Parking Review Issue 373

JULY

Trees, shrubs and flowers make car parks, hubs and the kerbside pleasant places

Turning things green sends the right signal

Throughout history the building of roads and car parks has been viewed as a blot on the landscape, so it is heartening to see examples of automotive infrastructure that make space for nature. Green walls are becoming a common sight on car parks, such as the new Riverside Sunderland multistorey, as seen in this issue. Planted beds are also appearing in surface lots and at the kerbside. The creation of parklets is an idea welcomed by Kendra Inman, a principal urban design advisor at Transport for London, who told the Landor LINKS’ Liveable Neighbourhood conference that surplus parking spaces on residential streets could be replaced with green infrastructure.

There are encouraging signs that the electric vehicle infrastructure that will supersede the existing fossil fuel garage network can be designed in a manner that brings nature back into towns and cities. Chargepoint network operator Be.EV has just received planning permission to convert a former Manchester petrol station into an EV forecourt and community hub. Trees, a wildflower garden and areas planted with herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses are an integral part of what Be.EV calls a ‘Charging Oasis’. If done well, a project such as this could revitalise EV drivers’ spirits while they charge their cars.

Mark Moran Editor

Parking and highways infrastructure can make space for nature

Organised by:Presented by:

15 NOVEMBER 2023

MANCHESTER CONFERENCE CENTRE

Making space for everyone

Traffic and parking teams are the people who keep our towns and cities moving. They keep our towns and cities moving. By reducing traffic congestion, ensuring the free movement of public transport and safety of pedestrians, these teams ensure residents, shoppers, businesses, disabled people and the emergency services have equitable access safe and sufficient parking and loading facilities at destinations.

Traffic + Parking 2023 provides a space where local authorities and their partners can share best practice, keep up-to-date on policy changes and see the latest innovations in systems and services first hand.

Supported by:

Who will be attending Traffic + Parking 2023

l Local authority officers

l Councillors and stakeholders

l Parking operators and contractors

l System and service suppliers

l EV charging specialists

l Shared mobility and car club providers

l Academics and researchers

l Consultants

l Campaigners

Delegate rates

Public Sector ticket FREE*

Private Sector ticket £245 + VAT

Third Sector ticket £95 + VAT

*please visit the website for full terms and conditions

Exhibitors include:

Exhibition enquiries

For further information email Jason Conboy: jason@landor.co.uk or call: 020 7091 7895

Book online now at: www.traffic-parking.uk

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Enforcement, engagement, compliance

The Enforcement Summit discussed issues such as public engagement, dealing with vulnerable debtors and staff safety

Building a wall of belief

Stefan Rollnick offers advice on how local authorities can fight back in the modern world of misinformation

Building in metal, plants and light

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The Sunderland Riverside development multi-storey car park is a landmark structure with a striking illuminated façade

Spotlight on solar

Barclays Bank, Silverstone and Crewe Alexander FC are among the organisations installing solar panels in their car parks

Manchester ‘Oasis’ gets green light

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Be.EV will plant trees, plants and flowers to convert a contaminated petrol station site into a EV charging hub

Let’s look at charging point leases

Simon Robinson says car park landlords need to future-proof their leases with electric vehicle charging point operators

Charging for charging

Technology companies Parkopedia and Plugsurfing team up to help drivers locate and pay for EV charging from their cars

Putting the future on show

Parkex 2023 saw parking professionals gather at Birmingham’s NEC to check out bright ideas and discuss the big issues

Editorial Managing editor: Mark Moran Tel: 020 7091 7871

mark.moran@landor.co.uk

Deputy editor: Deniz Huseyin Tel: 020 7091 7872

deniz.huseyin@landor.co.uk

Editorial director: Peter Stonham

Production and design production@landor.co.uk

Advertising, sponsorship, marketing and exhibition packages Jason Conboy Tel: 020 7091 7895 jason@landor.co.uk

Subscriptions Christina Pierre Tel: 020 7091 7959 subs@landor.co.uk

Accounts Irina Cocks Tel: 020 7091 7854 irina.cocks@landor.co.uk

Managing Director Rod Fletcher Tel: 0191 280 1410

ISSN:

Parkex review

Enforcement Summit 2023

Riverside Sunderland

Fastned at Newcastle Airport

The Be.EV ‘oasis’ plan

Controlled Parking Zone coverage final scores: Inner/Outer London boroughs 2023 Scorecard data

Area of controlled parking zones (CPZs) as a proportion of total area appropriate for CPZs, weighted for size and amount of CPZs, as a final score in % for London boroughs for 2023 Scorecard data

A health check for streets

delivering measures that are known reduce car use and enable active travel, namely: Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), 20mph speed limits, controlled parking, bus priority, protected cycle lanes and School Streets.

Streets should be welcoming places for everyone to walk along, spend time on and where they can engage with other people. By enabling physical activity and social interaction, streets can keep us healthy. This is the belief that lies at the heart of Healthy Streets, an approach developed by Lucy Saunders, an urbanist, transport planner and public health specialist. She works with organisations across the world to implement the approach, which was pioneered in London.

In London her ideas have shaped the Healthy Streets Scorecard, an annual report that sets out data to show the health of each borough’s streets according to ten indicators. The scorecard is published by London Healthy Streets Coalition, a group of health, environment and transport campaigners, to rank how London boroughs which are recognising the links between public health and active travel are enabling people to switch from cars to using public transport, walking and cycling instead.

The Healthy Streets Scorecard Coalition are: Action Zero Vision; CPRE London; London Living Streets; London Cycling Campaign; Sustrans; Possible; RoadPeace; Future Transport London; and Wheels for Wellbeing. These organisations are particularly concerned that 38% of adults and 66% of children in London do not have the recommended amounts of physical activity and nearly 40% of all children in London are overweight or obese.

Alice Roberts, head of campaigns, CPRE London said: “People who have a physically active lifestyle have a 20-35% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and stroke compared to those who have a sedentary lifestyle. Regular physical activity is also associated with a reduced risk of diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and colon/breast cancer and with improved mental health. In older adults physical activity is associated with increased functional capacities. It is shocking that boroughs are failing to deliver the streets we need to avoid these devastating diseases.”

The coalition’s latest annual scorecard gave marks to boroughs

The top performing London boroughs in the Healthy Streets Scorecard for 2023 are the City of London, Islington, Hackney and Camden, with Southwark moving past Westminster to gain a Top 5 slot. The bottom of the table features Hillingdon, Bexley and Havering, which are deemed to have car-dominated environments that fail to enable residents to switch to public transport, walking and cycling.

Well known for its low traffic neighbourhoods and cycle routes, Waltham Forest leads the way in Outer London, scoring higher than some Inner London boroughs. The worst performing Inner London boroughs are Kensington & Chelsea and Lewisham.

New this year is the London controlled parking zones map. The coalition believes that controlling parking is one of the most important tools councils have to reduce car journeys, especially short trips, in favour of walking, cycling and public transport, and it is cost neutral to the council. The 2023 scorecard used the controlled parking zone (CPZ) map data to calculate the proportion of controlled zones in each London borough relative to the area which is potentially suitable, and gave a final weighted score to account for the size and amount of CPZs.

The coalition built a database and map of all London CPZs based on information provided by each borough. The coalition split its CPZ scoring into two parts. Half of the score is based on the percent of the borough’s roads that could realistically be in a CPZ that are in one. The other half of the score is based on the average ‘opportunity to park’ each resident has.

The coalition noticed some boroughs have really large zones –so large, some drivers will drive inside those zones to park near a station or the shops. In other boroughs, residents can park anywhere or in any zone. These approaches will now be marked down, with a score that is based on how much area the average resident can park in of all CPZs in the borough. The final score was an average of these two components. The coalition says it was disappointed to see very little movement on the CPZ metric. www.healthystreetsscorecard.london

The Healthy Streets Scorecard 2023 maps the spread of London’s controlled parking zones

Award winning boroughs

The London Healthy Streets Coalition has given awards to five boroughs

Overall winner: City of London

The City is the area of London with the highest overall Healthy Streets score. It leads the way on delivering schemes for walking, wheeling and cycling, public transport, and reducing and restricting car use. The City’s actions include schemes such as Bank Junction, Aldgate Square and the upcoming St Paul’s scheme.

Top Inner London borough: Islington

Islington has high levels of delivery on 20mph speed limits, bus priority, LTNs, school provision and controlled parking.

Top Outer London borough: Waltham Forest

The north-east London borough has won several major awards for delivering Healthy Streets schemes. It was part of the “miniHolland” programme in 2013 and has since gone on to deliver many more schemes that encourage walking and cycling.

Some boroughs have scored higher (or lower) than would expect given their housing density. The more densely populated boroughs have an advantage in the scorecard, so the coalition publishes data showing the actual scores boroughs achieve compared to the score they are predicted to achieve based on their housing density.

Inner London borough outscoring on housing density: Camden

A council that delivers beyond its expected score when adjusted for density compared to other inner London boroughs.

Outer London borough outscoring on housing density: Richmond upon Thames

A relatively affluent and low-density outer London borough that far outperforms similar boroughs on delivery of Healthy Streets measures. Its delivery of 20mph speed limits on boroughcontrolled roads is particularly impressive.

CPZs mapped

for Scorecard 2023

Healthy Streets in London

Input indicator summary results

• 20mph speed limits: A postcode lottery for safe streets. Three London boroughs have less than 10% of appropriate streets covered by a 20mph speed limit (Barnet, Bromley, Hillingdon). In five others, less than a quarter of appropriate streets have a safe speed limit.

• Road casualties: 2022 target missed. London has seen a decline of 38% of fatal and serious road casualties since 20052009, but that misses the Mayor of London’s interim Vision Zero target of a 65% fall from the 2005-09 baseline by a long way. Worse, those rates miss the fact that pedestrians and motorcyclists have fared far worse than other modes, and that cyclist road casualties have actually risen by 39%.

• Car ownership: Steadily falling in London. The latest data shows 2.45 million cars registered in London, a steady but slow downward trend from 2.47m and 2.51m in the two previous years.

• Polluting cars: Some progress in Inner London. In Camden, diesel cars have reduced from 17% to 15% and a diesel surcharge was introduced on resident parking permits. The highest proportion of electric vehicles were in Camden, Westminster and Tower Hamlets at 15% and City of London and Newham at 14%.

• Parking controls: Many councils are still not using the most important tool at their disposal to reduce car trips. Many boroughs now control parking on all streets. But Bromley, bottom of the table, controls parking on fewer than 10% of streets; ten boroughs control parking on fewer than a quarter of their streets and Lewisham remains way below all other inner London boroughs with just 21% of streets covered.

• School Streets: Good news for some children, bad news for others. Despite mass expansion of ‘School Streets’ (where cars can’t drive onto the street during pick-up and drop-off times) across London, Bexley and Hammersmith & Fulham have none at all. In nine other boroughs, fewer than 15% of schools benefit from a School Street. There is some good news for young people in Croydon and Havering which have both increased their scores by 12% and in Lewisham, Wandsworth and Ealing who continue to roll out School Streets at pace.

• Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs): A positive impact. Despite what a minority of vocal opponents may say, LTNs are popular and bedding in well and boroughs are planning to introduce more in the coming year. This year Haringey made the most progress, doubling the area covered to 34% of suitable roads. Hackney still tops the table at 69% with Waltham Forest and Islington next at 48% and 47%. Other high scoring boroughs are Newham, Southwark, Merton and Hounslow. Hammersmith & Fulham introduced ‘clean air neighbourhoods’ which are like LTNs but allow local drivers through. However, five boroughs have very low (under 10%) of their residential streets covered by an LTN: Bexley, Westminster, Bromley, Kingston and Kensington & Chelsea.

The London Healthy Streets Coalition develops new measures to improve the accuracy of its data and develop and introduce new scores every year.

This year, it has mapped controlled parking zones (CPZs) in a move to improve data on that metric. It developed a scoring system based partially on ‘opportunity to park’ with entire borough, or large, zones, allowing residents to park anywhere, scored lower than smaller zones based on a few streets.

The coalition also mapped the entire bus network to establish which boroughs have the most bus lanes or other ‘bus priority’ measures, providing faster journeys, and integrated this into the final borough scores this year. Scores were adjusted for density to account for natural ‘bias’ where higher density areas score higher. Some councils expected to score poorly score well, while some expected to score very well score worse than expected.

• Protected cycle track: Steadily increasing. The past year saw three times more new cycle track installed than 2022. Top of the list for rollout in the last year are Redbridge, Croydon, Lewisham and Ealing, though these boroughs still have a long way to go to match the top boroughs. The City of London still has the most cycle track per km of road. Waltham Forest, Enfield, Hounslow and Camden also top the list and continued to implement new schemes. This year also saw the removal of some ‘temporary’ schemes implemented during the pandemic.

• Bus priority: Some passengers much better off than others. Among inner London boroughs, Hackney, Islington and Lambeth have 40% to 50% of routes prioritised for buses (with bus lanes or similar). At the other end of the scale, just 5% of bus routes have bus priority in Kensington & Chelsea. Among Outer London boroughs, Ealing, Barking and Dagenham, Merton, Waltham Forest, Hounslow, Brent and Greenwich score well with between 10-20% priority. But many boroughs have little or no priority for buses: Bexley, Bromley, Redbridge, Barnet and Sutton are all under 5%.

• Modeshare and Active Travel Rates: Data not available this year.

London controlled parking zone map

What drivers feel about machine removals

Nearly one-in-five drivers (19%) say their local authority has either scrapped parking payment machines or is consulting on doing so, forcing them to use mobile phones to pay instead, new RAC research reveals.

The survey of 1,900 UK drivers found that one-in-10 (11%) reported some or all parking payment machines had already been removed by their local councils with an extra 8% saying their local authority was consulting on doing so. Drivers in London were most likely to say payment machines had already gone or were due to be going (44% of respondents in the capital), followed by those in the East of England (23%) and East Midlands (22%).

The RAC’s findings are being driven by the fact some councils are getting rid of machines for taking payment for parking as a result of many older machines relying on 3G mobile phone signals to function, which telecoms operators are switching off. This means councils either have to spend large sums on replacing machines with more modern ones or get rid of machines altogether, in turn making drivers use a mobile phone to pay to park – either via an app like RingGo or PayByPhone or by calling a phone number.

Among the councils the RAC is aware are scrapping all their payment machines are Brighton and Hove, along with Bromley, Enfield and Harrow in London.

The plan to scrap machines and force people to pay by app triggered a strong reaction among drivers surveyed by the RAC’s with 59% – and 73% of those aged 65 and over – saying they feel ‘angry’ at the idea of physical parking machines being removed as they believe they should be able to pay for parking however they want.

A fifth of all drivers (20%) said they felt ‘discriminated against’ as they simply cannot use mobile apps to pay for parking in the first place, a figure that rises to 30% of those aged 65 and over. Just three-in-10 (31%) of drivers of all age groups are completely comfortable with payment machines being removed (and only 14% of those aged 65-plus).

When asked what impact a council removing payment parking machines would have on them, half (48%) said they would drive to a different car park where they can still pay using cash or a bank card. But a quarter (27%) said they would struggle to find somewhere else to park that was convenient, a figure that rises to 38% for drivers aged 65 and over – which suggests councils that choose to ditch machines risk putting off some drivers from visiting town and city centres.

A motivated fifth (19%) of all respondents meanwhile said they would complain to their local council and/or Member of Parliament if payment

Drivers are concerned about councils scrapping parking payment machines in favour of mobile apps, RAC survey reveals

machines in their areas were to be removed.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “While for many people a switch to purely mobile phone-based parking payment poses no problems, our research clearly shows that for others it spells bad news. In fact, a majority of drivers across all age groups think getting rid of parking payment machines is a bad idea.

“Of course, cash-strapped councils will find it difficult to justify spending large sums of public money on upgrading parking machines which explains why some are bringing in third-party parking app providers instead – sometimes making parking charges even more expensive as they take their own cut.

“But it’s vital councils, and indeed private parking operators, carefully assess the impact of going down this route before taking machines away. Our research shows that by removing some methods of paying for parking they are undoubtedly making life harder for some drivers and possibly contributing to social isolation. The move could also lead to lower parking revenue as a result of drivers being put off from parking in the first place, something that’s surely not in any local authority’s interests.

“When it comes to relying on mobile apps, it’s also important to understand what happens when technology fails – for

instance, in the event the car park is located somewhere with intermittent phone signal or if there are problems with the app a driver is trying to use. What assurances can drivers have they won’t be charged unfairly or handed a penalty for not paying, even if they have made every attempt to do so? This could open up a can of worms and could be very difficult for drivers to prove they’ve tried to pay.

“In the event a council still goes down the route of removing a ticket machine, signage should clearly explain what drivers need to do to pay to park and a phone number should be provided that allows someone to pay by card, without demanding drivers download and register with another app.”

The Levelling Up secretary, Michael Gove, wrote to councils in April expressing concern about drivers being ‘digitally excluded’ without alternative payment methods being in place. Separately, the Department for Transport is currently developing the National Parking Platform (NPP), a publicly owned software platform that would make finding and paying for parking easier for drivers confident using apps. In theory, drivers would be able to use a single mobile app of their choice to pay. Manchester City Council is already part of the project with more councils expected to join it this year.

Living Streets calls for clutter-free pavements

Walking charity raises concerns about obstructions

Councils across Britain are being urged to act to clear pavements of obstructions that make it difficult for pedestrians to walk and wheel easily.

The UK walking charity Living Streets wants councils to ban all A-board advertising on the pavement, remove unused phone boxes, and cut back hedges that encroach on pavements, amongst other measures to cut the clutter on Britain’s pavements.

With a rise in electric vehicles such as e-scooters and e-bikes, the charity also wants a commitment from councils that charging points and cycle storage will be placed on the carriageway and not on the pavements, unless there is at least 1.5 metres clearance left for people walking and wheeling.

Members of the public were being asked to report obstructions they face on their local streets during Living Streets’ Cut

the Clutter week (10-16 July 2023). This is third year that Living Streets has run the Cut the Clutter campaign. In previous years, the biggest blights reported by the public were overgrown trees and hedges, intrusive sign and lamp posts.

Research from Living Streets found that nearly one in five (18%) parents of primary school aged children would be more likely to walk their child to school

instead of drive if there was a better walking environment.

The Censuswide survey, carried out in April 2023, asked parents of 4-11 year olds what, if anything, would encourage them to walk their child some or all of the way to school instead of driving.

Stephen Edwards, chief executive, Living Streets said: “We shouldn’t have to overcome a gauntlet of street clutter to enjoy

the health and happiness benefits of an everyday walk. For some people street clutter is just unsightly, but for wheelchair users, families with buggies and people with guide dogs, obstructions can force them off the safety of the pavement and into the road. Cut The Clutter Week helps know where the problems are, what they are and provides an easy way for people to report issues to their local council.”

An abandoned e-scooter

Overgrown hedges narrow pavements

EV chargepoint regulations published

Charging network operators will have to deliver 99% reliability

New regulations designed to improve the experience of using public electric vehicle (EV) chargers have been laid before Parliament. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, the UK’s electric vehicle rapid charging network will be required to have a 99% reliability rate and offer realtime status updates.

The Public Charge Point Regulations are intended to improve the charging experience for EV owners. Ministers hope the new regulations, which were first announced before a public consultation last year, will eradicate range anxiety.

The regulations will also require 99% reliability for each chargepoint operator’s network of rapid charging points, measured as an annual average. Operators will be required to make information available so consumers can check whether a chargepoint is in use and working before they arrive.

All chargers will be required to produce real-time data on their status, offering greater information to potential users.

A 24/7 free-to-use staffed telephone helpline must also be offered for all public chargepoints to support consumers struggling to charge.

Charging firms will also be required to increase the availability of contactless payment systems. All new public chargers that are faster than 8kW must offer contactless payments, removing the need for drivers to use a smartphone app. In addition, firms will be required to allow customers to pay via a third-party provider.

Under the new regulations operators will have one year to ensure contactless payment is available with all chargers with a power of 8kW or more.

Payment roaming will be required within two years of the regulations coming into force, to enable drivers to use a single app or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) card across multiple chargepoint networks, and chargepoint operators will have to ensure that they connect to at least one third party roaming provider.

To help consumers can easily make price comparisons, charging firms must also clearly display the cost of using a unit in pence per kilowatt hour either on the charger itself or through a separate device that can be accessed without a contract.

Under the new regulations, charging firms could be fined up to £10,000 for each unit that fails to comply with the requirements.

When the legislation was announced in 2022, the government also confirmed a £1.6bn investment in 300,000 new chargepoints across the country, which, would be five times as many traditional

fuel pumps currently in operation. The government predicted these will be operational by 2030 and spread across the country.

Reactions

Ian Johnston, chief executive of Osprey Charging, and the head of chargepoint industry body Charge UK, welcomes the regulations. He said: “The public charging industry is committed to making the UK the best place to charge an EV. Consumer confidence in charging infrastructure is vital and we look forward to working with the government to implement these regs over the coming months.”

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The announced measures to improve the UK’s EV charging experience will give everyone increased confidence in the network, something that is crucial to driving uptake and reducing emissions. The regulations’ focus on improving reliability, interoperability and pricing transparency is good news as they reflect the main issues people have when recharging.

“The next step should be enabling

contactless credit or debit card payments at public chargers below 8kW, which would benefit drivers who rely on onstreet and destination chargers.”

RAC electric vehicles spokesman Simon Williams said: “We’re pleased to see the government has acknowledged there’s a need to improve drivers’ experience at public chargers and has now set out some clear actions to address this. This has the potential to reassure many more people that switching to an electric vehicle makes sense, which is vital the closer we get to 2030 when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will end. Ensuring drivers only need to download and use a single app is a huge step forward from where we are today.

“We hope operators of rapid and ultrarapid charging hubs will not just clearly display pence per kilowatt hour prices on chargers themselves but also on prominent digital signage similar to fuel price ‘totems’ which drivers are already very familiar with. We believe this is needed to make price comparisons easy for everyday EV drivers looking to charge up as cheaply as possible on a journey.”

EV car park fire guidance released

Interim fire safety guidance for parking and charging electric vehicles in covered car parks has been published by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV).

The guidance is intended for car park operators, designers, risk assessors and owners of covered car parks. It outlines fire safety considerations and measures to take when:

• retrofitting existing covered car parks for the provision of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric vehicle chargepoints (EVCPs)

• designing new covered car parks for the provision of EVs and EVCPs.

The guidance has been drafted by consultant Arup in consultation with fire safety groups, car park operators and the chargepoint industry.

It has ‘interim status’ because it is based on currently available research and evidence surrounding EV fires, which will continue to develop. This means it is subject to change should new evidence emerge that significantly impacts appropriate mitigation measures.

The guidance does not replace existing safety regulations or the need to comply with them.

Making Complex Parking Processes Simple.

Workplace parking levy proposed for Henley

South Oxfordshire consults on air quality improvement plan

A workplace parking levy is among the ideas to improve air quality in Henley-on-Thames being proposed by South Oxfordshire District Council.

Since December 1997 each local authority in the UK has been carrying out a review and assessment of air quality in their area. This involves measuring air pollution and trying to predict how it will change in the next few years. If a local authority finds any places where the objectives are not likely to be achieved, it must declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have put together a new plan of action for the next four years to improve air quality in the districts. The joint Air Quality Action Plan for both districts is currently open for public consultation.

The district’s current air quality plans have been in place for eight to nine years and have been reviewed to ensure that the current pollutant levels are taken into account and that the right plans are in place to deal with the current obstacles.

The new Air Quality Action Plan will tackle air pollution with proposals for the whole of the district as well as recom-

mendations targeted at specific AQMAs. There are currently three AQMAs in South Oxfordshire – Henley, Wallingford and Watlington.

Both Wallingford and Watlington have seen nitrogen dioxide levels fall below the national objective over the past three to five years, so the plan for both towns is for them to be no longer designated as AQMAs, that would leave Henley as the only Air Quality Management Area in South Oxfordshire.

The workplace parking levy would apply to employers who provide workplace parking within the Henley’s AQMA.

Based on the proposals for Oxford, the workplace parking levy charge for each chargeable workplace parking space is £600. Employers can decided whether to pass on all or part of this charge to their employees. By

law, money raised by the levy must be spent on improving transport infrastructure in the town. A workplace parking levy will mean that businesses with 11 or more car parking spaces will be charged. Every business within Henley’s AQMA will have to apply for a licence and only those with 10 or less would not be charged.

The AQMA proposals for Henley also include promoting walking and cycling by improving the current walking infrastructure and the cycle network by redirecting traffic.

The council wants to promote active travel to school via schemes such as School Streets, which involve the closure of school roads to avoid parking at the gates, and measures that promote parents parking away from the school gates and walking the final part of the journey.

Nottingham updates WPL operating model

Nottingham City Council is updated its workplace parking levy (WPL) operating model, in response to changing travel behaviours and flexible working practices.

The changes, which include an increase in the WPL staffing budget, are intended to ensure the scheme remains fit for purpose in the post-pandemic business environment.

The recovery from COVID-19 has seen a shift in travel behaviours, with more flexible and hybrid patterns of working being adopted across many business sectors. This has resulted in daily variations in employee travel behaviours when commuting to their employers’ Nottingham premises, leading to a more dynamic and variable WPL liability.

The council says there is the need for change to respond to the embedding of hybrid and flexible working by employees in the “new normal” world.

Peak period parking is now consolidated into fewer days of the week, meaning that

increased resources are required to provide the same amount of compliance activity as pre-pandemic.

The updated WPL operating model will introduce new roles to deliver an “intelligence-led” approach, which will enable much greater team visibility aimed at delivering speedier employer compliance and securing and improving income generation.

The business rationale is to introduce a new role of WPL support officer, who will be directed to significantly increase the number of visual inspections for the WPL and WPC schemes across the board. This will cost £82,113.

Nottingham’s WPL scheme has a current income budget of £9.05m.

The WPL manager and NET manager have scheduled 19,100 parking spaces at a cost of £522 each – totalling £9.97m. By period 2, forecasting is indicating that over £10m is achievable. Income is likely to stay stable

It plans to measure pollution levels around schools to understand what students are exposed to during their journey to school.

Other vehicle related proposals include improving electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and promoting the use of greener vehicles by offering lower parking charges for low-emission vehicles and increasing use of low-emission vehicles such as taxis by giving them priority space at ranks.

South Oxfordshire will also review options to reduce freight vehicle emissions, including weight limits and enforcement. It will look at the Henley Freight Partnership, Strategic Routing Strategy and a further weight restriction zone enforcement.

A council spokesperson said: “We are at the very early stages of our action plan and firstly, we are asking people their views on many different kinds of proposals in the Air Quality Action Plan, of which a workplace parking levy in Henley is just one.

“When the survey is concluded, council officers would then explore the feasibility and effectiveness in reducing emissions and improving air quality for local residents of this proposed measure.

“The final decision would be made by our councillors about which measures we take forward and are formally adopted in the final version of the new Air Quality Action Plan.”

or increase with better compliance and management.

The decision was signed and dated on 28 June by Angela Kandola, portfolio holder for highways, transport and planning, and Sajeeda Rose, corporate director of growth and city development.

The council has considered the risk of doing nothing with the current establishment, which would lead to increased non-compliance with the WPL scheme, missed income-generating opportunities, and potential formal legal compliance action. This would significantly diminish the WPL team’s ability to conduct proactive activity.

The WPL scheme applies across the whole of the city council’s administrative boundary. Consultations were held with the WPL team, and feedback was unanimously positive.

The Major Programmes Finance team, who manage the NET model, have been engaged and understand the proposals and can see the financial benefits to the NET model in the longer term.

Call for a ‘Road Duty’ for electric vehicles

Vehicle taxation report proposes local congestion charges, reports Deniz Huseyin

There is a strong case for introducing both a per-mile ‘Road Duty’ for electric vehicles and local congestion charges, states a report on reforming vehicle taxes. Fuel Duty is the UK’s main motoring tax, raising £25bn in 2022-23, reports The Economy 2030 Inquiry. “This contribution, however, is already in decline,” it notes. “Receipts likely peaked in 2019, and the increasing prevalence of EVs means an annual shortfall of £10 billion is expected by the early 2030s.”

The Economy 2030 Inquiry is a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

There is an urgent need to replace Fuel Duty, the inquiry found. There are many ways that an electric driving tax could be implemented, but “sufficient public support and political deliverability are fundamental”, says the report, which is called Where the Rubber Hits the Road. “For that reason, while some argue for mile-by-mile variation in road pricing in response to congestion, we don’t support this.”

Instead, the inquiry calls for a system as straightforward as

Fuel Duty. “We therefore recommend a national per-mile ‘Road Duty’ which – based on typical Fuel Duty costs – would be around 6 pence per mile (plus VAT) for a typical electric car. Such a scheme would be easy to understand and receive relatively high acceptance as a fair, like-for-like replacement while ensuring that EVs remain cheaper to drive than non-EVs.”

There are four key choices to consider beyond this basic vision, states the report:

1) Using an in-vehicle system that makes use of the cell network, milometers and global positioning system (GPS) to periodically report taxable miles driven each month – allowing accurate direct debits (ideally using existing Vehicle Excise Duty payment arrangements).

2) Fuel Duty should continue to be used, rather than switching non-EVs to a per-mile charge

(which would not target carbon emissions as accurately as Fuel Duty does and would not be as simple to collect).

3) Coupling a simple Road Duty approach based on GPS with locally-determined congestion charges which have the benefit of not needing expensive infrastructure. This could be extended to fossil-fuelled vehicles that are technologically ready for permile charges, as they still cause congestion and it would not be desirable to exempt them from local Congestion Charge.

4) The government should be aiming to begin charging Road Duty on compatible EVs by 2027 – by which point one in every six miles driven are expected to be electric, and the missing tax revenue will top £3bn.

The inquiry proposes reforms to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) by taxing new cars according to

Green Alliance calls for transport tax reforms

Transport taxes could be used much more effectively to steer the UK towards lower carbon transport and protect the public finances, says the Green Alliance.

The think-tank believes taxes do not reflect the share of greenhouse gas emissions being generated by road transport, aviation and shipping. At the same time, transport tax revenues are being undermined by the switch to electric vehicles, leaving a £28bn black hole in Treasury finances in the coming decades.

The Green Alliance has worked with WPI Economics to model a series of reforms across the road, aviation and shipping sectors. Reforming transport taxes: a fair share package looked at a range of road, aviation and shipping taxes, and their impacts on emissions, revenues and household budgets.

The report outlines a ‘fair share’ package of tax reform which moves the UK closer to net zero, secures revenues for the Treasury

and works progressively across the income distribution. The Green Alliance concluded that a ‘fair share’ package would encompass road pricing, emissions-based vehicle purchase taxes, a kerosene tax and a levy of shipping fuel.

According to the Green Alliance’s modelling, a package of these measures would raise an additional £37bn in 2035 into government coffers, on top of a projected £60bn which would be raised from current transport taxes at 2022 prices. The group said this would give the government the option to either reduce taxes elsewhere or to increase public spending.

Additionally, the package would have a significant impact on the UK’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, potentially cutting them by an average of 10.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year between 2025 and 2035 – equivalent to half of all greenhouse gas emissions each year in

weight. “Because VED is not the mechanism with which to drive EV uptake – here, it is regulation that is doing the heavy lifting –the system should be reformed to reduce the numbers of heavy cars on the road.”

Also, VAT on public chargers should be cut to avoid penalising those who cannot charge at home, says the report.

Jonny Marshall, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The switch from fossil-fuel-powered cars to EVs is a key part of Britain’s net zero transition, and it’s happening quicker than most people expected. This is good news for the planet and motorists as EVs are cleaner and cheaper to run.

“But unless we modernise road taxation to reflect the cars that are on our streets today and in the future, we risk putting even more pressure on the public finances and our crowded roads.

“We need a new GPS-based ‘Road Duty’ for EVs to offset falling Fuel Duty revenues, and ensure that the net zero transition doesn’t leave poorer drivers in older cars bearing the burden of vehicle taxation.

“VAT rates on those using public chargers should also be reduced to the same level enjoyed by those, generally richer households, lucky enough to charge at home. Our tax system needs to keep pace with the electric vehicle transition, in a way that protects low- and middle-income households.”

Northern Ireland.

Green Alliance policy adviser Johann Beckford and political adviser Alice Watson said: “While taxes on polluting travel, from driving to flying, would go up, our reforms would be more progressive than the current system. It would mean richer households paying proportionally more than poorer households, with the charges phased in between 2025 and 2035 to allow people to adjust.

“As a society, we agree tax should be part of the cost of driving. After all, it causes carbon emissions, air pollution, noise, depletes natural resources, causes congestion and is dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. Then again, it can facilitate vital cultural, economic and social exchanges that we all value.

“But, when it comes to other polluting transport sectors like aviation and shipping, our tax system is not even close to accounting for the factors (the negative externalities) which determine the costs we should place on them.”

Greener streets can encourage modal shift

TfL designer makes case for parklets and permeable surfacing, reports Deniz

Huseyin

Introducing green infrastructure in urban areas will set in motion a “virtuous circle”, reducing car use and encouraging more people to actively travel or use public transport, predicts Kendra Inman, principal urban design advisor at Transport for London (TfL).

Speaking at the Liveable Neighbourhoods 2023 conference, Inman told delegates: “In terms of modal shift we are on our way. We are seeing more cyclists in London than we were 20 years ago. We need to build on what we have achieved and create more green streets, which will allow us to give over more road space to other uses. It feels closer than it has ever been despite the budgetary challenges.”

The Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy includes the annual target of draining 50,000 square metres of highway catchment into sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), rather than the conventional drainage system.

Mayor Sadiq Khan also wants to a see a 10% increase in

London’s tree canopy by 2050.

The challenge that boroughs face is that 80% of London’s public realm is actually streets, said Inman.

Although local authorities were facing serious budgetary constraints, funding can still be found for green infrastructure, she said. Partnering with water companies and developers could open up new “pots of money” for green infrastructure projects.

Money may also be available from the renewals budget for onstreet maintenance. “I have started making friends with my assets colleagues,” she said.

“When you are replacing something, why not put in something better, rather than sticking with blacktop?”

Even “modest measures” could have a dramatic impact, such as the rain gardens being implemented by the London Borough of Enfield, said Inman.

“Enfield has done some great stuff – it’s simple but effective, nothing over-engineered. Our team went and had a look and were impressed.”

Small on-street measures can make a big difference, Inman insists. This could include rain gardens on build-outs and linear

Londoners are adopting ‘low car’ lifestyles

Increasing use of car clubs in London has helped take up to 100,000 private vehicles off the streets, a new report has revealed. Car club membership in London has soared by 125% since before the pandemic, served by just over 3,500 vehicles.

The annual report by the national shared transport charity Collaborative Mobility (CoMoUK) surveyed 3,000 members in London about their use of car clubs and drew on data from all car club operators.

The charity found that car clubs saved money, reduced congestion and even encouraged members to take part in physical activity like cycling and walking.

The report also revealed:

• 70% used a car between one and five times last year, embracing a “low-car lifestyle”

• 72% of those who decreased their car ownership said they

had saved money compared to owning or leasing their own car

• 24% of members with a “constraining health condition” would not have been able to make their most recent journey were it not for car clubs

• 15% of London’s car club cars are electric, compared to under 2% of private cars in the UK which are electric

• more than half would have used taxis or hired a car were it not for a car club

• a third of members cycled once in the last week, compared to 18% of all Londoners.

Each car club vehicle in London is now estimated to take 29 private cars off the road, according to analysis within the report. That is the equivalent of more than 100,000 cars in the city which, if parked side-byside, would occupy the space of 162 football pitches.

CoMoUK is the national

rain gardens alongside cycle lanes. “There are lots of opportunities for SuDS on residential streets.”

After implementation, it is important that green infrastructure is properly maintained, especially in the first few years. “That’s why community buy-in is so important,” said Inman. “You need to engage with local people and co-design with them.”

Good maintenance also requires a multi-disciplinary approach involving different council departments, Inman believes. “You need to speak to your drainage engineers,” she told delegates. “Talk to them –they are knowledgeable people. You need to know what will work and what won’t.”

Another way of reducing surface run-off is through the use of more permeable “grey infrastructure”, said Inman. This could be used on cycle lanes and in parking bays, she suggested.

Surplus parking spaces could be replaced with green infrastructure such as parklets on residential streets, said Inman. “Is all that parking space really needed? How many of those parking spaces are in use at the end of the working day? What people say happens and what is really the case don’t always match up.”

charity dedicated to the public benefit of shared transport and it works across the car share, bike share, lift share, e-scooter and flexible bus sectors.

Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said: “Car clubs across London have increased in popularity and are making a big difference to people’s lives and the environment. Our report shows each car takes 29 private vehicles off the road, reducing congestion and cutting pollution.

“Being a member of a car club can also bring a range of other benefits. Members are more likely to walk and cycle, they save money and feel like they’re making a positive difference to the planet.

“Car clubs work for members and they work for London, helping to deliver on the Mayor’s Transport Strategy goals. And if the UK is to meet its ambitious net zero targets, car clubs will have an increasingly important part to play.”

A green street

Dartford Crossing operation upgraded

due to invalid card payment details, which may result in a PCN being issued.

National Highways is making changes to Dart Charge, the barrierless payment system for vehicles using the Dartford Crossing over the River Thames. The crossing comprises two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

A new service provider, Conduent, will become responsible for vehicle identification, payment processing and account management. Emovis continues to issue and handle enquiries for penalty charge notices.

National Highways undertook customer research to ensure customer needs have been incorporated into the new design.

Some 1.5 million people have accounts that enable them to use the barrierless river crossing.

The changes mean that 812,780 Dart Charge account holders will need to re-validate their payment cards from 28 July 2023. The changes also

affect 700,775 Pay-as-You-Go (PAYG) customers.

Another factor is a change in payment gateway provider which means that 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) markers will not be valid and will need to be re-applied to cards held on file. 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) is the new authentication protocol for online card payments.

National Highways has written directly to affected customers. There will be online instructions when customers log into their

accounts. National Highways said it will be issuing further reminders in due course, together with messages on social media to highlight the need for customers to take action on their accounts. Whilst National Highways recognises this may be an inconvenience to existing customers, it believes communication campaigns and easy to follow online instructions will reduce the impact.

If no action is taken crossings will not be automatically paid

The new service introduces a grace period for account holders that gives them five days after a crossing to remedy any issues with their account before a PCN would be issued.

A similar grace period for PAYG customer accounts will be introduced to mitigate this issue. In addition to this any challenges to PCNs received as a result of the transition will be actioned promptly, with as little customer impact as possible.

Helen Watkinson, head of road user charging, Dart Charge, said: “We have worked hard to design a customer-centric service with the new suppliers, really putting the customer at the heart of our design.

“Whilst there are improvements from day one, we have further exciting improvements in the pipeline to further enhance the service offer and offer customers more flexibility. We will announce further changes as they come online.”

If you are interested to attend contact: parkingenquiries@aparking.co.uk or 020 7242 2567

The Dartford Crossing

A vision for EV charging across Scotland

Scottish Government sets out plans for a national network

The Scottish Government has published its Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network. The policy comes as a new study appears to show that uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in Scotland could be up to 16% higher than UK government statistics suggest.

The vision document sets out what an ideal public charging offer for cars and vans in Scotland could look like. It is intended to help guide public, private and third sector partners in developing Scotland’s future public charging network. Over the coming year Transport Scotland aims to develop and consult on an implementation plan that sets out how it will take forward the actions and ambition of the vision.

The plan was developed through engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. It aims to place the needs of local communities, businesses and visitors at its heart. The vision is structured around five themes:

• Comprehensive and convenient so that the network is well-designed and reliable with chargepoints located where people need them across Scotland.

• Meeting the needs of users where using chargepoints is simple, safe and affordable and

works for everyone regardless of their age, health, income or other needs.

• Grown with private investment to help the network develop at scale and pace across all of Scotland, leveraging the skills, expertise and resources of a growing number of chargepoint network providers.

• Clean, green energy where Scotland’s EVs are ‘fuelled’ from Scotland’s renewable energy potential and where chargepoints are integrated into a flexible, modern energy system.

• Wider sustainable transport system where locations of chargepoints shorten car journeys and reduce dependency of privately owned vehicles by providing people with opportunities to travel using car clubs, or public transport – as well as enabling journeys by walking, wheeling and cycling.

Minister for transport Fiona

Hyslop said: “Supporting the uptake of electric vehicles is a critical strand of our approach to meeting our climate goals and achieving a just transition to net zero. Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network sets the standard of how Scotland’s public charging network needs to grow to support the rapidly expanding market of EVs, and to support the needs of our communities, businesses and visitors alike.

“We can be proud of the early investment that the Scottish Government has made in the ChargePlace Scotland network. We have now provided over £65m to support development of a comprehensive charging network covering all of Scotland. That network will continue to be vital over the next few years as we transition towards a public

£15m boost for Welsh charging point roll-out

The Welsh Government will invest £15m to increase the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points across Wales.

The funding, confirmed today by deputy climate change minister Lee Waters, will be used to help local authorities increase the number of charging facilities ahead of fossil fuel vehicles being phased out in 2030.

The new funding follows the £26m already invested in charging infrastructure across Wales since 2021 which has created more than 1,600 charging points – enough for one in six battery electric vehicles.

Lee Waters said: “Drivers need to have the confidence to make the switch to electric vehicles as demand increases and that’s why we are committed to creating high quality electric vehicle infrastructure across Wales.

“Most of this work will be delivered by the private sector but our role is to facilitate private sector investments across Wales and ensure equality of access. To help with this, we have created a private

sector taskforce which will engage with the market, break down any barriers to investment and accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure.

“The funding announced today is another step in the right direction but we have further to go – we will continue to work with local authorities and the private sector so that Wales keeps up with the rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles.”

The announcement complements the Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV) fund which has kick-started a number of EV projects as the Welsh Government aims to reach its target of providing charging points for every 20 miles of the strategic trunk network across Wales by 2025.

Wrexham Council has received £1.86m over two years to roll-out EV charging facilities at a charging hub in the city centre as well as sites in remote, more rural locations across the county.

Cllr David A Bithell, deputy leader and

charging network that is largely financed and delivered by the private sector. Our Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund, that aims to leverage £60m of public and private investment, is designed to do just that.

“As the network grows, there are also clear opportunities for the private sector to support the operation of existing ChargePlace Scotland chargepoints under new arrangements, and ensuring this move is seamless and aligned with the vision is critical.

“It is also encouraging to learn about the City Science study published by the Scottish Futures Trust, showing the number of electric vehicles in Scotland to be much greater than UK government data suggests. It is clear that we are passing a tipping point in uptake of electric vehicles and that demand is there for investment in the charging network of the future.”

A spokesperson ChargeUK, the EV charging sector organisation, said: “ChargeUK welcomes the Scottish Government’s vision for a public EV charging network that will deliver for the needs of Scotland, grown at scale and pace in partnership with private chargepoint operators. Our member organisations are committed to investing billions of pounds to deliver and operate thousands more chargepoints by 2030 creating jobs, supporting economic growth and enabling the widespread switch to EVs.”

climate champion at Wrexham Council, said: “We are pleased to receive this funding which will enable us to continue our work to help people to move to Electric Vehicles through both the creation of a mobility hub in the city centre and also supporting some of our smaller and more rural communities with facilities to charge EVs where they may not have access to offroad parking.

“As part of this project we are also looking to add some increased provision to support active travel and nature. We are keen to make a start on this important step on the road to lower carbon transport for Wrexham.”

Cardiff Council has received £900,000 for the next two years to roll out EV charging in the region and provide rapid charging infrastructure at Lamby Way depot for twelve electric refuse collection vehicles, as part of Cardiff Council’s fleet of 78.

The transition supports the councils target of having a zero-emission fleet by 2030, in line with Welsh Governments Low Carbon Delivery Plan.

5 October 2023 Manchester Conference Centre

Organised by:Sponsored by: In partnership with: Supported by:

Call for papers Hype or hope? Harnessing AI to

deliver better transport and planning

Transport AI 2023 is an agenda-setting conference that will bring together professionals to discuss the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI), transport and planning.

The event will be managed by a Steering Group drawn from across the transport technology sector.

Transport AI 2023 will provide a one-stop shop for getting up to speed with the opportunities and challenges of AI. It will provide a platform for attendees to gain insights on:

l The AI development curve: how to use AI to add value by time-saving, cost-saving and automating routine tasks

l How to plan an AI readiness strategy

l Key resourcing, procurement, human and ethical factors

l AI-powered products, services and tools available now

SUBMIT A PAPER

We are now inviting short abstracts of no more than 250 words Please find further information and submit your paper by 31July at:

www.landorlinks.uk/transportai2023

To discuss sponsorship and exhibition opportunities call Daniel Simpson on 020 7091 7861 or email daniel@landor.co.uk

For Better Parking Procurement, Be Open

Conduent Transportation’s Trevor Taylor offers useful advise on specifying parking services

Many in the parking enforcement sector are facing big decisions in the coming months on how to shape the future of the services they provide. Recent technological innovations have rapidly opened doors for significant reimagination of how we can best deliver parking enforcement services in the UK.

The emergence of technology-led enforcement in the UK has arrived at the perfect moment, as local authorities battle against significant increases in the cost of the workforce, constricting budgets, and the wider cost of living crisis. There is everincreasing pressure to demonstrate increased performance in the delivery of services alongside expectations of reducing costs.

As many parking enforcement operations are outsourced, in these circumstances the route to change is through an open procurement exercise. The question commonly posed by decision-makers is: “How do we create a specification which invites innovation to advance our parking operations?”

The simple answer is to write a specification which invites service providers to present their vision for delivering a parking service to meet the challenges faced by the operation today. This approach breaks with the tradition of asking for service providers to put together costs to deliver a pre-designed, prescribed solution designed for the previously issued specification.

While the benefits are demonstrable, there is an investment involved in producing a specification of this nature as it will involve careful planning and research to be successful.

A modern parking specification

Here are four steps to take in order to create a modern parking enforcement specification which will extract the best from service providers in the market and benefit your operation:

1. Define strategic objectives

Typically, the strategic objectives of the authority will already have been defined by the wider published policy, and the first task is to align these core strategic objectives to the parking operation. Common themes include protecting the environment, public safety, supporting local economies, and protecting the needs of residents and businesses.

2. Define obligations

In each parking operation there will likely be specific obligations which distinguish it from others around the country. Examples include a heavy focus on special events, recurring problem parking in certain locations such as

areas surrounding significant regional transport hubs, complex parking permit schemes, or high volumes of requirements for parking suspensions which must be managed. Within this scoping phase the volumes of current activities should be established and discussed, forming the foundations of what the obligations of the parking operation are to improve the communities which it serves.

3.

Define the challenges to overcome

Every parking operation has challenges which could be overcome with a fresh approach or redistribution of resources. Examples include pressure from the local community because of an increasing volume of noncompliant vehicles at specific times or days which are disrupting their day today lives, problem parking causing congestion and impacting on air quality, or high rates of errors in the issuance of Penalty Charge Notices. Identifying challenges that a new operation could be designed to overcome is a key activity in the procurement exercise.

4. Collate aspirations

In addition to obligations and challenges, there may be an approach which is appealing to explore as part of the procurement exercise. This could include introducing additional services such as tackling blue badge misuse, monitoring air quality, exploring zero emission zones, or blending other services into the operation. Collate all of these aspirations and share with the market to explore opportunities to include in the specification.

Once these fundamentals have been established, the optimal next step is to organise a soft-market testing exercise with leading service providers. This is a great opportunity to share your position ahead of a formal procurement exercise and generate valuable feedback on plans and learn about the differentiation between service providers and how they can service your needs.

Armed with this knowledge, the creation of a specification which allows the different approaches of service providers to be evaluated can begin.

Open Specification Approach

The key is to avoid closing the door on innovation by prescribing outputs to achieve desired outcomes; the classic mistake in traditional parking enforcement procurement exercises has been to prescribe deployed hours. In this example, the size of the workforce is rigidly fixed and service providers cannot demonstrate methods to deliver outcomes with different workforce compositions while introducing technology to drive effectiveness and efficiency.

The key benefit of an open specification approach is to receive a variety of responses to the open procurement exercise Through the receipt of varied approaches to advance the parking operation, the process of down selecting the preferred bidder can begin. The distinctive characteristics of the strongest tender will become apparent and the bestsuited service provider for your unique parking operation can be identified.

Trevor Taylor is Operations Director at Conduent Transportation

Conduent Transportation is a leading provider of automated and analyticsbased smart mobility solutions for government agencies. These solutions span roadway charging and management, parking and kerbside management, and advanced transit and public safety systems. Our intelligent kerbside management systems enable an improved customer experience and provide operational efficiencies by augmenting the integration of people, technology and data for our customers and drivers.

transportation.conduent.com

Airparks plans to expand parking services

Airport parking company reports healthy business

Off-airport car park provider Airparks has unveiled plans for expansion after experiencing a busy year. Over the past 12 months, Airparks reports that it has witnessed a significant increase in the number of customers utilising its car parks.

In the fiscal year 2022/23, approximately 700,000 individuals used the established Airparks sites at Luton and Birmingham. A new site in Scotland is also doing good business. Last summer, Airparks opened a parking facility at Aberdeen Airport that is just a 5-minute walk from the terminal. Since its opening, over 30,000

passengers have used the site. A further 187 spaces were added at Aberdeen in June to meet increasing demand.

Looking ahead, Airparks has devised a investment strategy for 2023 that will see the company allocate £1m towards enhancing its sites, focussing on car park surfacing, customer areas and roadways.

Airparks will also be reopening of its ShortRun site serving Birmingham Airport customers. This revitalised location will feature refreshed branding and improved roadways.

To further improve operational efficiency and environmental sustainability, Airparks intends to introduce new buses to its fleet, with potential plans to invest in electric vehicles.

Airparks will also implement

Hanshaw takes NSL leadership role

Keith Hanshaw has become managing director of NSL, Marston Holdings’ frontline civil parking enforcement.

NSL is a civil parking enforcement contractor providing front line, back office and customer support services.

Hanshaw remains Marstons’ client services director for transportation, a role he has held for over six years and which sees him oversee the group’s work in the transportation and environment sector.

This role includes civil parking enforcement, business process and outsourcing, checking, Traffic Management Act debt, ANPR enforcement, air quality enforcement and the environment, as well as business development and strategic accounts.

Prior to this group role, Hanshaw was managing director of Marstons’ Project Centre transport and urban design consultancy for eight years.

Previously Keith worked in local government for over 25 years, including being director of public realm at the London Borough of Waltham Forest and being head of traffic at Medway Council.

Hanshaw chaired the Six Olympic Host Borough Multi-area agreement, driving the group to securing £180m over three years for the Olympic fringe.

automated number plate recognition (ANPR) barriers at all its sites to provide a seamless parking experience. This technological upgrade will streamline the check-in and check-out process for customers.

Airparks is harnessing mobile technology to enhance customer convenience. New mobile app-

based services include a ‘Where’s my bus’ feature through which customers will receive real-time updates on the location of the shuttle buses.

Meanwhile, a new ‘check-in’ feature will enable customers to check-in directly from their vehicles upon arrival, saving them time and enhancing the company’s efficiency.

Howard Dove, Airparks’ managing director, said: “Airparks is poised for an exceptional year of growth, with its dedication to customer satisfaction and relentless pursuit of excellence at the forefront of its expansion plans. The company remains committed to offering industryleading services, investing in cutting-edge technology, and providing exceptional customer experiences to all passengers.”

Building careers for veterans

Veterans in Parking UK, an initiative launched by the British Parking Association (BPA), and the United Statesbased Veterans in Parking, will be forming a strategic partnership alliance (SPA).

The alliance’s mission is to raise awareness and promote opportunities for military veterans, enabling them to enter into meaningful and rewarding careers in the respective parking and transportation sectors in the UK and the US.

The BPA formed Veterans in Parking UK in recognition that there are many ex-service people working within the sector who have previously served their country and who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and skills to their respective organisations.

The association has already welcomed over 100 ex-

servicemen and women to its LinkedIn group,

Dave Smith, BPA head of communications, said: “We are delighted to form this alliance with Veterans in Parking. A key theme of our association’s new strategic plan will be to promote an inclusive and professional sector, and Veterans in Parking provides an opportunity for us to champion our sector as an inclusive place for Veterans to work, and to help them navigate recruitment challenges with tangible support and guidance as part of our dedicated community.” By working together, Veterans in Parking and Veterans in Parking UK will enjoy a larger geographical footprint, enhanced visibility, and the opportunity to combine resources to further their common mission.

Keith Hanshaw

Howard Dove

Airparks at Aberdeen

Weaving a plan for Northern Ireland

Octopus Investments commits up to £50m to Weev’s development

Chargepoint network Weev has devised a plan to address the shortage of charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Its rollout programme will be supported by up to £50m of funding from Octopus Investments,

This marks the first investment for Octopus Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (OSIF), a strategy announced by Octopus Energy last year with cornerstone investment from the UK Infrastructure Bank

Electric vehicle drivers in Northern Ireland are disproportionately underserved in terms of charging infrastructure. According to the Department for Transport, the region had only 20 public chargepoints per 100,000 people – substantially lower than the UK average of 60 per 100,000 people.

The UK government’s plan to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 will

apply to all regions of the UK and this disparity underpins the opportunity for significant investment into Northern Ireland’s EV charging infrastructure.

Weev was set up by Dominic Kearns and Thomas O’Hagan in 2022. Their company installs public chargers and EV solutions for workplace and fleet.

Philip Rainey, chief executive of Weev, said: “In a world of rising energy prices, consumers and fleet operators are now thinking more seriously than ever before about switching to

Simpson heads up RAW Charging

remarkable strides in the space, and I am excited to build upon its success as one of the few British companies in this space with highly committed investors who are passionate about making the clean energy transition a reality.”

Simpson has held senior leadership positions in the renewable energy and connectivity sectors for over two decades including founding Believ (formerly Liberty Charge), a leading chargepoint operator for onstreet residential EV charging.”

an EV to unlock significant cost savings and reduce their carbon footprint. We are helping to enable this switch by breaking down barriers such as range anxiety through access to convenient and reliable EV chargers.

“This investment from Octopus enables a major expansion to the size and scope of the rollout we announced at launch last year. We can now increase our focus on providing more rapid and ultra-rapid charging hubs in response to growing demand from EV drivers.”

Flowbird appoints EV director

Parking technology company

Flowbird has appointed Joe Rowley as its new electric vehicle director.

Rowley brings extensive experience in electric vehicle charging. He was previously head of distribution sales at EO Charging and product manager for electric vehicle charging at Rexel UK.

Rowley said: “Having worked in electrical wholesale for 12 years, I laid an incredibly strong foundation on which I am now building a rewarding career in the electric vehicle charging industry.

“EV charging is a passion of mine. I am lucky to be able to share this with my customers by very easily placing myself in their position and talking their language.”

Simpson is taking over from Bruce Galliford, who has decided to step back after founding and growing the RAW Charging business.

RAW Charging specialises in investing, installing and operating fully funded destination charging solutions for hospitality, leisure and retail locations. It is working with commercial property landlords and operators such as National Trust, Greene King, McArthurGlen, Brent Cross, Abrdn and Aviva Investors.

Jason Simpson said: “I am honoured to join RAW Charging as the new CEO working with Tony, Nick and the rest of the great team. The company has already made

Bruce Galliford will continue to support RAW Charging during the transition period to ensure a smooth handover. He said: “It has been a privilege to found and serve as CEO of RAW Charging and witness the tremendous growth of the organisation. I am confident that Jason’s leadership and vision will further accelerate our mission.”

Anand Jagannathan, NextGen senior partner at investor Antin Infrastructure Partners added: “We are delighted that Jason has agreed to lead one of our key portfolio companies in the Renewable Energy and Mobility space alongside our investment partner The Bayford Group.”

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

Looking for staff or need employment?

Please contact our experienced team on:

Tel: 0203 668 5680

Email: parking@unity-recruitment.co.uk

Web: www.unity-recruitment.co.uk

***Parking Experience Essential***

RAW Charging has appointed Jason Simpson as the electric vehicle chargepoint operator’s new chief executive officer.

Dominic Kearns and Thomas O’Hagan

Jason Simpson

Joe Rowley

At the cutting edge of common sense

Neil Herron, CEO & Founder of Grid

Smarter Cities believes so, and asserts kerbside management is the key to empowering cities to move to a flexible and dynamic three-dimensional digital asset delivering societal and environmental policy goals while also creating revenue positive solutions for cities and businesses alike and facilitating and enabling commercial fleet transition to EVs at scale.

Understanding the kerb

The kerb space is an area where many interactions take place, whether it’s pickup, drop off, loading zones, bus stops, clearways, cycle lanes or parking spots. Currently the kerb is a fixed, twodimensional asset, or liability, whichever you want to look at it, but councils need to be able to look at it in a 3D environment. Understanding the kerb’s vital position as a gateway either from the delivery hinterland or beyond the kerb to the access hinterland is integral to understanding the type of permission or user driven permission stack that will sit above the kerb.

The jostling for position on the kerbside is a complex issue. You have to start by creating solutions for the siloed operators because the parcel company making a

delivery is not the slightest bit interested in what a taxi or a scooter is doing until it impacts and impinges on what they’re doing.

Whilst some smart city thinkers have been looking skywards for inspiration and thinking aerial drone deliveries are a solution, others have been scratching their heads to try and understand the complexity.

At Grid we believe that we are ‘at the cutting edge of common sense!’

And the answer has been under our feet all this time. The biggest environmental, social and economic gains are going to come from practical process driven interventions for commercial operators and from local authorities reprioritising the kerb from a first come first served ‘free for all’ to a dynamic and flexibly managed bookable asset.

Practical solutions will allow the Amazon,

DPD, FedEx or UPS drivers to safely and more sustainably deliver 160 parcels in a day instead of 130, for example. Their interactions with the kerbside, known, understood and permitted, leads to better network management, less congestion, fewer miles driven, and reduced air pollution, but also lower driver stress and fewer parking tickets! These are the marginal gains from doing little things a little better and for the operator efficiencies lead to increased profit.

A specific sector that works under strict safety guidelines when delivering is the brewery logistics vehicles as an example. Their operational needs are wholly different from the parcel sector but they require prioritised access to the kerb, often in areas where loading may be prohibited.

If a brewery logistics vehicle has to deliver across a cycle lane to access the cellar then this inevitably brings the possibility of conflict between the industry and cyclists. This can be avoided in the future by using technology to deliver a safer and more efficient use of road and kerb space in our cities with pre-approved, risk assessed loading at specific times that least impact on the network.

The ability for the kerb owner, the local authority to flex the kerb use at certain

Is the humble kerb the missing puzzle piece that unlocks the digital ecosystem needed to deliver social, environmental, and economic benefits for cities and the enabler that can accelerate fleet transition to EVs?

“Accidents can be avoided by using technology to deliver a safer and more efficient use of road and kerb space in our cities.”

Neil Herron, CEO & Founder Grid Smarter Cities

What are the things we need to think about?

We need not wait for the technology, policy or legislation to make this happen.

The technology and solutions are now available. The Department for Transport has recently commissioned a Kerbside Management Discovery Report which has identified the enabling power of the kerb and significant outcomes that can be delivered in the short term whilst preparing the policy and legislative road map for a fully digital, flexible and dynamic approach to kerbside access.

The beauty for local authorities is that they don’t each need to

times of day and determine the prioritisation hierarchy is going to be key and adding a booking or permit element gives an increased degree of certainty for the operator. Dwell permissions and operational protocols can be tailored to industry need, whether they be physical bookable bays, virtual loading bays, zonal permits or dwell extensions and layered over the kerbspace as a ‘digital wrapper’ delivering the optimal outcomes for all stakeholders.

Whilst the number of stakeholders may appear to be complex if we view the landscape as an interconnected, interoperable digital ecosystem then the kerb is uniquely placed as a strategic enabler.

design their own solution.

A solution can address a small problem area or be taken to scale across a city and one of the most obvious outcomes is transitioning commercial fleet vehicles to EV. In that regard the ability to book a charging slot is going to be key to optimising the asset value and the most obvious ‘graze’ users are the ones dwelling at the kerb whilst making a delivery. To transition, fleets will require charging certainty and a guarantee of access as part of the last mile consideration and this complements the emerging strategy of dedicated charging and parking hubs adjacent to city centres as part of a mid-mile strategy.

How can we make progress?

Progress can be made quite rapidly and beneficial outcomes demonstrated, proved and then taken to scale.

A great deal of the groundwork has been done by the Government and the desire for local authorities to digitise their Traffic Regulation Orders and therefore the kerbspace which will better enable the layering of ‘solution additionality’ over that asset.

The logistics sector is looking for operational

Firstly: We have had the discussion and debate and identified a policy and legislative road map. We now need a demonstrator of how a kerbside management solution for freight, servicing and delivery will work for both the kerb owners and the kerb user.

efficiencies and beneficial outcomes and solutions to better enable the decarbonising of fleets.

Freight and air quality strategies have primed the technology and solution need and there is a willingness across the piece to make it happen.

We are in a position to lead the world in this new and emerging kerbside management marketplace and demonstrate how a simple and practical common-sense approach will get us further and faster than expecting or waiting for new technology to emerge.

Secondly: We need to embrace the interconnectivity of the ecosystem approach and see the kerbspace as an enabler to decarbonising the fleets and integrate the EV strategy with mid-mile and last mile complementing on-street graze charging with offstreet park and charge.

Thirdly: We need to take a kerbside management with space booking, integrated EV charging and journey optimisation from pilot to scale whilst at the same time positioning future policy to enable and facilitate a totally flexible and dynamic approach (utilisation, prioritisation and pricing).

Grid’s dynamic kerbside management solution with ChargerieTM concept

Neil Herron is Chief Executive and Founder of Grid Smarter Cities Email: Neil.herron@gridsmartercities.com

WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE

Parking, traffic and debt recovery professionals discussed key issues at the Enforcement Summit

The Enforcement Summit 2023 took place at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham in June. The event explored the latest policy, legislative and operational developments in the fields of traffic, parking, air quality and debt recovery regulation.

This year’s wide-ranging programme covered key policy areas such as civil parking enforcement, moving traffic regulations and clean air schemes. A highlight of the day was a provoking discussion about how local authorities can tackle misinformation about traffic management and air quality schemes.

There were in-depth presentations on the way in which innovative technology can enhance the effectiveness of enforcement operations. The human aspects of enforcement came to the fore in a discussion about ensuring the safety of front line patrol staff, and also a look at more sensitive approaches to the collection of road traffic and parking debts.

The conference is programmed by Parking Review, produced by Landor LINKS and sponsored by Conduent Transportation.

Jade Neville

Annie Oliver

Engagement, enforcement, compliance

The Enforcement Summit opened with a set of thought-provoking presentations. Chaired by Daniel Casey, head of strategic development at Conduent Transportation, the panel offered some solutions to the challenges faced by the traffic and parking sectors.

New ways of working

The parking enforcement sector has evolved over the past 30 years, said Nigel Coltman, general manager of Egis. He reflected on how it was once by defined by traffic wardens in authoritarian uniforms writing fines using a pen and notebook. It is now a public service that makes use of a raft of digital technologies: handheld devices, number plate reading cameras, virtual permits, apps and websites.

Coltman explored how local authorities can use ‘scan cars’ as mobile ANPR systems to spot vehicles that appear to be flouting parking rules and direct the deployment of civil enforcement officers to check them out before issuing a penalty if required. Already used in European cities such as Amsterdam and Paris, scan cars are now being linked to the Egis Dispatch app as part of a trial in Milton Keynes.

Things are looking up

Local authorities across the UK are implementing clean air schemes that depend on camera-based enforcement systems being able to identify vehicles that are compliant with scheme rules.

Chris Newman, regional director of Conduent Transportation described how a vehicle ‘look-up’ system was devised for Oxfordshire’s

pioneering Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ). Conduent has developed an emissions look-up platform that uses logic gates to classify vehicles – for example, a 2-litre diesel cannot be a zero-emissions vehicle. The platform cross-references DVLA, DVSA and UKVD vehicle data to make an accurate decision on whether a specific vehicle is compliant with the ZEZ. Conduent is preparing the platform for use nationwide.

Protecting parking people

Parking is an emotionally charged subject and unfortunately, as front line workers, parking attendants often face the brunt of abuse from angry drivers. Annie Oliver, legal and compliance manager at Parking Control Management (UK), delivered a sobering talk on the reality of violence and aggression faced by parking attendants.

To gain a better insight into the prevalence of violence and aggression towards patrol officers, PCM conducted a survey among its operative workforce. The research revealed:

• 92.5% of respondents reported that incidents of violence and/or verbal abuse occur at least several times a month and 67.5% reported that they occur at least once a week

• 68.3% have experienced physical violence in the past year

• 95.1% have experienced verbal harassment in the past year.

To put things in perspective, the national average for employees to face threatening behaviour is a mere 1.4%. Even security staff working in the protective services sector experience an incident rate of just 8.4%.

Daniel Casey

Chris Newman

Nigel Coltman

Annie Oliver

We have the technology

Innovative solutions that are helping highways authorities, car park operators, property owners and enforcement agencies were the focus of the second session. The technology session was chaired by Gavin Manger, business development UK at Egis.

Intelligent solutions

Parking is a sector that continually embraces new technology. Dean Fennell-Connell, sales director of Conduent Transportation, reflected on how traffic enforcement has been transformed using systems such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). Cameras are now being used to enforce bus lanes, clean air zones and car parks.

Now the world is starting to wake up to the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in terms of analysing data and understanding patterns of behaviour. However, the use of AI in traffic enforcement will be shaped by the need to follow protocols and regulations that address privacy concerns and other matters.

One platform, many roles

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are the bedrock on which management of our streets is built. Dan Hubert, chief executive of AppyWay is an advocate of digital mapping as a means of creating accurate traffic regulation data that can be accessed in real-time by local authority parking and highways teams.

The AppyWay Parking Platform has been developed to help local authorities, parking operators and electric vehicle (EV) chargepoint

operators gain digital control of their physical assets. It is a back office integration software that works for both on-street and off-street parking across the public and private sector. Its capabilities include: multi-vendor parking payments and reconciliation; EV charging software; insights dashboards showing historical and real-time occupancy from on or off-street parking; revenue insights and third party transaction reporting from mobiles and parking machines. Integration tools enable the pulling of third party data and the pushing of authoritative data into fleets, logistics and motorists.

Streamlining transfer of keeper liability

Traditionally, when a traffic or parking fine is issued against a rented or leased vehicle the ticket is sent by post to the leasing company, which then looks up the liable hirer’s details and sends the vehicle hirer’s name and address back to the ticket issuer. The ticket issuer then sends a new ticket to the hirer. The process takes weeks.

There is a better way, explained Richard Williams, co-founder and director of Transfer360, who has set up a system that automates the transfer of vehicle keeper liability. Transfer360 enables ticket issuers and notice processors to direct a PCN straight to a fleet operator at the first point of issue. The system allows parking companies using the DVLA’s Keeper of a Vehicle at the Date of an Event (KADOE) service to cut the time taken to assign a ticket to a driver. For fleet managers, Transfer360 is designed to reduce labour intensive administrative processes, as one enquiry replaces multiple transfer requests.

Dean Fennell-Connell

Gavin Manger

Richard Williams

Dan Hubert

Moving forward together

A civil society depends on citizens respecting one another and follow protocols that define how we interact with one another, the street and on the road. The closing session, chaired by Jade Neville, head of user experience at Conduent Transportation, explored how public authorities can become more responsive, ethical and transparent in how communicate with the public they serve and protect.

How to respond to misinformation

Many local authorities have faced concerted online trolling campaigns when implementing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and other schemes. Stefan Rollnick, head of The Misinformation Cell at Lynn Global, discussed how public authorities can fight back in the modern world of misinformation. He explained that are three key pillars to attaining information integrity:

1. Scanning: What beliefs are circulating online and offline about your organisation and its work?

2. Identifying threats: What beliefs constitute a threat to your organisation and its work?

3. Building your strategy: What’s going to make your audiences more resilient to misinformed beliefs?

These three stages should be supplemented by ongoing monitoring, threat detection and escalation processes. Rollnick said ‘The Wall of Beliefs framework’ developed for the Cabinet Office provides one example of how to approach this approach.

Improving driver (mis)behaviour

Many errant drivers seem to regard incurring a parking notice as the price of parking where they are not supposed to. Will Hurley, chief executive, International Parking Community (IPC), set out how parking charge notices are no longer an effective deterrent. This is why local authorities and private parking operators alike are calling for the level of parking charges issued to vehicles breaching rules to be increased.

Identifying the persistent evaders

The National Persistent Evaders Database (NPED) is an innovative project that will help identify vehicles belonging to drivers who avoid paying parking fines, road tolls and clean air charges. Alan Wood, founder of the service, explained how NPED cross references persistent evaders with vehicles that have no tax or insurance. The initiative, which is supported by the Cabinet Office, is now working with police forces, local authorities and parking providers.

Sensitive enforcement

The civil enforcement sector has been working with debt charities and other stakeholders to raise awareness and devise protocols for recognising and engaging with vulnerable debtors.

Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of CIVEA, the Civil Enforcement Association, explained how the new Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) will work to ensure that all those who are subject to enforcement action in England and Wales are fairly treated.

Stefan Rollnick

Russell Hamblin-Boone

Will Hurley

Alan Wood

The Wall of Beliefs: A toolkit for understanding false beliefs and developing effective counter-disinformation strategies

Building a wall of belief

How to fight back in the modern world of misinformation

In the context of the difficult challenges of presenting controversial schemes and policies, adopting the right strategies can help transport professionals and councils overcome conflict on social media, and connect with their target audience, explains misinformation and communication strategist Stefan Rollnick

In an age of rapidly exchanged – and often unchecked and unsubstantiated – information, those involved in transport know as well as most the difficulties this brings. There are new challenges in presenting the public with the full facts and arguments about problems and their potential solutions, and ensuring they are not attacked and misrepresented unfairly.

In recent years, many local authorities have faced particular public fury and indignation when proposing and implementing low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and other traffic management schemes. Often this anger has been fuelled by misinformation – a false alternative narrative which is spread online, in order to mislead.

How best, then, can councils deal with such situations – and is there a proven approach and underlying methodology to apply? Research shows you need to proceed with caution when publicly challenging misinformation.

Whereas the stated purpose of the social media platforms that facilitate this kind of debate is to connect us, let’s remember that the financial purpose of the companies behind them is to generate revenue for their shareholders by selling advertising space and audience data to digital advertisers.

The more time we all collectively spend scrolling through social media, the more money the platforms can make from advertising

space. In order to maximise this time, the algorithms that recommend content to us – by placing it at the top of our news feeds –have to promote material which will draw us in.

Put simply, the result of this tends to prioritise content which generates strong emotion. In practice, this means promoting conflict, toxicity, and quite often – intentionally or not – misinformation.

With all this going on, it is pretty impossible to ignore what is being said, and rather essential to have an appropriate strategy in response.

While academic evidence shows that, in general, correcting misinformation with the facts is useful, we know that: a) it has a limited effect on behaviour change, and b) the academic research is taking place in a really simplified environment (i.e. a lab), and in reality the system is much more complex. Any time we correct a piece of misinformation publicly it can meanwhile have unforeseen knock on consequences, so we must respond carefully.

As an example, the importance of this is demonstrated in an analysis by academics at Queensland University of Technology on the result of the US administration’s response to conspiracy theories about bioweapon labs in Ukraine. In its essence, their work shows that in trying to correct the misinformation, they simply exposed more people to it.

So, when should we respond?

Here at Lynn’s The Misinformation Cell, we work closely with the UK government Cabinet Office to implement its ‘Wall of Beliefs’ model for fighting misinformation. To use this model, you need to be able to answer three questions whenever you’re trying to make a decision about how to respond to a piece of mis or disinformation:

1) What is my definition of harm? To help with this it helps to know the target behaviours that you’re concerned about.

2) Does this piece of information cause direct harm to these target behaviours – or is it just designed to sow mistrust in an audience?

3) Is this misinformed belief superficial (i.e. it can be easily replaced) or is part of someone’s core beliefs (i.e. it can’t be easily replaced)?

tried to leverage historic distrust between ethnic minority groups and health authorities to spread their harmful lies and propaganda about the safety of the vaccine.

In situations like these, corrective information won’t address the underlying truth that many communities who have been pushed to the fringes of our society have been underserved by government institutions and health authorities. You can’t reverse this with a fact check, you need to think about how to build relationships with these communities instead.

There’s a good chance that this consideration will often be relevant in transport situations – where customers or those affected will be nursing past grievances or remembering bad experiences just as you want to start a new conversation with them.

So try to understand the bigger picture, as when it comes to misinformation narratives, the biggest – and easiest – mistake you can make is to assume you need to respond to something simply because it’s getting traction on social media. This is a mistaken reaction that trolls are trying to constantly bait you into making: responding to lies that you needn’t respond to, because actually your key audiences haven’t really been exposed to them.

Using the Wall of Beliefs matrix as a guide, the answers to these questions should help guide any decision about when to respond directly, when to focus on the underlying narratives, when to focus on managing behaviours or last, but definitely not least, when to simply watch and wait.

When a controversial matter is under discussion it is sadly very likely that ill-intentioned parties will get involved. Their trolling and disinformation activities will have three core aims:

1) To give the appearance that fringe views are widely believed, using the ‘social proof effect’ to nudge new audiences towards their misleading beliefs.

2) To derail your messaging, moving you away from your key messages and instead forcing you to focus on rebutting theirs.

3) To drain your energy, damaging morale and draining creativity and focus from your team.

Thankfully, aim 2 and to a certain degree aim 3 are within our control. If we can stay on message despite the noise from social media, and we can maintain perspective internally about how unrepresentative some of these determined detractors really are, then we’re halfway to beating them.

To counter the ‘social proof’ that trolling creates, it is important to focus on building immunity within our audiences proactively – not reactively. When it comes to misinformation, proactivity is key because whoever ‘gets there’ first usually wins.

The importance of storytelling

Sometimes the best response to a lie isn’t a fact, it’s a deeper truth. This is a mantra my team and me try to live by, and it’s paraphrased from one of President Obama’s speechwriters. It gets to one of the core truths about fighting misinformation: no fact check can compare to a compelling narrative.

The truth is that all of us mere mortals, regardless of how rational we try to be, make sense of the world through storytelling – and the disinformation spreaders understand this. Strategic communicators are beginning to understand this as well – Joe Biden’s presidential campaign team in 2020 deftly operationalised a storytelling approach to fighting disinformation.

At The Misinformation Cell, we do this in our own way, looking beyond the noise of social media through quantitative surveys to understand which damaging narratives are resonating with the public, and to understand which of our counter narratives might resonate too.

Building the right relationships

Sometimes we think misinformation is an ‘information problem’ when it is actually a ‘relationship problem’.

The most effective misinformation isn’t the wildest lies, but the misinformation that builds upon kernels of objective truth. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic disinformation spreaders

In order to deal effectively with this new world of information, there is thus no substitute for quantitative attitudinal data from your key audiences. It is something that has considerable other benefits in the transport world too, so well worth the effort to obtain and analyse.

Focus on what you can control, accept what you can’t Changing behaviours and winning people’s confidence that we are doing something to help them isn’t easy. The range of factors that influence our beliefs and behaviours is very large.

And yet in focussing on the narrow scope of what is in our control, and marshalling our data about both our audience’s underlying attitudes, and what our proposals mean to them, means we can focus our energies in a more disciplined and productive way.

With such an approach we should have a fighting chance of getting people on our side, despite all the distractive noise out there these days.

Stefan Rollnick is the head of The Misinformation Cell at Lynn – a 30-strong Cardiff based consultancy specialising in campaigns, behavioural science and anti-misinformation/disinformation strategy and research. Rollnick was brought in by Lynn to set up The Misinformation Cell in September 2021 after previously working as a disinformation analyst in the Office of the First Minister of Wales. lynn.global

When it comes to misinformation, proactivity is key because whoever ‘gets there’ first usually wins

Stefan Rollnick

Welcome to Planet Mobility

Do you have space for a complete franchise set-up?

DRIVALIA seeks franchise partners as it expands UK car rental network

Drivalia is an automotive rental, leasing and mobility company that wants to provide its customers with the widest range of mobility solutions: from electric car sharing to innovative car subscriptions, passing through short, medium and long-term rental.

The company has a fleet of 3,500 vehicles in the UK, with big plans to increase this to 5,000 later this year to provide greater accessibility to its customers, whilst remaining loyal to its highquality, low-cost experience with a commitment to friendly service.

Drivalia is particularly interested in connecting with key decision-makers in the parking sector who may be looking for an extra revenue. The company believes that many car park locations have available space to offer suitability for a Drivalia franchise, which would provide additional sales revenue streams and customer contact point.

Our customers will benefit from a comprehensive range of mobility solutions, from electric car sharing to innovative car subscriptions, rentals and leasing

Alex Hughes, Managing Director

Drivalia aims to grow from 25 to more than 80 locations in major towns and cities within the next two years. The company is looking to do this through a franchising model via partnerships with already established companies such as car dealerships, car parking, hotel and leisure venues and campervan hire.

Alex Hughes, Managing Director of Drivalia, says: “There are now more ways than ever that motorists can access a car, with many choosing to rent, lease, share or subscribe to a vehicle, rather than buying one. As this trend continues, we want to ensure that we make it as easy as possible for customers to use Drivalia, which means expanding our network across the UK. We believe franchising high quality, experienced dealerships is an effective and efficient way to do this.”

An attractive aspect of becoming a franchise is that cost of entry for partners would be zero to minimal, and the fleet would be owned and managed by Drivalia.

What we offer to partners

Complete franchise set-up by Drivalia

• A fleet of ready-to-rent vehicles

• In-store shop set-up

• Branded desk

• IT equipment & broadband

• Signage (across the whole premises)

• Bespoke rental system software

Advertising & marketing

• Drivalia website & app

• Broker channels: Expedia, Rentalcars.com, etc.

Sales training and system support training

• Ongoing dedicated Regional Support Manager

• Exclusive territory

What benefits our partners get

• Zero set-up fee (in most cases)

• Fleet owned and operated by Drivalia (no holding costs to our partners)

• Revenue stream directly to you through all sales, including:

• Vehicle rental

• Vehicle upgrades

• Protection packages

• Additional drivers

• Unlimited mileage

• Revenue earned is based on utilisation of vehicles

• Support and backing of Drivalia UK and CA Autobank

Share our exciting journey

A mobility services company going places

Areas of interest

Drivalia operates across the UK and has identified a number of regions within which it would like to establish new franchises.

Do you have car parks in these areas?

• Scotland (Inverness, Dundee, Perth and Central area)

• Newcastle & North East

• Carlisle & North West

• Yorkshire

• Midlands

• Wales

• Devon & Cornwall

• South Coast

• East Riding

Drivalia is a pan-European company from the Crédit Agricole Auto Bank Group, which is in turn part of Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance. Created to provide motorists with a comprehensive range of mobility solutions, Drivalia offers an array of services from electric car sharing to innovative car subscriptions and rentals of all durations –including operational leasing. The company also supplies innovative mobility plans that combine flexibility, digital use, on-demand approach, and sustainability.

Today, Drivalia operates in seven European countries – the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Its ‘Planet Mobility’ integrated mobility system covers vehicle rental, leasing, sharing and subscription. Established in 2022, following the rebranding of the Leasys Rent operations, Drivalia intends to become one of the leading players in the new mobility sector in Europe.

Drivalia opens first UK franchise

Drivalia’s first UK franchise operator is Research Garage Group in Nuneaton. The partnership, which was unveiled in May, represents a key milestone in the expansion of Drivalia’s UK network, and demonstrates significant progress in the company’s wider commitment to becoming one of Europe’s leading operators in the new mobility sector.

Alex Hughes, Managing Director of Drivalia, says: “Welcoming Research Garage Group into our network marks a significant achievement for Drivalia and its expansion plans. It’s thanks to Research Garage Group’s reputation for exceptional customer service and a strong focus on customer satisfaction, that Drivalia customers can expect to be well served.”

Sunderland’s Riverside car park opens

6500-space multistorey features striking illuminated façade

Sunderland Riverside’s new car park has officially opened its doors. The new multi-storey car park at Farringdon Row is now fully operational, having opened on a temporary basis to support Beyonce and Pink concerts in the city during May and June.

The 650-space car park was designed by award-winning architectural practice Tonkin Liu to act as a landmark building. It will be illuminated by night using a blue wave motif, with coloured displays occasionally being used to mark key moments and awareness days in the North East city’s calendar.

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland has a strong association with light, so it’s fitting that the new spaces we are creating as we transform the city centre should feature it so spectacularly in their design.

“There’s a quality to the design of our new buildings that points to the ambition we have for this city. We want our residents to see exceptional buildings, because we want to create an exceptional city. And that applies to every new space we create.”

Groundwork to prepare the area started in November 2022, with construction partner Sir Robert McAlpine and car park

specialist Goldbeck Construction working on the main structure of the multi-storey, which will deliver parking provision to support the city centre, in particular people who will live, work and play at Riverside Sunderland as the development moves forward. Some 10,000 new jobs are expected to be created at Riverside Sunderland, with 1,000 new homes also set to be built and a range of new leisure developments including Culture House – a new interactive, immersive library – and Sheepfolds Stables, a food and drink venue on the edge of Stadium Park.

A new Eye Hospital, replacing Sunderland Eye Infirmary, will also be located on the Riverside Sunderland site, meaning spaces in the cashless car park will be well-used by residents, commuters and visitors.

Cllr Miller said: “With so many developments taking shape, new places to eat, drink and have fun, and office spaces that will welcome many thousands of people, it is important that we have the facilities to support our transforming city centre to realise its vast potential.”

It is hoped that extra car park capacity will reduce pressure on

Building walls of metal, plants and light

other city centre parking such as the St Mary’s multi-storey. The new car park will operate outside of normal working hours, to support the evening economy in the city centre, and will operate through a combination of prepaid permits and paid parking. Its position on the edge of the city centre, linked by the Strategic Transport Corridor to Sunderland communities, will also help reduce congestion in the heart of the city and by consolidating parking in one large facility the multi-storey will help to achieve a pedestrian-priority for Riverside Sunderland.

also designed the famous Tower of Light in Manchester.

The façade features perforated panels designed by Tonkin Liu. The perforations will form an abstract wave image on the side of the car park, complemented by a full height living wall on its lift and stair tower.

The façade was manufactured by Maple. Nearly 1,900 perforated panels that cover an area of 3,800 square metre and are anodised in silver to help bring the architect’s concept to life, and also protect against corrosive salty air. The coastal location also means that noncorrosive A4 stainless steel fixings havel been used.

The façade of Sunderland Riverside’s new car park combines metal, light and plants. The £14m structure on Farringdon Row will provide 650 spaces catering for the increased number of people who will live, work and visit the city.

The car park will be used by workers in

new offices that will rise from the ground on the site in the coming years, as well as residents and visitors to the area.

The development will use controlled illumination to create a bright urban landmark, with an illuminated exterior designed by architects Tonkin Liu, who

The car park is Maple’s latest collaboration with car park specialist Goldbeck Construction, which had been sub-contracted by Sir Robert Maclaine.

The green wall façade was delivered by ANS, with whom Maple worked with on the new Victoria Square car park in Woking and an 800-space multi-storey for Chester’s Northgate development.

The Riverside Sunderland car park

The car park is on Farringdon Row

Silverstone commissions solar car parks

3ti sets up Papilio3 units ahead of the British Grand Prix

The Silverstone race circuit has installed three solar-powered electric vehicle units across its site ahead of a busy summer of motorsport. The solar car parks were designed and installed by 3ti to provide sustainable EV charging for visitors and staff as part of its Shift to Zero strategy.

The 3ti Papilio3 charging hubs have been custom branded specifically for Silverstone and were in position ahead of the British Grand Prix, the biggest weekend in British motorsport.

The Papilio3 combines local mains power with solar panels, a battery and EV chargepoints, allowing businesses to deploy 12 fast chargepoints in one go.

Manufactured using recycled shipping containers, Papilio3 is installed with just under 20kWp

of solar capacity and can fast charge 12 EVs at 7, 11 or 22kW.

One of the three units at Silverstone will be enhanced by 1MW of energy supplied from an existing solar array on the roof of the Wing International Conference and Exhibition Centre.

Stuart Pringle, managing director of Silverstone, said: “Our Shift to Zero initiative is well

Crewe Alexandra’s green plan

underway as we strive to improve sustainability across the venue. We are always looking at ways to further reduce our carbon footprint, and installing solarpowered EV charging was an obvious step. We were drawn to Papilio3 because of the speed at which the solution could be deployed and the number of chargepoints immediately available for use by staff and visitors.

around Mornflake Stadium have no space for these charging points, but we will soon be able to offer such a facility to them. The club will also be able to offer charging points to travelling supporters. Hardly any grounds across the UK have them.”

Each parking bay will be sheltered beneath a structure which contains a solar panel, with a number featuring charging points for electric cars, which would be useful for visiting supporters who have travelled large distances to games.

We can’t wait to see the solar car parks in full use as we head into our busiest period.”

Papilio3 was launched by 3ti in May 2022 to boost the rollout of Britain’s EV charging infrastructure and help decarbonise the transport sector. Designed and manufactured in the UK, Papilio3 can be installed in less than 24 hours, requiring minimal groundwork and no new grid connection, making it the ideal solution for workplace and destination charging.

Andrew Troop, sales director at 3ti, said: “The UK urgently needs more widespread EV charging infrastructure, and we would encourage more businesses to take Silverstone’s lead by installing charging on-site. We are passionate about helping our customers achieve their sustainability targets via the use of planet-friendly solar power as we transition towards a better future of electric mobility and sustainable fuels.”

Barclays banks on solar energy

Barclays Bank is to install solar panels above car parks at its offices in Cheshire.

Cheshire East Council’s northern planning committee has approved the application from Barclays Bank to install the photovoltaic cells above 925 parking spaces at the site at Over Peover.

Crewe Alexandra Football Club have been given the green light for a solar farm car park development.

On 31 May Cheshire East Council approved the club’s plan to construct a solar car port for the Mornflake Stadium car park on Gresty Road.

The project will see 3,000 solar panels constructed above parking spaces. The solar energy generated will provide car park users and local residents with access to electric vehicle charging points. It will also provide a new revenue stream to Crewe Alexandra over the long-term.

Crewe Alexandra director Tony Davison said: “I am delighted the solar farm has been approved and we can now move forward with the plans. There is no timescale yet for when the development will begin. We will look at the details again and get the project up and running.

“The long-term idea behind this project is to make Crewe Alexandra self-sufficient – selling the energy on to third parties to bring money into the club. This approval is a good first step towards achieving our goal which will benefit the club and local residents. This project gives Crewe Alexandra a new revenue stream for the next 20 to 30 years – helping us to remain a sustainable club.

“This investment – the club’s largest in more than two decades –will make Crewe Alexandra net carbon zero. It demonstrates our commitment to being more sustainable and lowering our environmental impact, in accordance with the EFL Green Clubs initiative.

“It will improve the provision of electric car charging points in the area, which will be available for use by local residents. Terraced houses

The energy generated could be used to power the stadium, or sold to a third party, or to the National Grid to provide an ongoing source of income.

Cheshire East’s planning officer was satisfied with Crewe Alexandra’s proposals. A council statement read: “The proposed development would create a solar photovoltaic array that would contribute to tackling the challenges of climate change, lessening dependence on fossil fuels and benefitting energy security.

“These benefits would accord with the framework’s renewable energy provisions, which indicate that the delivery of renewable, low carbon energy is central to the economic, social and environmental objectives of sustainable development. In terms of sustainability, the benefits of the provision of a source of renewable energy, for which there is a recognised need are accepted.”

About 4,000 staff are based at the site which houses offices, Barclays Bank plc and the original Grade II listed Radbroke Hall. Barclays will install photovoltaic cells above two car parks, one to the far west and the other to the far south-east of the site, which is off Stocks Lane at Over Peover.

The committee was told new trees would be planted to replace any which had to be removed.

The application was unanimously approved by the committee but, because the proposal represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt and is over a certain scale, that approval will be subject to consultation with the Secretary of State.

The Mornflake Stadium car park

A Papilio3 solar car park

Lichfield car park faces demolition

Clearance of 1960s multi-storey will enable redevelopment project

Lichfield District Council has submitted a planning application to demolish the multi-storey car park located on Birmingham Road. This move marks the commencement of a development project for the site, which the Lichfield City Centre Masterplan commits to delivering by 2026.

The multi-storey car park was built in the late 1960s and has undergone several rounds of extensive repairs and maintenance to extend its lifespan.

In 2020, a review of car park provisions in the city was conducted by highway and transportation consultants. The findings supported a parking and transport strategy aligned with the city centre masterplan. The study revealed that compared to similar towns and cities, Lichfield has the third-highest number of car parking spaces in the city centre.

User monitoring data indicated that the Birmingham Road multi-storey car park is underutilised, operating at an average

capacity of only 26% over the year. The report further concluded that Lichfield city centre has sufficient parking spaces, adequately meeting the demand.

Upon successful approval of the planning application, additional parking spaces in Frog Lane, opposite the train station and in the city centre, will be made available before the car park is demolished to cater for short-term parking needs for an interim period.

Ongoing collaboration with city centre design consultants and potential development partners will incorporate feedback from residents to create a citygateway scheme that the entire

community can take pride in.

To ensure the vacant site remains vibrant between demolition of the car park and construction of permanent new city centre amenities over the next few years, Lichfield District Council has devised a ‘Meanwhile-Use’ strategy in collaboration with key partners.

This approach will facilitate temporary activities, with the space hosting activities such as an outdoor theatre, an outdoor cinema, one-off events and popup retail and food options.

Priority will be given to local start-ups and businesses, bolstering the local economy and entrepreneurs from the district.

Taunton car park plans resubmitted

Developers say they have resolved traffic issues which caused an application to build a car park in Taunton to be refused. L&C Investments plans to build a car park on the site of a demolished store on a town centre site overlooking the River Tone.

The site is included within the Taunton 2040 Vision published by Somerset West and Taunton Council in 2021, with officials earmarking the site for up to 31 flats along with ground floor commercial space.

The property company applied for permission to build a car park on the former Poundstretcher site, off the A3807 Wood Street, in November 2021.

Somerset West and Taunton Council refused the project planning permission in February, citing “conflicting traffic movements”.

L&C Investments said its resubmitted proposals have taken into account the council’s fears over traffic on and around Wood Street. The new plans include 50 spaces for cars and a designated area for motorcycles, as well as the restoration of a footpath along the river.

Manchester’s ‘Oasis’ gets green light

court roof will feature a biodiverse planting of native British species, specifically selected for the region.

Mature trees will surround the charging ring and dominate the design, bringing with them further animal and birdlife to the site.

The chargers will be powered by renewable energy from Octopus Energy. Solar panels will further improve the carbon footprint of the development by providing clean energy for the commercial space.

Works at Reliance Street include significant groundworks to remove contamination from the former petrol station. This will be replaced by permeable surfaces that will collect rainwater to be repurposed to water the planted areas and service the commercial space.

Manchester City Council has given the green light to electric vehicle charging network Be.EV to build a large-scale charging ‘Oasis’.

Be.EV will transform a former petrol station site on the corner of Reliance Street and Oldham Road into a green forecourt and community hub.

The site will include commercial space for local businesses and provide ultra-rapid charging for 16 electric vehicles at any time, including accessible and

van-suitable spaces, as well as secure charging for electric bicycles. Be.EV, which maintains a network of public EV chargers in Greater Manchester, says the site’s 16 ultra-rapid chargers will charge a typical EV in as little as ten minutes, compared to 46 hours on a 7kW fast charger.

Anyone will be able to use the chargers, but Be.EV members will be able to access a discounted rate across the company’s network.

Reliance Street marks the

company’s first new generation ‘Oasis’ project, with further locations planned across the country.

Trees and biodiversity will form an integral part of the site’s design. A wildflower garden will form a natural boundary along one side of the site. Other planted areas throughout will include herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses. Be.EV has committed to a “net-biodiversity uplift” to bring nature back into the area.

The retail building and fore-

Be.EV to create ultra-rapid EV hub in Trafford

The Sale Water Park is set to receive a new charging hub via a £1m deal with EV charging network Be.EV. Sixteen ultra-rapid charger bays will go live at the 152-acre parkland and lake in August, making it the largest ultra-rapid charging hub in Greater Manchester.

It is the latest project in Be.EV’s wider collaboration with Trafford Borough Council, which has already seen more than 41 chargers go live across the region.

The ultra-rapid chargers mean drivers will be able to charge their cars from 20% to 80% in as little as 20 minutes. The site will be equipped with cutting-edge Kempower chargers that feature unique load balancing abilities. Kempower chargers can distribute energy supply between vehicles according to capacity and demand, meaning if one car reaches the maximum amount of power on one charger, any residual energy supply can be reassigned to another vehicle connected on-site.

Visitors to the Sale Water Sports Centre will benefit from the installation, with

kayakers, swimmers, dog walkers and sailors able to charge their vehicle whilst out on the water or dining at the Treetops Café or Boathouse Grill restaurant.

Located two minutes from the M60, Trafford residents and commuters will also be able to access the site around the clock, with the site able to charge over 380 cars on any given day.

Be.EV is Transport for Greater Manchester’s preferred charging partner, and the Sale Water Park site is helping the chargepoint network reach its target of

Be.EV chief executive Asif Ghafoor said: “Our plan for Reliance Street is truly innovative and reflects Be.EV’s ambition to lead the way in reimagining public infrastructure, creating great charging experiences for today and for the future.

“We worked with the talented team at Architect That to design a site that is not only functional but delivers regeneration in the local area, looks fantastic, and responds to the needs of the local community as it offers so much more than just charging.”

getting each of Trafford’s 236,000 residents within 10 minutes of a charger.

The council will retain ownership of the site and the chargers will be owned, installed and maintained by Be.EV, who will provide Trafford Council with a share of the site’s profits.

Cllr Aidan Williams, executive member for climate change at Trafford Council, said: “Since the council declared a climate emergency in 2018, we have committed to a range of activities in an effort to achieve zero carbon status for the borough as soon as possible. This includes the delivery of projects that encourage people to make more journeys by bike, on foot or using public transport. However, we fully understand that this is not always possible and that it’s vital we support people to have cleaner, greener vehicles.

“Becoming home to the largest ultrarapid charging point in Greater Manchester shows how serious Trafford is about electric travel. Ensuring the charging infrastructure is in place is a key component in making electric vehicle use a viable option for people in the borough.”

Be.EV’s Manchester forecourt and community hub will use trees, plants and flowers to rehabilitate a contaminated former petrol station site

Design for the Be.EV Oasis

Newcastle airport plans charging hub

Fastned to create an ultra-rapid EV charging forecourt

Newcastle International Airport is planning to build an electric vehicle (EV) charging forecourt with a coffee drive-thru facility.

Located on airport land at Callerton Parkway, which is just off the A696 and minutes from the A1, the ultra-rapid charging facility will serve a variety of customers including airport passengers; local commercial drivers such as taxi drivers waiting to pick up airport customers; commuters and visitors to the region.

The station is being created by chargepoint operator Fastned. It will comprise up to 12 charging bays and will be capable of adding up to 400 miles of range to fully-electric cars in 20 minutes.

The new stations will feature solar canopies

to help EV drivers locate the hub and then stay dry while charging their car.

Nick Jones, chief executive of Newcastle International Airport said: “The airport recently unveiled a road map to become a Net Zero Carbon Airport by the year 2035. As part of our journey, we have been working on some very ambitious projects, including a solar farm to supply the airport with renewable energy and replacing all of the Airport’s fleet of vehicles with electric models.

“As part of this strategy, providing access to a rapid charging facility for our customers and stakeholders that regularly use the airport site was a priority, therefore, we are delighted to be able to announce this project in collaboration with Fastned.”

Prior to submitting the planning application the airport will be consulting with local residents who will be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals.

InstaVolt unveils Super Hub plan

Chargepoint operator InstaVolt has submitting plans for its first Super Hub at Winchester. It will be positioned near the A34 junction, close to the M3 and just north of the historic city.

The proposal includes a solar, battery and grid combination to create what InstaVolt say will be the largest charging hub in the UK. The InstaVolt Super Hub will focus on the use of renewable energy including large ground-mount and roofmounted solar arrays and on-site energy storage systems.

On-site amenities are to include food, drink and toilets.

Adrian Keen, chief executive of InstaVolt, said: “This project highlights our commitment to expanding the UK’s rapid charging infrastructure on the strategic road network, and is the first of a number of InstaVolt Super Hubs in development. We’ll be improving leisure options for drivers on our network including plenty of open green space and a play park for energetic children. As well as

Tom Hurst, UK country manager for Fastned, said: “This project will help redevelop an under-utilised vehicle storage facility into a world-class EV charging hub, providing much needed infrastructure for the local community.

“We look forward to working with the local community and authorities to get the site up and running and bringing drivers the charging experience they deserve. Our UK operations started in the North East, at Sunderland in 2019, and we are incredibly proud to be taking things to the next level here in Newcastle.”

The new station plans come as Fastned was ranked the joint best charging point operator in the UK, according to users of the Zapmap chargepoint mapping service. Fastned’s most recent station opening in the North East was at Parson’s Road, Washington.

provision of long bays for larger vehicles, vans and towing vehicles. We also understand how important it is to ensure

our network is suitable for everyone, that’s why our plans include designs to create accessibility for all.”

Design for Newcastle Airport’s hub

Electric vehicle (EV) charging points are appearing in retail parks, hospital car parks and the car parks of all kinds of commercial premises across the country to help facilitate the transition to electric motoring, although some say the installation growth still needs to be faster.

Unsurprisingly there are a host of EV charging point providers springing up whose business is to operate the charging stations. They install and maintain the equipment, link to electricity networks and manage driver payments or, in some cases, bill landlords if the charging points are to be offered free to visiting customers.

As such landlords and EV charging point operators need to negotiate and enter into a lease that meets the current and future needs of both parties.

There are a number of standard features that lease negotiations need to consider, including: whether planning consent is required for construction of the EV station; the planning conditions attached to the landlord’s land stipulating a minimum number and type of parking bays to be provided; the right to install electrical cabling from the electrical grid to the EV station; and rights of entry on the land to allow maintenance, repair and renewal of the cabling. However, it is also important to consider the future needs of both parties given the rapidly evolving EV market.

EV operators will require a lease of between 10 and 20 years to recoup the significant infrastructure costs involved in installing an EV station. Operating incomes will clearly depend on usage and electricity supply and pricing. Models are helpful to a point. But it would not be unreasonable for a landlord to look to receive a performance rent calculated by reference to the EV operator’s net profit received from the EV station.

If electric vehicle car ownership continues to rise, the EV operator may need the option to lease an increased number of car parking spaces. However, equally the landlord may wish to relocate (lift and shift) the EV station to a different part of the car park in future. Leases should therefore specify whether this would be at the landlord’s cost and perhaps, include a rent free period whilst the EV station is out of operation.

There may be circumstances, such as the development of a new retail park nearby or the loss of an anchor tenant in a car park, which may lead to a drop of traffic, making the economics of the EV station no longer viable. The EV operator will look for the lease to reflect this, including the right for them to terminate the lease early.

The lease should set out clearly what equipment the EV operator will remove on termination of the lease and whether the landlord will purchase the equipment and if so, at what price. There may be

Let’s take a look at charging point leases

Car park landlords need to future-proof their leases with EV charging point operators, says Simon Robinson

A lease needs to meet the current and future needs of both landlords and EV chargepoint operators

considerable costs associated with the decommissioning of a charging area.

Exclusivity should also be a factor considered at lease negotiation stage. In addition, the lease should ideally also allow the EV operator flexibility to update their equipment; the power supply capacity; the design of the EV station; and specify what can be done with or without the landlord’s consent.

Whilst landlords may appear to have ‘the power’ and upper hand right now, it would be short sighted to stipulate terms which might render a charging station uneconomic in future. Given the pace at

which this market is developing and the different projections for how far it will go, it is important for both sides to get as much flexibility as possible in any lease terms negotiated. Otherwise, this is also going to be a growing area for disputes down the line.

Simon Robinson is real estate partner at Kingsley Napley LLP

Simon Robinson

Parkopedia joins forces with Plugsurfing

Partnership will provide drivers with in-car EV charging payments

Parking data and mapping specialist Parkopedia is connecting with an app that helps electric vehicle drivers locate chargepoints. Plugsurfing’s Drive API solution is being integrated into Parkopedia’s in-car Payment Platform. The aim of the partnership is to make it easier for drivers to locate, start, and pay for charging at chargepoints using verified Parkopedia data.

The service will provide access to a network of 500,000 chargers across Europe and seeks to address the main pain points experienced by EV drivers.

The partnership aims to make it easier for motorists to accurately find chargers and pay for charging sessions by bringing this service into the vehicle.

Plugsurfing is an e-mobility service provider (eMSP). Over 1.5 million drivers are connected to Plugsurfing through the vari-

ous apps and services it creates for its partners. Will Gill, chief product and technology officer at Plugsurfing, said: “We built Drive API so that our partners can create tailored charging solutions for their customers. Drivers don’t have to leave the car interface they know and love and can enjoy all the benefits of Plugsurfing’s network and service. Our new partnership with

Fuuse connects with Alio All

EV chargepoint management platform Fuuse are integrating with Crane Payment Innovations’ Alio All in one e-payment card reader, facilitated by software development partners Self Service Technology.

The integration sees Fuuse become the first EV charging platform to integrate with the Alio payment terminals.

Drivers can arrive at a Fuuse powered chargepoint with Alio terminal, connect their vehicle, begin and pay for their charging session with a simple tap of their bank card or NFC digital wallet.

The integration which initially piloted in October last year, aims to reduce frictions

for EV drivers, emulating the familiar experience of conventional pay-at-the-pump petrol stations.

Delivering the integration are Self Service Technology, software developers specialising in building kiosk applications.

Lee Jackson, managing director for Self Service Technology said: “For mass EV adoption, it is imperative that paying for EV charging is simple, safe and secure. This integration with Fuuse and Alio is a perfect example of partners working together to help drivers transition to new driving habits, making new experiences as seamless and familiar as possible.”

Parkopedia will bring even more convenience to drivers with this integrated solution, since EV drivers charge where they park.”

The collaboration sees Plugsurfing handling all payments and ensuring Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance as the ‘Merchant of Record’, while Parkopedia plays an orchestration role, combining EV charging payments with broader in-

car payment services, covering vehicle-centric services such as parking, through its Single Signon Payment Platform. Charging sessions can be started and paid for remotely or within the vehicle.

Duncan Licence, chief product officer at Parkopedia, said: “Parkopedia and Plugsurfing offer complementary services to EV drivers and this partnership enables automakers to benefit from the valuable combination of a substantial charging network, extensive parking and charging data and end-to-end in-car payment services.

“These are unified as part of Parkopedia’s Park and Charge service, which enables drivers to seamlessly locate, navigate to and pay for parking or charging from the car everywhere they go, as part of an enhanced and complete charging experience delivered directly to the driver. Combine this with Plugsurfing’s vast European charging network and we believe drivers now have access to the best possible charging process.”

Worldline launches payment suite

Payment specialist Worldline is launching a full-service payment solution dedicated to cater to the needs of the EV charging market.

With more than 695,000 new EVs registered in the EU, during the last trimester of 2022 – a 30% increase in comparison with the year before – the EV charging sector is one of the fastest growing industries across Europe, with demanding consumers and a need for smooth user journeys.

Worldline says its all-in-one payment solution has been developed for the very particular needs of network providers and users for the e-mobility segment.

Worldline EV Charging Payments is a modular suite designed to meet the specific needs of all players in the EV charging ecosystem: infrastructure owners, charging station manufacturers, chargepoint operators and mobility service providers across the European continent.

Worldline says its solution meets international and local payment requirements of

charging providers and retailers.

Additional features are specifically tailored to the charging process, such as preauthorisation, incremental authorisation and online reversal. The latter guarantees that funds do not stay blocked for too long on the driver’s bank account.

From an end-user perspective, Worldline EV Charging Payments Suite supports a range of charging use cases, such as tap & charge, scan & charge and park & charge. This is complemented by cross-border payment options such as international and national debit cards, credit cards, e-commerce payment options and mobile payments such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Parkopedia and Plugsurfing want to remove recharging pain points

Put ting the future on show

Parkex 2023 saw parking professionals gather to check out bright ideas and discuss the big issues

Birmingham became the focal point for the world of parking for three days in June when the annual Parkex exhibition landed at the NEC.

The event is a shop window for the latest innovations in parking payment, traffic management and the rapidly growing arena of electric vehicle charging. The show was also home to a theatre space that hosted debates organised by the British Parking Association on themes such as skills development, staff safety and preparing car parks for electric vehicles.

The event opened with a video address by transport minister Richard Holden, who said: “The government has worked closely with the BPA to develop smarter parking and want to maximise the benefit of real-time data.” Holden praised the development of the National Parking Platform. “Speaking as a motorist, on behalf of several million others, I look forward to a world where I can pay for parking the same way wherever I am. The platform will reshape the market, putting the emphasis on attracting the customer with the best product.”

The next Parkex will be co-located with Traffex and takes place at the CBS Arena in Coventry on 22-24 May 2024.

Parking technology companies competed for recognition on the Innovation Trail at Parkex 2023. The competition highlighted innovative systems and services on display in the show at Birmingham’s NEC. A group of nine companies exhibiting at the three-day event were selected to form the trail: AES Global, AppyWay, Barbour Logic, Buchanan Computing, ControlFreq, Metric, Planet, Unity5 (Zatpark) and VertexGIS.

The Judges’ Award saw the entries assessed by an expert jury while the People’s Choice winners were voted for by exhibition visitors. Once the decisions had been made and votes cast, a pair of trophies were presented within each category, one for small businesses and the other for medium or large ones

Barbour Logic was a double winner for its AI-powered Voice Master driver advice helpline, which picked up the Judges’ Award for small businesses and the People’s Choice Award. Jason Barbour, managing director of Barbour Logic, said: “We were thrilled with our double win at the Innovation Trail awards. Voice Master is an AI PCN helpline that increases inclusivity. People in digital poverty need a PCN helpline because they can’t get help online. People who struggle with literacy need a helpline too. I think Voice Master won the people’s votes as an innovation to help solve this social injustice.”

AppyWay won the Judges’ Award for medium and larger businesses. Dan Hubert, founder and chief executive of AppyWay, said: “It’s a great honour to win for a second year running. The Parking Platform demonstrates how truly innovative our approach is and how much the market is ready for it.

“The Parking Platform impressed the jury as it can immediately solve daily problems for parking managers, as well as help them prepare for the National Parking Platform (NPP). With digital Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) at the heart of the platform, parking managers are able to manage emission-based tariffs, view multiple datasets from third parties, and manage bay suspensions, to name a few. The most impactful part is its ability to consolidate third-party data and place it into the hands of UK drivers wanting more sustainable services from the kerbside.”

The Innovation Trail finalists

Richard Holden’s speech

AES Global won a People’s Choice Award for its e-Loop wireless traffic detection system. Glenn Ball, country manager at AEG Global, said: “The e-Loop is a true innovation in access control, and the applications across parking are wide and varied. It has all the hallmarks of an innovation: simplifying an existing process (triggering a barrier, gate, ANPR camera or anything with an electronic relay capability) and making it easier than ever to accomplish (doing away with underground wired loops), saving time, effort and destruction to existing surfaces.”

The competition is overseen by the British Parking Association, with the jury comprising Conor Greely (Carflow), Stuart Harrison (IntelliPark), Louise Parfitt (Parking News), Sarah Randall (Newham Council), Manny Rasores de Toro (MR Parking) and Kelvin Reynolds (BPA) Conor Greely, chair of the BPA’s Technology, Innovation and Research Board, said: “It is testament to the brilliant innovation occurring in the parking sector that there was such a strong field of entries this year, including AI, natural language, low power wireless kit and sophisticated software platforms.”

Let’s create safer spaces

The winners

Barbour Logic

Voice Master

The Judges’ Award: Small business/start-up winner

People’s Choice Award: Small business/start-up winner

Voice Master is an AI PCN helpline that is available 24/7 with no wait time. Motorists who have received a penalty charge notice simply call Voice Master, a digital agent who knows parking and the council’s policies inside out. For the caller, it is like talking to a helpful human expert who provides tailored PCN advice that enables the member of the public to decide what to do next. Voice Master can even write the caller’s query if they prefer, texting it to their mobile phone.

AppyWay Parking Platform

The Judges’ Award: Medium/large business winner

The Parking Platform is a nationwide kerbside and car park management solution that supports the UK government’s digital parking ambitions, known as the National Parking Platform (NPP). AppyWay’s end-to-end API empowers UK motorists with digital kerbside maps covering more than 500 towns and cities. It already pulls and pushes more real-time and predictive parking data than any other technology provider in the UK.

AES Global e-Loop

People’s Choice Award: Medium/large business winner

The e-Loop range replaces traditional wired inductive loops, saving time and money, all while increasing reliability. Simple surface-mount installation is available, with accessories to improve automated access control. The e-Loop is faster to fit and requires no digging. It is also easier to maintain and can be moved between sites or relocated easily.

Creating safer spaces for the public and people working in parking was a focus of much debate at Parkex 2023.

Anjna Patel MBE, chair of the British Parking Association (BPA), said that civil enforcement officers and agents all go above and beyond their role, so should be supported by their employers. “We owe it to them to make sure they can do their job safely,” she told delegates.

Jade Neville, British Parking Association president, opened the Women in Parking debate by drawing attention to how personal safety has become an issue to which the sector is now paying serious attention. The co-founder of Women in Parking said: “Last year we explored the issues of violence against women and girls, seeking a way to start a conversation about this from a sector perspective. A lot has happened in the past 12 months and it has surpassed all our expectations, gaining a lot of interest from the UK and further afield.”

Women in Parking co-founder Hannah Fuller, head of strategic relationships at Unity5, picked up the narrative. “We can use technology to keep our workforce safe from abuse,” she said. “A lot of parking apps will soon show car parks with Safer Parking Scheme Park Mark logos, so people know these are safe spaces. We want car park operators to make their facilities as safe as possible. A lot of providers are now offering ANPR that allows a civil enforcement officer to scan a number plate without drawing attention to themselves in the process. CCTV provides evidence, but we need explore how we can make it more proactive so, if someone is in trouble, there can be an instant reaction. We want to work with organisations that support our safety, and it should be the responsibility of employers. Let’s keep talking about it. It is a heavy subject, but if we don’t talk about it nothing will change.”

Thames Valley Police assistant chief constable Katy BarrowGrint said that work has begun between the police and the parking sector on creating a safer environment. The Police National Business Crime Centre has let the BPA know that it is keen for all incidents of violence against parking officers to be reported.

The panel and delegates agreed that it would be useful to have a national reporting day akin to the annual Blue Badge Day of Action to raise both public and sector awareness of the issue.

The Innovation Trail winners

The Women in Parking panel

The BPA’s Andrew Pester and DMUK’s Graham Footer

The Parkex Hub

The Unity 5 team

Unity5’s Hannah Fuller and Debit My Mobile’s Victoria Hall

Parking Associates’ Kirsty Reeves and Parking Matters’ Keith Williams

BPA president Jade Neville

BPA chair Anjna Patel MBE

The RingGo stand

Newham Council’s Sarah Randall seeing what the future holds

HUBER’s Tomer Meirom, Markus Lauble and Phillip Chater

NPED’s Alan Wood

The HUBER stand made a splash

Egis’s Gavin Manger and Nigel Coltman

Goldbeck’s Jenny Chevalier and Kristof Schlueter

Flowbird were on display

Dan Flower and Scott Allis of YourParkingSpace

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