes the Whalebridge proposal could act as a catalyst for similar activities while major new investment plans come forward. The car park is currently underused by visitors to the town centre so the opportunity is being sought to make it a more vibrant and bustling location that can benefit the local community.

Cllr Jim Robbins, leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “We want to transform the town centre into a bustling area that people want to come and visit but we know that won’t happen

overnight. Whalebridge car park is underused and we want to make the most of this location in the heart of the town centre, next door to the soon-to-becompleted Fleming Way.

“While not what you would normally expect, similar proposals have been a success in other locations, including in Bristol where they’ve transformed a former Debenhams store into a skate park. We know there’s limited access to recreational leisure in the town centre and, along with being a new space for the local community, it can also become a hub for a variety of sports such as cricket or pickleball”.

Wiltshire lorry park expands capacity

The Chippenham Pit Stop in Wiltshire has unveiled a twoacre extension to increase secure overnight HGV parking facilities.

The truck stop, located just off Junction 17 of the M4, has increased its parking provision from 89 to 152 spaces.

Fully surfaced and lit, the lorry park now features electric hook-up points for refrigerated trailers as well as ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) controlled access to allow for prebooking of spaces. Other works include an expanded restaurant area and improved shower and toilet facilities.

The £2m project has been made possible by National Highways’ £13m Lorry Parking Facilities Improvement Fund.

The £13m National Highways match-funding initiative, which has seen lorry parking facilities upgraded, addressing issues such as limited HGV parking, inadequate facilities, and security concerns. As a matchfunded initiative, the project will deliver £26m of improvements nationally.

National Highways has contributed around £700,000 towards the Wiltshire truck stop.

Since 1969, award winning group Cemplas Waterproofing & Concrete Repairs, have been using their multidisciplinary knowledge and technical expertise to develop and deliver the best cost effective solutions to complex repair and renovation projects.

Are you ready to take your project to the next level? Having recently won three prestigious industry awards, Cemplas can support your journey all the way and help you to achieve an outstanding final result.

The Whalebridge MSCP

Join us for the UK's leading conference dedicated to Vision Zero and lower speed limits, hosted by Liverpool City Region. This event will bring together more than 300 professionals from transport, road safety, and policy to drive real change in road safety and active travel.

With ambitious targets to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries, Vision Zero is at the heart of sustainable transport strategies, and 20mph limits are a crucial tool in making our streets safer and more inclusive.

This conference will go beyond policy discussions to focus on practical solutions, real-world case studies, and the latest research. Through expert-led panels, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities, delegates will gain valuable insights into implementing effective speed reduction strategies, securing public and political support, and designing streets that prioritise people. Whether you are shaping policy, delivering infrastructure, or leading a campaign, this is the essential event for anyone committed to making Vision Zero a reality.

Let ’s talk about parking

BPA’s trade show and conference takes place in Coventry on 21-22 May

Parking professionals from across the world will be gathering in Coventry for the British Parking Association's annual conference and exhibition. Parkex 2025 will be held at the CBS Arena on 21-22 May 2025.

The BPA is a membership association representing the UK’s parking and mobility sector. It represents over 750 corporate members including local government, commercial providers, parking system operators, consultants, and academics. In addition, the BPA has a separate membership structure for individuals.

There will be two presentation areas at Parkex 2025 – the BPA Live Theatre and the

EV Connect Theatre.

Lilian Greenwood, the Department for Transport’s minister for future of roads, is set to open the BPA Live sessions.

Over two days, panels comprising sector experts and guest speakers will convene on the BPA Live stage will address a range of themes, including:

• integration of digital technologies

• accessibility and inclusivity in parking management

• integrated National Transport Strategy

• parking structures

• the Private Parking Code

• protecting front line officers.

The parallel EV Connect stage will see panels, using case studies, examine the complexities of electric vehicle infrastructure expansion, chargepoint accessibility and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in electric vehicle infrastructure deployment.

Parkex is co-located with the Traffex, a highways event, and Cold Comfort, a winter roads maintenance event. Both these exhibitions have dedicated conference streams.

Exhibition

Parkex 2025 will see many suppliers and technology providers exhibiting their systems and services.

Companies on show at the event include AppyWay, Barbour Logic, DCBL, Efaflex, Egis, Go2Sim, IPS, Markham, Marston Holdings, Metric, Nagels, NPED, PayByPhone, RingGo, Sagoss, Tap2Park, Unity5, VREO Innovation and Yunex Traffic.

Free tickets

Parkex is free to attend.

Opening times

Wednesday 21 May: 09:30 - 17:00

Thursday 22 May: 09:30 - 16:30

Free Parking

Parking is free at Parkex for visitors and exhibitors but must be booked in advance.

Yunex Traffic monitors Liverpool School Streets

LaneWatch regulates access to schools at start and end of day

Yunex Traffic’s camera-based civil enforcement solution has been installed at School Streets schemes at six primary schools in Liverpool.

School Streets schemes make it safer for children and their parents and guardians to walk and cycle to school and also contribute to significant improvements in local air quality.

As part of a framework contract with Liverpool City Council, Yunex Traffic has installed its civil enforcement solution at six primary schools. The company’s LaneWatch automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will enforce the schemes during busy periods of the school day, keeping children, parents and residents healthier and safer by reducing congestion, improving air quality and encouraging active travel.

School Streets schemes involve a range of measures around designated primary schools, including restricting access to roads close to the schools at drop-off and pick-up times. The schemes typically cover one road, with a LaneWatch ANPR camera at the start and end of the zone, although multiple roads can be

covered by the installation of additional cameras if required.

To enforce the regulations, each camera is configured to monitor vehicles entering the area during specific periods of the school day, as part of a sevenday configurable schedule of enforcement. During these periods, the cameras capture the number plates and details of vehicles that enter the zone in contravention of the regulations.

The ANPR is integrated with Yunex Traffic’s Web Review Client software.

The introduction of the School Streets build on the success of

earlier schemes at schools in the city, with the council reporting that they have improved both road safety and air quality by reducing traffic levels around the school site.

Working with Yunex Traffic, Liverpool City Council plans to create up to 50 School Streets over the next four years in a drive to improve both road safety and air quality.

Cllr Dan Barrington, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for transport and connectivity, said: “After the success of the first School Streets, I’m so pleased that the Council is able

Simplifying the management of Traffic Orders

AppyWay offers local authorities unified platform for TROs

Kerbside management technology developer AppyWay has developed a Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO) Module that means its Traffic Order platform can handle all core Traffic Order types within a single interface, with just one login.

Whether it is ensuring clear routes for streetworks or managing congestion in busy town centres, traffic orders play a crucial role. Yet, behind the scenes, the process remains riddled with inefficiencies caused by outdated systems, disconnected workflows and time-consuming manual tasks. There are also many types of Traffic Orders – experimental, temporary and offstreet orders, for parking and loading, speed and movement regulations.

“Handling various types of traffic orders has been unnecessarily complex for local authorities,” explains Samuel Kinrade, product owner at AppyWay. “Despite each council managing just one geographical

area, they’ve been forced to use multiple disconnected tools for different order types. Even when vendors claimed to offer comprehensive solutions, they were really just bundling separate platforms with different logins and interfaces.

“It’s like trying to manage your household finances with separate apps for each utility, mortgage, and grocery bill –with none sharing information. You spend more time logging in and out than actually managing your money. That’s exactly what council traffic teams have been dealing with until now. Our unified platform brings everything together in one place, just like modern banking apps have done for personal finance.”

The initial roll-out focusses on delivering an end-to-end TTRO order flow. However, AppyWay’s vision stretches further to eventually empower TTRO applicants directly, reducing administrative overheads and eliminating redundancies.

The complexity of traffic order management is staggering. According to GeoPlace’s TRO Discovery Summary Report,

to support further schools to make their communities safer. School Streets are a great example of the Council working with whole communities – schools, parents and residents who live near the schools – to make our environment safer and more pleasant for everyone.”

Simon O’Brien, Liverpool City Region’s walking and cycling commissioner, said: “There is nothing more important than the health of our children. So clean air and a feeling of calm around our schools at drop-off and pick-up are vital to help the pupils grow and learn in a positive environment. Well done to Liverpool City Council for enabling more schools to achieve these aims.”

Sharon Silcock, global head of sales (enforcement) at Yunex Traffic, said: “Having installed our School Streets enforcement solution for councils across the UK, we have seen some fantastic results in terms of improved air quality and safety. School run traffic adds a significant volume of vehicles around schools, and so these schemes play an important role in helping reduce the number of vehicles and the risk of accidents, as well as encouraging behavioural change and a shift from driving to healthier options such as walking and cycling.”

approximately 400 authorities across Great Britain create 53,300 TROs and TTROs annually, costing an estimated £126.4m.

Nearly 90% of Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders relate to streetworks.

Kinrade said: “The need for efficient TTRO management is becoming increasingly critical. Research indicates that the number of roadworks carried out across Great Britain experienced a 10% increase between 2019 and 2021, and keeps on growing year on year.

“Having engaged with numerous local authorities during the discovery phase of this project and heard their frustrations firsthand. Managing different systems for different orders, handling manual processes outside the platform, lacking dedicated account managers or opportunities for software improvements, and responding to constant public requests – it’s all incredibly time-consuming and stressful.

“Because of our TTRO Module, for the first time, councils can manage every type of traffic order in one place, with a single login and a familiar interface. No more switching between systems or battling inefficiencies – everything just works.”

Using ANPR to manage a School Street

YUNEX TRAFFIC

Taranto launches DVLA KADOE database portal

Local authorities can use system to find vehicle keeper details

Taranto has launched a portal to enable access to DVLA’s KADOE (Keeper at Date of Event) service in response to the planned decommissioning of the agency’s Web-Enabled Enquiries service (WEE).

Taranto is an established KADOE Link Provider. Its lookup portal leverages the DVLA’s API to deliver seamless integration with the KADOE database.

The portal provides real-time access to keeper-related data, enabling enforcement for a wide range of vehicle-related offences, including anti-social behaviour, environmental and parking contraventions.

It enables local authorities to identify the registered keeper of a vehicle by inputting either the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

The portal is available via Taranto’s cloud-based software-

as-a-service (SaaS) platform, enabling users to access the KADOE database from any PC without requiring dedicated hardware.

The system can be configured to be used for a variety of vehicle-related contraventions, including Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO), littering, dog-related offences, flytipping, abandoned vehicles,

PayByPhone teams up with Q-Park

Q-Park is working with PayByPhone to provide automatic payments for offstreet parking to over 60 parking facilities in England and Scotland. The automated payment option will be available in cities including London, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The service in the Q-Park car parks is underpinned by the car park operator’s in-house PaSS ANPR technology. To access Auto Payments with PayByPhone, motorists have to opt in on the app. This will enable them to enter and leave the majority of Q-Park car parks without taking a ticket, visiting the payment kiosks or

Councils can identify fly tippers via their vehicles

Q-Park and PayByPhone want to offer connected parking

touching their phone to open the app. Motorists must opt into Auto Payments before they start their journey.

Electric vehicle drivers pay for charging directly through the PayByPhone app. Charging sessions can be managed remotely in real time and all charging history is saved in the app for easy reference.

Adam Dolphin, managing director UK for PayByPhone, said: “As PayByPhone is present in many of these cities already, this move brings additional benefits and extra convenience in those locations for our users because they can now use our app in these facilities as well as for on-street parking.”

parking or any other offence involving a vehicle.

Users can attach supporting evidence such as photos and text or voice notes to strengthen offence notifications.

The portal provides an audit trail of all enquiries, as required by the DVLA. Built-in search tools that allow users to review historical cases and identify persistent offenders.

The portal features an intuitive interface that offers an online form for users to input essential details such as VRM or VIN, date and reason for the enquiry. Vehicle keeper information is returned in real time.

For ease of use, the system includes a dropdown list of enquiry codes, streamlining data entry and reducing complexity for back-office administrators.

Barry Johnson, senior technical director at Taranto, commented: “The new Taranto Web Enabled Enquiry Portal represents a significant step forward in the way that local authorities access the KADOE database. Its real-time functionality and userfriendly interface provide a robust and efficient solution for enforcement operations.

“This portal is a standalone solution, making it ideal for any local authority department that needs to identify vehicle keepers for enforcement purposes. Local authority departments do not need to use the complete Taranto parking enforcement system to get the benefits of the solution.”

‘Take

my money or I’ll drive on’

The AA: Cash remains king for parking, but cashless options are gaining popularity

Older drivers prefer paying for parking with cash, but younger drivers prefer cashless options. Two fifths (40%) of drivers say that paying for parking with cash is their number one option according to a poll by The AA. For low income drivers, more than half say that cash is how they would prefer to pay to park. One AA member said: “If they don’t take cash, I will leave and find somewhere else to park.”

However, the survey of more than 13,500 drivers found that just one in 10 (12%) for those aged 18-24 would pick coins and notes as their preferred payment choice.

More than a third (37%) of young drivers are keen on paying for parking with contactless payment with a card or through their mobile payment (e.g. Apple Pay), whereas 35% would choose payment by app.

While a number of councils have converted some or all of their car parks to cashless sites, more local authorities are looking into the option in an effort to save administrative costs such as collecting the coins and maintaining payment machines.

Nevertheless, some AA members were forthright in their support for cash. One said that they “Only go to car parks that take cash”.

Another said that they “Would not park if cash was not accepted”.

One member told The AA that if they can’t pay by cash: “I leave a note in the windscreen complaining about this, and give my contact details so I can pay later.”

Another notable contribution was the desire to find free parking wherever they’re heading. A member declared that they would: “Go anywhere where there is free parking, and give the area around the car park my custom.”

Another member said: “I never pay for parking: If I have to pay, I don’t park”.

While there has been a wider societal shift in cashless provision, the previous government wrote to councils asking them the ensure that parking remained accessible to all and that cash acceptance remained in place.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, said: “Parking the car should be a simple and hassle free experience, but some drivers are becoming more frustrated as taking cash has become less common. During the pandemic, many councils moved to cashless solutions to reduce transmission while still encouraging people to use facilities when allowed. However, lots of local authorities have not returned to cash as the reduced administrative costs proved beneficial to their coffers, and are now going further than some drivers are willing to accept.

“While it is clear that younger drivers prefer contactless payment options, older and low income drivers want to pay by cash. In fact, some claim they drive on until they can do so. With the High Street already under strain, it seems counterintuitive for car parks to refuse a customer willing to pay. Allowing parking to be paid by a multitude of options seems the best solution for both car parks and drivers, but those opting to pay by app should take note that doing so could be more expensive as administration costs are added to the rates.”

Polling company Yonder received 13,775 responses from AA members to its online poll between the 11 and 19 February 2025.

Parking permits have long been used to give parking rights to specific user groups. Some of the most obvious groups include residents and their visitors, Blue Badge holders, NHS staff and low-emission vehicles. Each cohort must meet specific criteria to qualify for a relevant parking permit.

Resident visitor permits

For many years, permits were paper and included the ability to add the vehicle’s registration number. To prevent fraud, permits featured a secure design element, especially in the case of visitor parking permits, where the car registration number wouldn’t be known in advance.

Administering paper-based parking permits, however, can be a lengthy process. For the London Borough of Ealing, a growing area that has welcomed over 30,000 new residents in the last 15 years, a huge increase in the number of applications for visitor parking permits coming into the council was proving problematic. There were two options:

• residents could request paper scratch cards via a paper application form from the council. Processing these forms would typically take 14 days

• the second option was for residents to book their visitors permit online, but first the council had to establish their residency.

This assessment was done manually, and it wasn’t quick or easy for the residents or the council. Ealing Council wanted a solution to offer residents and businesses visitor permits within the PayByPhone app.

The PayByPhone system harnesses the power of ‘Big Data’. A resident requesting a visitor permit enters their details, which are checked against a multi-layered, highly secure and confidential verification system. Once approved, visitors can start parking immediately with no delay or waiting time that historically occurred when using paper-based systems.

Using postcode mapping software and verification services, residency is determined in a matter of seconds. If approval isn’t granted via the app because a resident has just moved to the area, for example, the resident can securely upload proof of residency for the council to review.

Documents are deleted after the assessment is completed, so even where there is some manual intervention nothing needs to be posted or emailed, making the process as quick and secure as possible. Residents who are eligible but are unable to use computer or smartphone can complete the process by phone.

Ealing Council saw a significant increase in resident accessibility, and usage of, visitor parking permits, and for the visitors there is no need to keep returning to the vehicle to place a scratch card on the dashboard. In the first six months after the roll-out, 78% of applications were verified and automatically approved.

Ninety-nine percent of visitor parking

Switching to digital pays off

The digitisation of parking permits saves time and money, writes PayByPhone’s Rebecca Maisey

permits generated by Ealing Council are now sold electronically and the entire process takes a matter of minutes, saving the council’s parking team precious time and resources.

Blue Badges

Blue Badges are another category where a digital solution is proving successful. The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea had already removed all its pay & display machines to go completely cashless in 2020 and had to find a long-term solution for Blue Badge holders visiting the borough.

Previously, those with a Blue Badge purchased a ticket from the machine for a nominal amount – minimum 20p – and the displayed ticket plus the Blue Badge meant that they were entitled to an hour of additional parking for free.

As the council’s cashless parking payment provider, PayByPhone worked closely with the transportation policy and parking service teams at Kensington & Chelsea, NSL, which operates the borough’s parking enforcement services, as well as the borough’s Action on Disability group and disability campaigners, to come up with a technological solution to revolutionise parking for people with disabilities.

PayByPhone has developed a new system to enable Blue Badge holders to purchase a much-reduced parking session digitally and to inform the civil

enforcement officers (CEOs) in real-time that the driver was entitled to a concessionary rate and an extra hour free. The system was supported by the installation of adapted signage on-street to ensure motorists had clear guidance on how the new system worked and who was eligible. This updated information was also reflected on the council’s website.

The bespoke configuration changes have made it possible for Blue Badge holders to purchase five-minute parking sessions for each hour of parking they require and ensure that CEOs know how long the driver is entitled to be parked for. For example, if they need three hours of parking, they only pay for 15 minutes. The technology enables PayByPhone to group together locations with the same tariff in the back-end, not only simplifying the management of the system but also meaning that different tariffs at different locations, including around hospitals in the borough, would not affect how the system worked. This also ensures any applicable locations can remain under one location code for customer ease of use.

Almost five years on and the Blue Badge scheme is still running successfully. The pioneering disability parking scheme was the first of its kind in any large city across the UK and not only has set a new standard for accommodating Blue Badge holders in pay-to-park visitor bays but also has mitigated some of the misuse of physical Blue Badges.

Digital benefits

The digital parking solutions have been applied to wider public sector organisations and businesses. It is possible, for example, to charge differentiated rates for motorists who meet certain criteria, as have been done with Blue Badge holders, but could also extend to staff, key workers, GPs and carer staff, all of whom need to park across a wide range of locations across a borough to go about their daily lives, or to perform their jobs.

Rebecca Maisey is PayByPhone’s senior client director for the UK www.paybyphone.co.uk

Rebecca Maisey

Drivers are tuning in

Drivers are willing to pay for in-car payment functionality, says Parkopedia’s Adam Calland

In-car payment services have become an extremely desirable convenience feature for many drivers, who would be willing to pay for access to significantly improve their driving experience and brand perception. This is a key finding in a report by Drive Research. The 2025 In-Car Payments User Experience Report presented real-world drivers in the US and Germany with two in-car payment systems and tasked them with completing the same exercises on both, before answering quantitative and qualitative survey and interview questions, to gauge their level of interest in incar payment functionality and opinions on the two formats.

The first system (A) was an anonymised current in-production OEM (original equipment manufacturer) system in each region, with the second system (B) being an updated setup created together by Parkopedia and Valtech Mobility, with ease-of-use improvements across enrolment, notifications, engagement and payment processes.

Key findings included:

• 100% of US drivers and 93% of German motorists surveyed stated that having an easy-to-use in-car payment system would improve their driving experience

• 70% of US motorists and 67% of German drivers stated they would be willing to pay more upfront for a vehicle with in-car payment functionality.

Drivers want easy-to-use in-car payments for all drivingrelated services

All American drivers surveyed stated that having an easy-to-use in-car payment system would improve their driving experience, with 100% also highly valuing this functionality in enabling in-car payments for driving-related services.

Simple in-car payments were also near-universally valued by German participants (93%), demonstrating the wide-ranging demand for this functionality when it works as intended.

Showing the potential benefit to OEMs from introducing wellexecuted in-car payments, 97% of participants in both the US and Germany would consider using in-car payments for all vehicle transactions, such as parking, electric vehicle (EV) charging, fuelling and tolls, if the set-up were easy to use. One German participant stated:”System B (updated) is definitely simpler, time-saving, selfexplanatory, efficient, and an everyday helper.”

The same proportion (97%) stated that in-car payment functionality

would improve their driving experience and would value having multiple in-car payment services available through one platform, instead of requiring external devices to access. The consistency of these figures shows that drivers have a strongly held interest in more sophisticated, connected car services and OEMs that offer seamlessly integrated in-car payments stand to win a growing proportion of customers from rival brands that fail to address this increasing demand.

Demand

for notifications when in-car payments

are available

Not only do drivers want broad in-car payment functionality, but they also want intelligent integration of the service to ensure they can get the greatest benefit from the features available. Some 93% of German drivers and 87% of US participants would value their car having the ability to notify them through the infotainment system when in-car payments are available nearby.

Demonstrating drivers’ will for having additional in-car payment features built into their cars, 80% of US drivers would be ‘frustrated’ if in-car payments were available nearby and their car failed to inform them. Similarly, all German drivers surveyed and 97% of US motorists would value having an onscreen button to immediately access connected services nearby, such as parking and charging data or incar payments.

Poor enrolment process is limiting uptake and usage

Drivers flagged that a complex registration process would reduce their likelihood of signing up for in-car payments, with 77 % of German drivers and 70% of US participants being put off by a complicated enrolment setup. More than this, 57% of Germans stated that a longwinded registration format would make them less likely to use in-car payments after registering, along with half of US drivers. This shows that the user experience has a very significant role in influencing drivers’ behaviour and OEMs must optimise the registration process if they want to ensure the greatest customer satisfaction and adoption of premium services. 90% of US drivers considered the current industry standard registration process as being ‘complex’, highlighting that car manufacturers are already failing to meet many customers’ expectations.

A significant proportion of drivers in both markets would be willing

to pay a premium to access in-car payments, with more than twothirds of drivers being open to paying for this functionality. More than half of German drivers would be willing to make a monthly payment for in-car payments, while nearly half of US participants would consider a higher initial price, showing OEMs the need to offer tailored payment options for this type of feature to maximise usage.

Drivers demand integrated solutions over reliance on mobile devices

Drivers saw integrated in-car payment services as valuable because they could respond appropriately to the situation or route, such as flagging the need for parking or charging, or helping to reduce the stresses associated with driving. Furthermore, several motorists considered such functionality to be a differentiator between rival brands. This could potentially influence purchase decisions – both pulling drivers towards models with high-quality in-car payment services and pushing them away from other OEMs that offer poor services or fail to provide these at all.

Current deployments underrepresent the full capabilities of in-car payments

Drivers significantly preferred the updated system shown, which prioritised usability, minimising the amount of clicks needed to access key payment functions and making it simpler to pay for multiple vehicle-centric services using one platform. More than 90% of US drivers were extremely likely to use the updated system compared with just 20% for the current industry deployment.

More than 90% of US and German drivers also engaged more with the optimised in-car payment system, with 100% of US and 90% of German participants being more likely to use in-car payments for future transactions if they had what they perceived to be the more ‘streamlined’ system. This shows that OEMs risk alienating their own customers by offering poorly executed in-car payments; drivers want convenient in-car payment functionality, but expect it to be userfriendly and are likely to be put off using such systems if they do not meet expectations.

In-car payment execution affects drivers’ opinion of the brand

Having well-integrated prompts for in-car payment services has a significant positive impact, with 97% of US drivers stating that this functionality would notably change their opinion of a car brand. More importantly, 87% of US drivers claimed that intelligent in-car payment integration would significantly increase their likelihood of buying a car from the same brand in future.

Car manufacturers not currently offering in-car payments or providing poor-quality systems with frustrating user experiences could cause significant damage to their brands, potentially pushing their customers to rival brands that offer a more sophisticated digital user experience. Addressing this appears to be relatively straightforward, with all US and German drivers stating that they would be more likely to use in-car payments if the process were deemed easy to use and saved them time or money. Furthermore, 87% of US drivers and 63% of Germans would be dissuaded from using in-car payments if the system required multiple menu screens above what they deem necessary for confirming in-car payments.

Conclusion

The demand for connected car services continues to rise rapidly around the world, and this research shows that in-car payment functionality in particular is now becoming a must-have feature for motorists who highly value convenience and are willing to pay for this. This is being accelerated by the global shift towards EVs, with motorists not only valuing having in-car data directing them to suitable chargepoints, but also integrating payments within the same platform, to facilitate the full public charging experience within the vehicle. The need to improve both awareness for in-car payments and the user experience of current implementations was clear from the findings of the report, but the upside is equally clear on the potential value for the automakers who get this right.

Adam Calland is global marketing director at Parkopedia www.parkopedia.com

Easing EV driver anxiety

Paythru’s Keith Brown discusses the need for familiarity and simplicity in EV charging payments

There are many viable ways to make cashless payments. But, while it’s always good to have options, we believe that simplifying the payment process is the best approach for electric vehicle (EV) charging. Some 82% of EV drivers say there are already too many apps, according to the RAC Report on Motoring 2023

Paythru’s Overcoming Payment Anxiety survey found that only 13% of respondents use a single payment option 100% of the time. It seems unlikely this is out of choice.

As surveys show, most EV drivers prefer simple payment methods they are familiar with at the petrol pump, such as the ability to pay contactlessly by tapping their debit or credit card.

There is no harm in launching new options – as long as they are options, not requirements, and are offered on top of simple and transparent card payments. After all, people have become accustomed to smooth transactions – whether at petrol pumps, shopping online, or buying lunch on an aeroplane at 30,000 feet. They expect a fast and frictionless experience.

The success of online retailers like Amazon illustrates how frictionless payments can enhance customer satisfaction. Features like single-click purchases and instant confirmation demonstrate that payment innovations which simplify the payment process see widespread adoption. Furthermore, because consumers tend to prefer familiar payment methods, introducing new options can be challenging. For instance, when mobile wallets first emerged in 2011 with services like Google Wallet, they required users to have special phones equipped with NFC (Near Field Communications) technology, stores to upgrade their payment terminals, and everyone to navigate complex setup processes. While some early adopters were eager to try paying with their phones, most people preferred the convenience of simply swiping a card.

The challenge wasn’t that people couldn’t pay with their phones; rather, using a phone wasn’t really any faster or simpler than using a credit card. Everything changed in 2014 with the introduction of Apple Pay. Apple streamlined the whole process with fingerprint logins, integrating it with apps that people already used, and making sure it worked at a wide range of payment terminals.

As an industry, we should learn from these events and consider how to provide the best possible user experience. In addition to simplifying the payment process, we should address some of the real problems that users currently face. Right now the big one is pre-authorisation. Four out of five drivers report experiencing at least one issue with it, including being unclear about what they were committing to, and multiple pre-authorisation fees on their card for a single charge. A recent investigation by The Times indicated that some charging networks deduct upfront payments of up to £80, even for a short charge costing £5 or less. In our survey, nearly half of the respondents had waited more than a day for a pre-authorisation fee to be refunded – and some waited weeks. Solving that would be a good use of the industry’s time.

Things may not change without business drivers, of course. So it is also incumbent on parking operators – from councils to supermarkets – to ask: ‘What do people who leave their cars in my car park actually want?’ And then ask their EV charging partners to deliver that desired experience.

Keith Brown is founder and managing director of Paythru paythru.com

Customers expect a fast and frictionless experience

Top to bottom: Symbols 1, 2 and 3, with white and green variants

New signs for changing times

Department for Transport publishes research by Thinks Insight & Strategy on how electric vehicle charging symbols are understood

Green symbols featuring an image of a car and a three-pin plug seem to be an effective way to signal the availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities. By way of contrast, signs using an image of a charging cabinet make drivers think of petrol pumps, while lightning flashes have Fascist overtones!

These are among the findings of research undertaken for the Department for Transport (DfT) on symbols to direct people to EV charging points. The DfT has been evaluating alternative symbols to represent EV charging facilities on motorway services signs, directional car park signs and signs marking road-side parking bays.

The department commissioned Thinks Insights & Strategy to carry out market research on three symbols, each as white on a black tile (as currently) or green on a white background. The research aims to provide an indication of the benefits of any change of symbol or colour so these can be weighed against the benefits of no change.

While the study was carried out during 2022, the report on it –Traffic Sign Symbols for Electric Vehicle Charging Points – has only just been published.

The need for EV charging signs

Currently, an EV charging a symbol is only used on road-side parking bays and as an option on motorway service signs. The addition of a specific EV charging symbol to directional parking signs is intended to improve the experience of using an EV by making it easier to locate charging points and to reduce anxiety about running out of charge.

Thinks Insights & Strategy writes: “Whilst EV drivers sometimes use apps to locate charging points, the visibility and immediacy provided by roadside signage will reinforce this communication mode and help those less able to use digital technologies. By increasing the visibility of chargepoints to the general road-using public, the wider use of an EV charging point symbol should also reduce range anxiety, thereby facilitating the choice of EVs by those currently using hybrids or vehicles fuelled by petrol/diesel. Concern among current and potential EV drivers about the availability of publicly-accessible EV charging points is welldocumented.”

Currently, the only official traffic signs to convey the presence of EV charging points are those indicating the proximity of roadside charging facilities and, occasionally, motorway services signs. The report states: “There are advantages to continuing with the symbol already in use. The existing symbol has an established resonance in the public consciousness that would promote ease of recognition if it were used more widely.

“Furthermore, as existing signs for roadside charging would only gradually be replaced, the introduction of a new symbol would lead to the co-existence of two different symbols for a number of years. This research aims to provide an indication of the benefits of any change of symbol or colour so that these can be weighed against the benefits of no change.”

The symbols

The research tested the performance of three candidate symbols to represent EV charging points on traffic signs.

Symbol 1: Fuel pump with lightning bolt

Symbol 1 mirrors the road sign symbol currently used to represent a petrol station, but with the addition of a large zigzag lightning bolt and substitution of a plug for the fuel nozzle.

Symbol 2: Front view of a car, with a plug and socket

Symbol 2 shows the front view of a small 1960s family car, with headlights and a radiator grill. Emerging from one side

of the car is a three-pin plug directed upwards. Above the plug is a three-pin socket.

Symbol 3: Side view of a car, with lightning cable and plug

Symbol 3 shows a side view of a small 1960s family car, with a cable and three-pin plug coming upwards out of the bonnet.

The cable is shaped like a zig-zag to resemble a lightning bolt.

Each symbol was tested in two variations: green with a white background (referred to as ‘green’ in this report) and white with a black or blue background (referred to as ‘white’ in the report).

Thinks Insights & Strategy sought to identify the symbol that is most accurately interpreted, most consistently remembered and that stands out best in visually busy contexts. This was achieved by conducting an online experiment with 1,107 drivers that live in England in addition to some in-depth interviews.

The research looked at six symbol-colour combinations, asking drivers:

• Which most often conveys the intended meaning and why?

• Which stands out better to drivers when viewed on a busy sign or in a busy street-scene?

• Which is most memorable?

• What connotations or cultural associations might lead to unintended consequences of its adoption?

• To what extent the above vary between demographic groups (eg. by age or extent of driving experience)?

The findings

The findings suggest that either of the two symbols depicting cars (Symbol 2 and Symbol 3) would perform better than the one derived from the existing ‘petrol pump’ symbol (Symbol 1). The latter appears to be too easily confused with the symbol for a petrol/diesel station – especially when seen in passing – and it was mentioned in the interviews that the ‘flash’ included in the symbol can have associations with Fascism.

The study also suggests that: a side-on view of a car (Symbol 3) is more quickly and easily interpreted than a head-on view (Symbol 2); the inclusion of a socket as well as a plug both aids interpretation and hinders it by over-crowding the symbol with imagery (Symbol 2); and that it is unhelpful to show a charging cable emerging from the bonnet of a car (Symbol 3).

Furthermore, the findings suggest that when other road signs are predominantly black/white and there is good visibility, green symbols stand out better. Green symbols are also more strongly associated with EV charging than are white symbols.

The report states that drivers who had driven an EV in the previous month were more able to pick the symbols out from crowded scenes. There was no evidence, however, of them having a greater ability to derive their intended meaning.

The study shows people understood the purpose of the three sample signs. The most favoured seems to be one that shows a side view of a small 1960s family car, with a cable and three-pin plug coming upwards out of the bonnet. The findings suggest that when other road signs are predominantly black/white and there is good visibility, green symbols stand out better.

In conclusion, Traffic Sign Symbols for Electric Vehicle Charging Points provides evidence to suggest that a green version of one of the two ‘car’ symbols would be best choice, and that if Symbol 3 were chosen it would benefit from minor modifications.

Methodology

Thinks Insight & Strategy conducted an 11-question online randomised controlled trial with 1,107 drivers in England between 5 and 11 October 2022. The sample was recruited through an existing online panel that has over 150,000 members from all over the UK. It was weighted to be nationally representative of drivers in England in terms of age, gender, social economic grade, ethnicity and region. Of panel members invited to participate in a randomised controlled trial, 10% agreed to do so.

ZEV Mandate relaxed

UK revises EV sales targets and allows hybrids to be sold up to 2035

The UK government is to relax mandated electric vehicle (EV) sales targets in a bid to mitigate the impacts of trade tariffs imposed by the United States of America. On 7 April Prime minister Kier Starmer confirmed the 2030 phase out date of new petrol and diesel car sales will still apply, but that it will be possible to sell hybrid models, which combine a petrol or diesel-powered engine with an electric motor, until 2035. A revision of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate means car manufacturers will be given more flexibility on annual targets and face lower fines.

While the automotive sector and organisations representing drivers welcomed a relaxing of the punitive aspects of the ZEV Mandate, there are widespread calls on the government to introduce measures that would incentivise motorists to make the switch to electric vehicles. Meanwhile, some business analysts doubted that the changes announced would have a major effect and climate change campaigners expressed concerns that diluting the mandate would weaken progress to achieving net zero.

The plight of the automotive sector has been in the headlines since US president Donald Trump imposed a 25% import levy on cars. The charge on car imports into the USA came into force last week and is separate to a 10% tariff on nearly all UK products announced by Trump in March.

Currently, 28% of new cars sold in the UK this year must be electric, a target that will rise each year until 2030. Manufacturers will now be given more freedom in how they meet their yearly targets. This means if they do not sell enough EVs in one year, they can make up for it by selling more the next year, for example. In addition, the fine of £15,000 per vehicle sold that does not meet the latest emissions standards will be cut to £12,000.

The updated ZEV Mandate will now feature flexibilities to support UK manufacturers by:

• maintaining the existing phase-out dates and headline trajectories for cars and vans

• extending the ability to borrow in 2024-26 to enable repayment through to 2030

• extending the current ability to transfer nonZEVs to ZEVs from 2024-26, out to 2029, giving significant additional flexibility to reward CO2 savings from hybrids. Caps will be included to ensure credibility

• introducing a new flexibility by allowing for van to car transfer (i.e. 1 car credit will be exchanged for 0.4 van credits, and 1 van credit will be exchanged for 2.0 car credits).

Small and micro-volume manufacturers such as supercar brands are exempted from the ZEV Mandate targets. Vans with an internal combustion engine (ICE) will also be allowed

The UK government’s social media messaging

to be sold until 2035, alongside full hybrids and plug-in hybrid vans.

Visiting Jaguar Land Rover in the West Midlands, Starmer said: “My message to you is simple: these are challenging times, but we have chosen to come here because we are going to back you to the hilt. No one wins from a trade war. But it is also a moment for urgency. Nobody is pretending that tariffs are good news. You know that better than anyone. 25% tariffs on automotive exports. 10% on other goods. That is a huge challenge to our future. The global economic consequences could be profound. But this moment has also made something very clear. That this is not a passing phase. And just as we’ve seen with our national security and defence, particularly in relation to the war in Ukraine, now with our commerce and trade. This is a changing and completely new world.”

The PM’s messaging was supported by transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who published the government’s official response to its consultation on electric vehicles today. The transport secretary said: “Our ambitious package of strengthening reforms will protect and create jobs – making the UK a global automotive leader in the switch to EVs – all the while meeting our core manifesto commitment to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.”

The UK government also pointed to the provision of £2.3bn in the Budget to support the manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles and to roll-out better EV charging infrastructure. The government says demand for electric vehicles is rising, with recent data showing sales in March were up over 40% on last year, and that there are now more than 75,000 public chargepoints in the UK.

Opposition parties were not convinced the measures announced by Labour were enough to offset Trump’s tariffs. The Conservatives described the measures as “half baked”, while the Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson called for “better incentives” for consumers to buy electric vehicles.

Responses

Organisations representing the automotive manufacturing, car sales, motoring and charging infrastructure sectors welcomed the government’s announcements, but most also called for motorists to be given more real incentives to buy EVs.

The SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes: “The government has rightly listened to industry, responded quickly to global dynamics and recognised the intense pressure manufacturers are under. Industry remains committed to decarbonising road transport but the ZEV Mandate targets are incredibly challenging, especially with a paucity of consumer demand and geopolitical upheaval. Growing EV demand to the levels needed still requires equally bold fiscal incentives, however, to give motorists full confidence to switch.”

Warren Philips, chair of EVA England: “For drivers to consider switching to electric they need clarity and certainty and it’s encouraging to see the government confirm no new petrol or diesel cars will be sold from 2030. These targets are an essential roadmap to help drivers plan ahead. The transition will not take hold on its own however and it is disappointing no additional measures were included for drivers who, similarly to car manufacturers, need some support to make the switch. We need government input to tackle high EV upfront costs in the short term and to help more households access charging affordably, especially for those who can’t easily plug in at home.”

Vicky Read, chief executive of Charge UK: “It is vital that today’s announcement is swiftly accompanied by the comprehensive package of measures to help drivers to switch that the government has promised and which will smooth the path for charging investment.”

Adrian Fielden-Gray, chief operating officer of EV charging network Be.EV: “Today’s news is yet another example of there being too much ‘stick’ and not enough ‘carrot’ when it comes to EVs. The government keeps thinking about car manufacturers, but they need to instead focus on incentives for drivers making the switch to electric. Whilst there are references to £2.3bn and helping ‘working people’, we are crucially missing the detail of this. In practice, the EV driver keeps losing out. In the last few years, they’ve lost the home charging grant, they’ve lost purchasing grants, and most recently they’ve lost the exemption on vehicle excise duty. At a time where people are hesitating to switch, focus should be put on incentives and helping the transition to electric easier than ever.”

Colin Walker, head of the Transport, Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU): “In weakening the mandate elsewhere by extending flexibilities and allowing the sale of standard hybrids between 2030 and 2035, the government risks reducing the competition it has stimulated between manufacturers, meaning prices for families seeking an EV might not fall as fast, and sales could slow. The growth of the second-hand EV market, where most of us buy our cars, would in turn be stunted –leaving millions of families stuck in petrol and hybrid cars paying a petrol premium of hundreds, and even thousands, of pounds a year.”

Street chargepoint installation will become easier

Planning reforms will streamline kerbside procedures, reports

Deniz Huseyin

New measures that accelerate the roll-out of on-street chargepoints for electric vehicles (EVs) by streamlining the approval of street works have been set out in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This aims to boost EV uptake and ensure that everyone has access to reliable and convenient public charging, by making it quicker, easier and cheaper to install EV infrastructure, said the government.

EV chargepoint operators will be given access to permits when installing charging infrastructure.

The Bill removes the need for licences where the works are capable of being authorised by permits. The Highways Act 1980 will be amended to stop highways authorities from granting permission under section 115E for EV chargepoint installation where this can be authorised by a permit.

The government says that local communities currently face a “burdensome process” when installing a chargepoint. This requires licences for street works, with waiting times for approval

taking several months on average and costing EV chargepoint operators between £500 and £1,000 per licence.

Through the Bill, any need for additional licences requested by some councils will be removed, said the government. Permits for all local authorities in England can be applied for online via the Department for Transport’s Street Manager digital service, which also supports planning and co-ordination of all road works.

Permits for works that last 10 days or less will cost between £45 and £130, and take 2-5 days

Kerbside chargers will become a more common sight

to approve, “saving hundreds of pounds and hours in the application process as well as helping new EV infrastructure spread in cities and rural areas where more drivers can charge on their street”.

The number of public chargepoints in the UK rose above 75,000 devices, while chargepoint installations hit a new record growth rate in 2024 with a 38% year-on-year rise.

The National Audit Office (NAO) reported in December that the number of public chargepoints was on track to meet the government target of 300,000

CILT: ‘Government needs to tackle fuel duty black hole’

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK is urging the government to start talks with experts to tackle the impending black hole in income from fuel duty which is set to get deeper with the increasing shift towards electric cars. The recommendations come on the back of a new report titled Paying for Roads which includes recommendations from experts within CILT UK in line with concerns and views expressed by the sector and its members.

The government currently generates £28 billion annually (2023/24) from fuel duty on petrol and diesel vehicles –some of which is used to repair and improve roads. But as the shift towards electric vehicles rises, this income is beginning to decline.

The report recommends that the government sow the seeds of change by consulting with a wide body of industry experts –

as well as other key stakeholders – to explore and debate future road funding options. The paper also outlines potential routes the government could take to tackle the issue – analysing past schemes, public opinion, media and political views.

Daniel Parker-Klein, CILT (UK) director of communications and policy, said: “It’s no secret that fuel duty in this country stands at just over 52p per litre. But as we see a shift towards electric vehicles, this revenue is drying up. We at the CILT(UK) believe that through proper consultation and thoughtful design, an approach can be created which motorists will view as reasonable and balanced – treating all drivers fairly. However, we must ensure whatever scheme is introduced is simple and easy to understand, inexpensive to collect, and resistant to fraud.”

CILT(UK) has advised a

scheme to be implemented and led by the Chancellor alongside a cross-government approach with the Department for Transport, Department for Energy and Net Zero, and the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Parker-Klein continued: “Any proposal should be national but allow for local input and be designed to incentivise more efficient use of infrastructure, particularly as roads are currently not used to capacity –for example, with single occupancy vehicles. Finally, a new charging scheme should aim to encourage motorists to change their behaviour rather than penalise them. This will naturally help motorists consider alternatives to driving – with a gradual shift towards public transport – easing pressures on our roads and supporting environmental goals.”

by 2030, but warned that major challenges remain on issues such as regional disparities.

But the sharp increase in public chargepoints expected over the rest of the decade needs to include a greater focus on where they are located and how accessible they are, said the NAO. The Department for Transport and other government bodies must also be ready to meet the challenges and opportunities that come with this growth, it stated.

Vicky Edmonds, chief executive of the EV driver membership organisation EVA England, welcomed the government’s ambition to speed up the roll-out of chargepoints. “Making it easier, cheaper and faster to install public chargers is essential to accelerate the EV transition,” she said. “High public charging costs remain a major barrier, with three in four drivers from our recent survey identifying this as the biggest challenge, so we welcome efforts to cut costs and speed up grid connections.

“We also urge the government to use this Bill as an opportunity to expand cross-pavement charging solutions, allowing those without off-street parking to charge at home and benefit from cheaper electricity rates.”

83% of EV drivers struggle with public charging

Occupied charging points, technical difficulties and payment issues are common challenges faced by EV drivers, a survey suggests.

Temporary car insurance provider Tempcover surveyed 1,000 EV drivers across the UK and found that 83% had faced charging difficulties in the past year.

Some 36% reported issues as recently as the past week, while 28% encountered problems within the past month.

Common reasons for being unable to charge a vehicle included: the charging station being occupied by another EV vehicle; the charging station being out of order: there was a long queue for a charger; and the charging connector being incompatible with their EV.

Nearly one in 10 EV drivers said they ran out of battery before reaching the public charging point.

Patchy availability for electric vehicle (EV) charging plagues large swathes of UK motorways, say the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in a new report. The committee also raises concerns that regional disparities in charging infrastructure risk being baked into the future roll-out of services.

To give drivers confidence to make the switch to electric vehicles, the MPs say chargepoints need to be installed in advance of need. Motorway service areas, in particular, act as a ‘shop window’ for drivers to feel secure that chargepoints are widespread. However, the PAC reports that approximately a third of the 114 areas had yet to meet the Department for Transport’s original ambitions for each to have six ultra-rapid charge points by the end of 2023.

In 2020, government announced £950m to future-proof electricity capacity on strategic roads. The PAC’s report – Public chargepoints for electric vehicles – finds that nearly five years later, the DfT had yet to issue any of this funding. The PAC is calling on the DfT to plan for what is needed to support the widespread uptake of EVs and the chargepoint roll-out.

While government is on track to reach the minimum 300,000 points needed by 2030, those installed so far have not been evenly spread across the country. Too few have been installed outside of the South East and London, which currently host 43% of all chargepoints. The report finds that rural areas may continue to be less commercially viable for operators and could require further government intervention.

As well as revealing a stark regional divide, the report raises the needs of drivers with disabilities, those without access to off street parking and disadvantaged groups. The MPs state the interests of disabled drivers have been left behind in the roll-out, with no chargepoints in the UK currently fully compliant with accessibility standards which the DfT itself helped to create.

The report also states that drivers with no option but to rely on public chargepoints, in particular those without access to off-street parking, pay significantly more for charging due to higher VAT rates (typically 20% compared to 5%). Should these impacts not be remedied, the committee worries different and sometimes disadvantaged groups will face inequalities in the cost of driving.

Public chargepoints for electric vehicles also highlights delays in the programme designed to support local authorities in England to install chargepoints where they are most needed. Only 10 out of 78 installation projects had been approved for delivery at October 2024, against a March 2025 deadline. These delays have meant that many local authorities will be procuring for projects at similar times, posing the risk that the market may not have the capacity to serve them all.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the committee, said: “It is welcome to see the EV charging roll-out beginning to ramp up, with all the implicit benefits that bearing down on emissions will bring. But this roll-out is not currently taking place equally across the nation. Meeting numerical targets for charging

PAC worries the interests of disabled drivers have been left behind in the roll-out of EV infrastructure

Charger network needs to be available to all

Public Accounts Committee: MPs raises concerns that roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructure is uneven and not truly accessible

points is all very well.

“Delivering thousands of points allowing Londoners to easily zip around the capital while leaving the rest of the UK’s network patchy is obviously an outcome to be avoided. Drivers need confidence that they can use an EV without any risk of getting stranded, or they won’t make the switch. It is imperative that the motorway network has a complete range of charging points as soon as possible to provide some confidence to drivers who wish to travel about the entire country.

“It is also of deep concern that the needs of

disabled drivers are being ignored. Not a single chargepoint in the country is currently fully accessible. We are risking baking a serious injustice into the fabric of a major part of our national infrastructure. It similarly needs to understand how to remedy financial inequalities for those who have no choice but to use public chargepoints. Our report therefore leaves challenges for the government – it must move at pace to overcome current delays and encourage take-up, while taking the time to ensure no-one gets left behind in this all-important shift to the future.”

Charging hubs are spreading rapidly

Over 3,000 public chargepoints were added to the UK’s road network in the first three months of 2025, says Zapmap. The chargepoint mapping and data service says that 3,141 new chargepoints were installed during the first quarter of 2025, bringing the total number across the country to 76,840, a year-on-year increase of 29%.

Charging hubs (defined as six or more rapid or ultra-rapid devices at a single location) continue to show the highest growth, with 49 of them installed across the country in the first quarter of the year, bringing the total across the UK to 586.

Hubs are popular with EV drivers, especially to support longer journeys. Zapmap says they represent the future direction for EV infrastructure, with faster charging times, an increased focus on sustainable energy systems and locations which deliver enhanced amenities.

Rapid chargepoints, with a power rating of 50kW to 149kW, have seen 286 additions in the past three months, bringing the total number across the country to 7,736 – a year-on-year increase of 11.3%. During the same period, the number of ultra-rapid devices, with a power rating of 150kW+, increased by almost 66% to 7,726, almost reaching parity with rapid devices. Overall, ultra-rapid devices accounted for 22% of all

installations for the first quarter of 2025.

While rapid charging devices continue to be installed, ultra-rapid chargepoints are becoming the default choice for ‘en route’ charging sites. They are also being used for ‘destination’ charging at places with a sub-four hour dwell time, such as gyms and supermarkets.

Lower powered charging devices are the largest tranche of EV infrastructure, providing charging for longer stops and top-ups, such as in car parks. A total of 61,378 chargepoints are currently defined as low-powered (slow/fast chargepoints powered at <50kW), representing 80% of the total.

Provision of on-street charging devices, designed for slower overnight charging – aimed at drivers who wish to charge close to home but do not have access to a drive – has also grown. These chargepoints have seen 1,983 new additions in Q1, bringing the total to 27,501. The majority of these (19,543) are located in Greater London. However, the rest of the UK is seeing far higher growth in numbers of on-street devices.

While London saw an increase of just over 5.6% in the first three months of the year, the rest of the UK saw the number of on-street chargers increase from 7,016 at the end of December to 7,958 at the end of March, an increase of more than 13%.

Places for London gets green light for hub

Planning permission granted for Fastned to build Hatton Cross site

Fastned and Places for London have secured planning permission for a new EV charging hub at TfL’s Hatton Cross station car park, following approval by the London Borough of Hillingdon.

The Hatton Cross hub is the first of an initial five hubs planned by the public-private joint venture between Places for London and Fastned.

Places for London is a property company owned by Transport for London (TfL). It has partnered with electric vehicle charging hub operator Fastned to improve the capital’s charging infrastructure.

The Hatton Cross hub will have 12 ultra-rapid charging bays, serving hundreds of car and van drivers a day. All 12 will be powered by 100% certified renewable energy.

The EV charging hubs will be sheltered by Fastned’s yellow solar canopy, which is covered

by CCTV, making charging comfortable and safe in all weathers.

Hub customers will have 24/7 customer support via app and phone, available in multiple languages. Toilet facilities will also be available for hub users.

Hubs delivered through the joint venture will be accessible; all bays will be extra wide, and two bays will be fully accessible as per the latest British Standards Institution’s PAS 1899 guidance on accessible charging infrastructure.

Emma

Hatch, head of devel

UK Power Networks publishes guide

Designing and installing new electric vehicle chargepoint hubs can be a complex project. This has prompted electricity distribution network operator UK Power Networks to publish a new guide setting out what land consents need to be in place before installers apply to connect their site to electricity grid.

Every year the firm receives up to 100 applications from customers wanting to connect an EV charging hub site, and some require 3MVA of power, equivalent to powering more than 2,000 homes.

The new online guide sets out the hierarchy of consents required and also aims to streamline the connection process.

A set of common scenarios are profiled to help readers relate the information to their own situation.

Neil Madgwick, head of connections service delivery said: “Having the correct access and licensing arrangements can dramatically speed up the connections process, enabling

sites to be up and running in weeks rather than months.”

UK Power Networks provides a unique wraparound service to manage the final connection to the local electricity grid, working closely with the operator and their independent connections provider from site design to energisation.

Madgwick added: “This helps ensure that they can take advantage of our innovative products so they stay in control and don’t need complex leases and wayleaves.

“We receive a lot of enquiries from individuals to large corporations keen to explore low carbon technologies, and are building up a library of helpful guidance as this is new territory for many.”

UK Power Networks owns and runs the cables and substations which deliver electricity from the national grid to 8.5 million homes and businesses across London, the South East and East of England, serving approximately 20 million people.

opment at Places for London, said: “We’re delighted that in just a little over three months since forming our partnership we have secured our first planning consent for this ultra-rapid EV charging hub. By delivering this infrastructure, we can help drivers confidently make the transition to cleaner vehicles knowing that a charging point is nearby.”

The Fastned/Places for London joint venture intends to add a

up to 65 hubs over the partnership’s lifetime as market demand and opportunities arise.

Fastned plans to commit at least £30m of investment as part of this joint venture, including its share of £16m in joint funding planned for the first five sites.

Hatton Cross is the first hub to receive approval, with four more initial sites identified at Hanger Lane in Ealing, Canning Town in Newham, Tottenham Hale in Haringey and Hillingdon Circus in Hillingdon.

Tom Hurst, Fastned UK country director, added: “This is another big step forward for London’s EV charging network, and is a testament to the efforts of Fastned and Places for London. The swift planning decision by the London Borough of Hillingdon shows real commitment to the EV transition for the borough. It’s pragmatic decisions like these that allow us to roll out our high quality charging network across the capital and beyond, and to give London EV

CGI of the Hatton Cross hub