Parking Review Issue 378

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January 2024 | #378

www.parkingreview.co.uk

HE AV Y DU T Y Has the time come to make owners of heavyweight SUVs pay more to park?

PA R K I N G • T R A F F I C • K E R B S I D E

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WELCOME JANUARY 2024 | #378

Making heavy emitting vehicle owners pay more to park could change behaviour

JLR

Putting a price on car inflation

Big sellers

Here’s an idea... the more your car weighs, the more you pay to park!

C

ars have been getting larger and heavier over the years, as can be seen by the way many modern models barely fit in standard parking bays. The trend towards bigger cars is embodied in the sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Their comfort, and the sense of safety they imbue in their drivers mean that SUVs are now the world’s largest automotive segment. These rugged looking 4x4s are designed to be suitable for off-road driving, but most will probably never get their tyres dirty.

Critics of SUVs argue that these vehicles pose a danger to pedestrians and cyclists, create potholes and are bad for the environment because they have higher emissions. These concerns have led to cities such as Edinburgh and Paris to look at discouraging or restricting larger and heavier vehicles through parking permits and environmental orders.

In a new report the climate change charity Possible argues that higher parking charges for heavy emitting cars can raise revenue for public transport and active travel improvements while incentivising those who can most afford to switch to electric vehicles faster. However, electric SUVs remain large and heavy vehicles, so remain problematic in terms of road safety, wear and brake particulates. This realisation informed a decision by Islington Council in London to devise a forward-looking parking permit scheme that differentiates between small and large electric vehicles. Expect more councils to follow.

Mark Moran Editor

Parking Review online: www.parkingreview.co.uk

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COVER IMAGE: GRAPHIC BASED ON IMAGE BY JANICE LUCAS/UNSPLASH

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Making Complex Parking Processes Simple.

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CONTENTS

22 24 26 31 32 35 38

A magical history tour Oxford has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the country’s first permanent park & ride site

The future of parking starts here The annual Traffic + Parking conference discussed a wide range of policy, operational and technological trends

Just the Ticket!

Andrew Potter and Tom van Vuren explore the Transport Planning Society’s new Parking Policy Statement

Promoting positive parking The British Parking Association’s annual dinner celebrated collaboration, community building and creative writing

The journey to a new world The International Parking Community discussed the single code of practice for private land at its annual conference

Parking structures A look at Bristol Airport’s plan for a new transport interchange and a round-up of car park developments and demolitions

Putting parking on the map A special focus on digital mapping and traffic order mapping systems from AppyWay, Buchanan Computing and VertexGIS

EVolution The latest developments in electric vehicle infrastructure

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

Parking Review was launched in 1989. It is the only independent magazine dedicated to the UK parking sector.

Published by: Landor LINKS Ltd, Apollo House, 359 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5QY

ISSN: 0962 3599

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JACK LUCAS-SMITH, UNSPLASH

PARKING POLICY

A Range Rover in London

Weighing up the price of parking Possible argues emissions-based parking and road user charges should be used to target SUVs, reports Deniz Huseyin

A

s sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have become more popular among the richest households, the historic link between low incomes and polluting cars has been broken and reversed, according to a new report by the climate charity Possible. It argues that the social justice arguments against charging motorists according to how much they pollute have been “first nullified and then overturned”.

The rise of SUVs has strengthened the case for carbon emissions-based parking and road user charging that targets the heaviest emitters, says Possible.

“Pricing carbon into car access and parking fees will disproportionately impact the richest motorists,” the report states.

“While new charges for private car use are far from being the only things required to meet climate goals – new large scale investment in public transport provision being a notable example not discussed in this paper – they will inevitably be required in some form.”

The report points out that average CO2 emissions per kilometre (gCO2/km) from new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are no longer falling at the UK and London levels, and are rising in urban areas where large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are most popular, such as Kensington & Chelsea.

With the growing popularity of larger, heavier, more powerful cars such as SUVs, a car that was bought new in 2013 is, on average, likely to have lower CO2 emissions than a new ICE car bought in 2023, says the report.

Possible estimates that the richest fifth of households in England are 81% more likely to own a super-heavy emitting car (226gCO2/km or above) than those in other income bands.

The charity says: “In Kensington & Chelsea, the large SUV capital of Britain, heavy and super-heavy CO2 emitting cars are far more prevalent in the highest income postcodes.”

Drivers of heavy emitting cars are likely to be people that have the means to buy an electric vehicle, says the report. “The retail

6 | PARKING REVIEW

price of each vehicle class is similar, while super-heavy emitting cars are the most expensive on the market, costing far more than a typical EV. In the midst of a rapidly worsening climate crisis, it should not be controversial to target higher charges at fossil-fuelhungry vehicles that may be more than three times as damaging to the climate as the average new car, and which are disproportionately owned by those on the highest incomes.”

Imposing the highest parking and road user charges on the heaviest-emitting vehicles is likely to be highly effective in decarbonisation terms, and also highly equitable, according to Possible.

“Despite falling costs, EVs are still relatively expensive to buy, often meaning they are not yet in reach for those on lower incomes. Higher charges for heavy emitting cars can both raise revenue for public transport and active travel improvements at the same time as incentivising those who can most afford to switch to EVs faster.”

Road user pricing is urgently needed to plug the “growing black hole in treasury revenues from falling fuel duty as EVs grow in popularity”, the charity argues. “But we do not need to wait for road user pricing to act; local authorities too have levers to pull, through the fee structures they apply to both short stay parking and to residents’ parking permits.”

Possible advises councils with a high share of private vehicles parked on-street, such as Kensington & Chelsea, to introduce a “heavy-carbon parking surcharge” for the heaviest CO2 emitting cars. “This could follow the familiar structure used for income tax bands, with emissions above certain thresholds – 160gCO2/km for heavy- and 220gCO2/km for super-heavy-emitting cars – charged at escalating rates.”

The report notes that Camden Council is “consulting on introducing just such a sliding scale for residents’ and businesses’ parking permits”.

Tractor Attack: Fairness in pricing traffic pollution and rising SUV emissions in Kensington & Chelsea and beyond www.wearepossible.org

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PARKING POLICY

Edinburgh explores banning SUVs The City of Edinburgh Council is to consider banning SUVs from parts of the city because they endanger pedestrians and cyclists, create potholes and are bad for the environment. Proposals are to be drawn up to discourage or restrict larger and heavier vehicles through parking permits and environmental orders.

At a cabinet meeting last year, Green transport spokesman Chas Booth told fellow councillors: “It may well be appropriate for a farmer in Fife to have a Land Rover, but it’s not appropriate for a banker in Bruntsfield. If they don’t also own a farm up in the Highlands, it’s not appropriate for them to have a massive great gas-guzzler.”

The Transport and Environment Committee examined data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which revealed that pedestrian deaths involving SUVs are increasing at a faster rate than other cars. It also looked at data from the VIAS institute in Belgium which suggests that with every 300kg increase in the mass of a car, the probability of death for vulnerable road users increases by 23%.

The committee pointed to recent calls from the European Transport Safety Council to ban SUVs in urban areas. It was agreed at the meeting that the next road safety delivery programme, due to be presented to committee in March 2024, should explore the feasibility of steps to discourage or restrict larger and heavier vehicles in the city including via parking permits and environmental orders.

The council’s new Local Traffic team is to draw up plans for the roll-out of modal filters to any residential neighbourhood.

The committee noted that modal filters can have “significant road safety benefits” when introduced in residential neighbourhoods.

Cllr Scott Arthur, transport and environment convener, said: “Road safety is of utmost importance to the council, and alongside measures to support safe and accessible travel for all road users, our Road Safety and Local Traffic teams provide an essential service. As part of an update on the Road Safety – Service and Delivery Plan, the Transport and Environment Committee agreed to investigate ways of discouraging larger, heavier and less efficient vehicles in the city, including via parking permits and environmental orders, due to their disproportionate impact on pedestrian safety.”

Paris to vote on SUV tariff The Mayor of Paris plans to triple parking charges for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in a bid to reduce emissions by targeting the owners of the biggest and most polluting cars. During her term in office, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has been increasing parking costs and gradually banning diesel vehicles, while expanding the bicycle lane network in the congested capital.

The number of on-street parking spaces has been decreased in order to make drivers use underground parking. Now it is the rise of the SUV that has drawn her attention.

Hidalgo said the SUV parking tariff was about taking action for the climate crisis, road safety and air quality. The plan, she said, would also benefit the 500,000 Parisians who live near the ring road, the Périphérique. “It is a form of social justice,” said Hidalgo. “This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behaviour that have to be made for the climate.”

The referendum to be held on 4 February will ask residents to vote for or against a parking tariff on heavy, large and polluting SUVs. A referendum last year banned rented electric scooters.

It is proposed that the cost of on-street parking for an SUV or 4x4 car should rise to €18 (£15) an hour in the centre of Paris and €12 an hour in the rest of the city. The prices will apply to vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes with a combustion engine or hybrid vehicles, and to electric vehicles weighing more than 2 tonnes. However, the price will not apply to Paris residents’ parking.

If Paris residents vote in favour of the plan, the new parking fees will begin next spring. Hidalgo has suggested the SUV parking tariff could raise €35m.

The growing problem of SUVs Heavy sports utility vehicles undermine climate benefits of other vehicle improvements, says GFEI

T

he growing market share and huge size of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are undermining opportunities to mitigate the impact of vehicle improvements even with the growing shift to electric vehicles (EVs), says a new report by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI), supported by the FIA Foundation.

The report, Trends in the global vehicle fleet: Managing the SUV shift and the EV transition, examines global car market trends set against fuel economy developments. The shift to larger vehicles has damaged progress on climate, energy security and diversification, as energy demand and CO2 emissions could have fallen 30% more between 2010-2022 if vehicles had stayed the same size.

However, the size of the average car has ballooned as the trend for SUVs took off, meaning the global annual rate of energy intensity reductions – the fall in fuel used – of light-duty vehicles (LDV) averaged 4.2% between 2020 and 2022.

The GFEI report shows SUVs now represented a majority of the new car market (51%), and the average LDV weight had reached an all-time high of more than 1.5 tonnes. Cars are also getting bigger, with the average footprint of a new model reaching 4.2 square metres. SUVs have continued to grow in market share, size, and weight with significant impacts on climate goals. Larger, heavier, and more powerful vehicles have continued to gain popularity in major automotive markets in nearly all countries. SUVs now represent the most profitable models for manufacturers, sold at a premium for proportionally lower manufacturing costs, which leads most of them to resist and slow the transition to EVs. The report calls for governments to place restrictions on vehicle sizes to reverse the SUV trend. Policy recommendations include more stringent environmental and safety regulations on highly utilised vehicles such as company cars, taxis, government fleets, and ride- and car-sharing services.

The report also calls for investment in renewables, a reversal of fossil fuel subsidies, with the application of carbon pricing, regulations on minimum EV charging deployment and financial instruments designed to facilitate affordable access to EVs. The reduction in emissions from the motor industry has been driven by an uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), which reached 15% of market share in 2022. The report also said markets with strong growth in this area, such as China and Europe, had the largest annual energy efficiency improvements of close to 6%. North America, which has a lower market uptake of EVs, recorded a yearly improvement rate of just 1.6%.

Sheila Watson, the deputy director of the FIA Foundation, an environmental and road safety charity, said: “Growing vehicle size is a huge problem which is threatening many aspects of sustainable mobility, from climate to road safety. This report shows that we must move away from these mega-vehicles if we are to achieve the GFEI goal of doubling the fuel efficiency of cars by 2030. Vehicle size matters – and in this case bigger is definitely not better.”

Dan Sperling, the founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, said: “Reversing the trend toward bigger and heavier vehicles is key to achieving more sustainable mobility. This applies also for electric mobility, to make the market for EVs more equitable and inclusive – and to reduce the need for critical minerals and more electricity.”

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NEWS

Edinburgh set to enforce pavement ban Prohibition on footway parking will benefit pedestrians Enforcement against parking on pavements, parking at dropped kerbs and double parking will begin in Edinburgh on Monday, 29 January.

National regulations giving Scottish councils the power to enforce the new rules came into effect on 11 December.

The law change addresses the inconvenience inconsiderate parking causes to all road users, in particular those with mobility issues, visual impairments, and people with pushchairs.

The prohibitions first featured in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, though the necessary regulations required to support the enforcement and appeals procedures have only recently been finalised by Transport Scotland.

Anyone found to be parked on a pavement, double parked, parked at a crossing point or parked on a verge between roads and pavements could be subject to a £100 fine, reduced to £50 if paid within the first 14 days.

There are no exemptions in place.

Following an assessment of more than 5,000 roads, officers

have identified a small number of streets where there is significant pavement parking and have written to these properties to help them prepare for the measures. Once the ban is in place monitoring will continue to ascertain whether any of these streets require mitigation measures, such as double-yellow lines, to minimise potential negative impacts on the wider road network.

Cllr Scott Arthur, transport and environment convener, said: “These new rules are about making our streets safer and more

accessible for everyone, in particular those with visual impairments or mobility issues.

“I’ve heard from many people who say the change will make their day-to-day life much easier.

I have also been pleased to hear that, as a result of our publicity campaign, pavement parking is already reducing in some areas.

“Officers have been working hard over recent months to prepare for the changes coming into force and have been in contact with residents on streets where pavement parking is a real problem. I am proud that

Living Streets: Let’s get the pavement parking ban right Scotland becomes the first UK nation to introduce a ban on pavement parking next week.

Under rules introduced on 11 December 2023, drivers in Scotland can now be fined £100 for parking on the footway.

Living Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking has called on local authorities in Scotland to implement the ban properly following concerns that some councils plan mass exemptions and have limited plans for enforcement. In a letter to local authorities, Stuart Hay, director of Living Streets Scotland, said mass exemptions would contradict Scottish Government guidance and conflict with obligations under the Equalities Act to protect older and disabled people.

The issue was highlighted in the Scottish National Walking Survey 2023 where 46% of people listed pavement parking

8 | PARKING REVIEW

as being a problem they encounter. This level was similar to 2019 data, which also showed a fifth of people had to choose different walking routes due to obstruction.

Meanwhile, research by Living Streets found that a quarter of over-65s are prevented from leaving their home because of obstructed pavements and 87% of parents in Britain have been forced into the road because of vehicles blocking pavements.

Hay said: “Parking on the

footway is inconvenient for us all and incredibly dangerous for older and disabled people, who are forced into the road and oncoming traffic. Scotland is leading the way by becoming the first UK nation to say enough is enough and introduce an explicit ban, now we need to make sure we get it right.

“Mass exemptions seriously undermine the ban and will put people at risk if they aren’t introduced following rigorous assessments and consultation.

Ongoing promotion of the ban and engagement with communities is also vital to ensure the implementation is effective. Without sufficient enforcement capacity many groups including disabled people will feel badly let down.

We want to see targeted and proactive action in known hotspots where pavements need to be cleared of obstructing cars.”

Edinburgh is leading the way on enforcing the ban, and that all political parties here agree that no street should be exempt.

I’d expect everyone to adhere to the new prohibitions once in place, but we’ll continue to monitor streets across the city to make sure the impacts on the wider network are minimal.”

City of Edinburgh Council has long supported a ban on pavement parking and has collaborated with Living Streets and Guide Dogs Scotland to lobby for the introduction of controls in Scotland.

Making Edinburgh more accessible An Accessibility Commission has been tasked with ensuring Edinburgh’s public spaces are as inclusive as possible for disabled people. Internationally recognised disability activist Zara Todd has been appointed as chair of the Accessibility Commission.

Todd, who has previously been chair of Inclusion London and deputy chair of public body Equality 2025, has advised the British Council, the Fundamental Rights Agency and Transport for London on disability and accessibility issues.

She said: “As a disabled Edinburgh resident it is great to see the council taking accessibility seriously, I look forward to working with everybody involved.”

City of Edinburgh’s Transport and Environment Committee will be asked to note the next steps for establishing the commission, including its Terms of Reference.

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NEWS

Transport for West Midlands rolls out Save-a-Space service A parking bay reservation system which allows commuters to prebook spaces at park & ride car parks is being rolled out across selected West Midlands Metro stops.

The Save-a-Space booking system helps Metro users plan their journeys, providing certainty for people who need to travel later due to shift patterns, childcare or other reasons that they can get a parking space at sites which are often full by 9am.

To reserve a space, users need to download the Save-a-Space app, select their preferred site, date and time and confirm their booking by paying a fee of £3.60.

Proceeds go towards supporting the service and the maintenance of park & ride sites.

Save-a-Space was first introduced in 2016 as part of a trial funded by Innovate UK. The service proved popular so Transport for West Midlands (TfWM)

agreed to continue offering it after the funding expired, introducing a charge to help contribute towards the cost.

Following COVID-19 the service was reinstated at existing Save-a-Space locations at seven key railway stations. Commuters across the region will now be able to reserve spaces at three more – Black Lake, Priestfield and Wednesbury Parkway.

Cllr Mike Bird, West Midlands Combined Authority portfolio lead for transport and leader of Walsall Council, said: “The Savea-Space service is a fantastic way to offer commuters a stressfree way to reserve their parking

spots. This initiative not only benefits the users but also contributes to the maintenance of our park & ride sites.”

TfWM has partnered with Accelogress, a technology company specialising in innovative parking solutions, to deliver the reservation system.

Ralf Kernchen, chief executive of Accelogress, said: “We are very excited to be rolling out Save-a-Space to more sites to benefit Metro users. We have taken the opportunity to make some improvements to the app and sign-up process so it’s easier than ever for customers to book a space.”

Bristol Airport fire crews tackle a large car park fire Fire crews were called out to tackle a blaze in a car park at Bristol Airport on 10 December.

The fire started in a parked car in the Silver Zone surface car park on the south side of the runway.

The blaze set alight 11 cars and completely destroyed around five.

The runway was closed for a short time as a safety precaution.

The incident did not cause any diversions to flights, though there were some minor delays.

An airport spokesperson said no one had been hurt and the blaze was quickly put out by Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Bristol Airport’s own fire crew.

“We’ll contact the owners of any damaged cars as soon as possible,” said the spokesperson.

JOE MCGRATH/BBC

Pre-booking for park & ride sites

The car park fire

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highlightparking.co.uk

+44 (0) 20 8769 7730

Improve the operation, safety and pro昀tability of your multi-storey car park with Highlight Parking’s new AI Vista Bay Monitoring Sensor 4 Sleek integrated camera lens design that detects vehicles using AI 4 Deployed over every bay or along the centre roadway 4 LEDs can be illuminated in 16,000,000 colours 4 Baywatch® Car Finder included 4 Flexible tari昀s controlled by you 4 User-friendly back o ce includes visual guides, and historical and live data repor琀ng 4 Allows mul琀ple AI func琀ons 4 Smoke and Fire Early Warning System (S.A.F.E.) provides 24-hour vehicle monitoring with detec琀on within seconds

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IMAGE: FIREMEN BATTLE A FIRE AT LONDON'S LUTON AIRPORT © GETTY IMAGES

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Highlight Parking has enhanced its S.A.F.E. smoke and fire detection system

Reducing the risk of car park fires with AI In bustling urban areas, car parks play a vital role in the daily lives of millions.

However, these spaces can pose an unexpected and potentially catastrophic risk. As the recent inferno at Luton Airport showed, fires in car parks can erupt in a matter of minutes to devastating effect. Now, Highlight Parking Systems has introduced an enhanced version of its ground-breaking AI-based solution that can significantly improve care park safety. The Highlight Smoke and Fire Early Warning System (S.A.F.E.) offers 24-hour uninterrupted monitoring of every vehicle and can detect smoke and fire within seconds.

The fire hazard in car parks

Car parks, both above and below ground, are essentially a store of flammable materials, and with hundreds of vehicles parked in close proximity, the risk of fire is ever-present. Traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) powered by petrol and diesel present fire hazards due to fuel leakage, overheating engines, and electrical faults. There is also the threat of an electrical fire from the increasingly popular electric vehicles (EVs) and their charging points.

Rapid detection is critical

The key issue in car park safety is the time it takes to detect and respond to fires. Normal ‘hot wire’ detection systems can take many minutes, sometimes in excess of 10 minutes to raise an alarm, these are crucial minutes that can be the difference between a manageable incident and a disaster. Some fires escalate so quickly that by the time traditional detection systems kick in, it may be too late to prevent extensive damage or serious injury.

“An effective early detection system is much

needed by car park operators,” explains Peter Gardner, Technical Director at Highlight Parking.

“There have been a number of high-profile car park fires over the years including the recent fire at Luton Airport as well as the Liverpool Echo Arena fire in 2017. While there were fortunately no casualties there was enormous damage costing insurers millions.”

Introducing S.A.F.E.

Highlight Parking Systems’ Smoke and Fire Early Warning System (S.A.F.E.) is a significant step forwards in car park safety. Using advanced AI algorithms and live camera feeds, S.A.F.E. can detect smoke and fire in mere seconds. This in turn enables significantly more response time to mitigate fire-related risks.

Immediately upon detecting a potential fire, S.A.F.E. alerts users via a range of channels, including sirens, email, and text messages. This rapid alarm system ensures that both vehicle owners and car park management can take swift action, contacting emergency services or safely dealing with the issue before the fire escalates.

Environmental and safety benefits

The greatest benefit of early fire detection is of course the enhanced safety of car park users and first responders, minimizing the risk of injury

or loss of life. However, there are substantial environmental and commercial advantages too.

Responding swiftly to fires, can significantly reduce resultant air pollution, toxic smoke and property damage, as well as preventing enormous insurance claims and loss of parking revenues.

In summary

In an era of ever-evolving urbanization car parks will continue to be integral part of our infrastructure for the foreseeable future and the potential fire risks associated with them will remain. The need for advanced fire detection systems in car parks is paramount to minimise the danger to the general public and the environment. Highlight Parking Systems Ltd.'s S.A.F.E. offers an effective solution by harnessing AI and camera technology to detect smoke and fire within seconds and maximising the time for the fire service to respond before the fire is out of control.

The fires continue...

Just as this article was being written another airport car park fire struck in Bristol. Whilst this was an open-air car park there was still damage to 11 cars. This highlights the continued threat of car park fires and the devastation they can bring.

About Highlight Parking

S.A.F.E.

Highlight Parking has been providing world-class parking solutions for multistorey (MSCP) and open air car park operators for over 20 years. Our goal is to take the pain out of parking through the provision of an innovative and constantly evolving portfolio of parking management systems.

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NEWS

Digital TROs will make driving easier Traffic authorities will be required to send their traffic regulation orders (TROs) to a new digital publication platform, making the data freely available online for anyone to use.

The government is to mandate that data such as the location of parking spaces is available for satnavs to ensure drivers always have the most accurate travel information.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said short-term traffic measures such as temporary speed limits or road closures which, until now are not automatically updated on digital systems, are sometimes missing from satnav systems. Digital TROs will also be crucial for ensuring autonomous vehicles can rely on accurate and up-to-date information so that they can operate safely once they start driving on British roads.

A clause that delivers this com-

ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

Government will mandate digitisation of traffic regulation orders

Many councils will have to digitise TROs mitment is included in the Automated Vehicles Bill, currently in Parliament.

Digital TROs are one part of a package of measures promised in the Plan for Drivers, a document unveiled during last year’s Conservative Party conference.

Alongside the spread of digital TROs, the government has announced consultation on a series of measures to prevent

utility companies from letting roadworks overrun and clogging up traffic as a result.

The consultation seeks to extend the current £10,000 per day fine for overrunning street works into weekends and bank holidays as a deterrent for working on the busiest days for road travel. Currently, they are only fined for disruption on working days. The measures could double

Harper: Hands-free cars could be on UK roads in 2026 Transport secretary talks about future of driving Autonomous vehicles could be seen on some UK roads by the end of 2026, transport secretary Mark Harper has said.

Harper told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he expected to see the owners of driverless cars able to travel without having to watch where they are going. He said he had seen the technology being used in California.

The transport secretary said people would need to have confidence that a proper safety regime was in place. He said: “The legislation is going through parliament at the moment, so hopefully we’ll get that through parliament by the end of 2024. Probably by as early as 2026 people will start seeing some elements of these cars that have full self-driving capabilities being rolled out.”

Harper said AV technology would only be rolled out gradually and that it would be up to individuals whether they wanted to use it. “It has a huge number of potential uses, the obvious one is 88% or so of

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Mark Harper road traffic collisions we see today are caused by driver error of some description,” he said.

“There is a real potential for this sort of technology to actually improve safety on the roads, not just for drivers, not just for passengers, but for other vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists – to really improve road safety, which is a real win for everybody.”

Some new car models already feature driver-assist technology which can maintain a vehicle’s position in line with surrounding traffic and keep them in the right lane.

However, the driver must keep their hands on the wheel and be looking at the road at all times. At present, only Ford’s Mustang Mach E will allow UK drivers to take their hands off

James May the wheel, and then only on certain stretches of motorway in England, Wales, and Scotland. The car maker also says Mach E drivers must keep their eyes on the road.

Ford’s BlueCruise director Charles Nolan said: “I think there is a way to go. In my view the technology would need to evolve, the software would need to evolve, and the regulation would need to evolve. And then the final part of it is customer acceptance, and ability to pay would need to evolve.”

The discussion was programmed by Today guest editor, motoring journalist James May, who said he thought the idea of an autonomous car driving him from the pub was a fantasy.

fines from £500 up to a maximum of £1,000 for companies who breach conditions of the job, such as working without a permit.

The plans would also direct at least 50% of money from lane rental schemes to be used to improve roads and repair potholes. Lane rental schemes allow local highway authorities to charge companies for the time that street and road works occupy the road. The DfT estimates that the measures could generate up to £100m extra over 10 years to resurface roads.

Roads minister Guy Opperman visited a highway depot in Kent on National Pothole Day to mark the announcement. He said: “This government is on the side of drivers, which is why we’re making travelling by road much easier. Everyone knows the frustrations of being sent down a closed road by your satnav, so by going digital with our traffic information, we’re making sure that drivers have the very latest travel information to rely on.”

Traffic signs guide published by DfT A guide to traffic signs has been published by the Department for Transport. Know Your Traffic Signs is an accompaniment to The Highway Code that aims to illustrate and explain the most common traffic signs that the road user is likely to encounter.

The 172-page book contains new guidance and images on clean air zones, ultra-low emission zones and low emission zones in London, tunnel restriction codes, parking places for electric taxis, bus gates, share space and parallel crossings.

Know Your

Traffic Signs

This guide is for all

road users

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NEWS BRITISH PARKING ASSOCIATION

D

rivers do not want to see the cost of deterrents to parking on private land reduced, claims the British Parking Association (BPA).

The government is currently deciding whether or not to go ahead with proposals to reduce cost of parking charge notices (PCNs) for breaking parking rules in private car parks across England, Wales and Scotland.

As part of plans to introduce a new code of practice and appeal systems for private parking, the government is proposing most £100 PCNs (discounted to £60 when paid within 14 days) would be changed to £50 PCNs (discounted to £25).

The British Parking Association, which represents around 750 organisations, has been critical of the plan to reduce the cost of PCNs in car parks.

Counter to recent announcements by the government, the association argues that motorists are overwhelming opposed to recent proposals to reduce parking charge notices in privately owned car parks.

The BPA cites the result of a survey of over 3,000 people in the UK found that the majority opposed the proposed reduction of PCNs. The research was conducted on behalf of the association by Walnut Unlimited.

The survey suggested that if the cost of PCNs is reduced, all motorists may have to pay more for parking in the form of higher parking tariffs. This led to 41% of motorists disagreeing with a reduction.

(21% of respondents supported the proposed reduction, 27% neither supported or opposed the idea and 10% did not know.)

Some 38% of those surveyed also agreed that motorists who break parking rules should fund the costs of providing private car park management and enforcement services. This view is supported by the BPA, which agrees that selfish and rule-breaking motorists need to be sufficiently deterred and that the cost involved in preventing such behaviour should not be borne by all motorists.

The creation of a new code and appeals body is set out in the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, which was a rare example of a Private Member’s Bill becoming law. The new code would replace separate ones run by the sector’s two trade bodies, the British Parking Association and the International Parking Community.

The BPA is asking that the government press ahead with the introduction of the new code of practice, which align with the association’s longstanding call for a single independent appeals service, and a standard setting body to oversee and regulate parking on private land.

The aim of the Act and therefore the code is to ensure clarity and fairness for the large majority of compliant motorists who park and do not receive a PCN. But

Drivers are fine with the cost of penalties Motorists don’t want government to cut cost of parking penalties, says British Parking Association for the code to be effective a sufficient deterrent against inconsiderate parking behaviour needs to exist, something people in the UK agree with.

“The results of this survey support our view that the government should abandon plans to reduce PCN caps. Motorists and the parking sector all agree that a deterrent is needed to ensure people can use private parking facilities safely and easily. A small, but significant, minority of motorists currently abuse the system.

“Government plans would actually reward those motorists to the detriment of those that follow the rules and park considerately. We are pleased that this survey confirms that the majority of road users and motorists agree.

“We call on the government to work with us to ensure any new regulatory framework achieves its intended aim, without undermining the very measures which make the system effective in deterring noncompliance with parking rules and regulations.”

The BPA introduced the first code of practice for parking on private land in 2006 and an Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) in 2007. Membership of the AOS

enables private parking companies to access vehicle keeper data held by DVLA and so issue PCNs in the post.

In 2012 the BPA launched POPLA, an independent appeal service for tickets issued on private land allowing motorists access to free independent appeals.

About the survey Walnut Unlimited interviewed a nationally representative online sample of 3,031 UK adults aged 18+, between 30 October and 6 November 2023.

The sample was structured by nation as follows: • England - 2,074 responses • Scotland - 501 responses • Wales - 354 responses • Northern Ireland - 102 responses.

Demographic and geographical quotas were set to ensure a representative sample in each UK nation. At the analysis stage, data has been weighted to the profile of all adults aged 18+ in each nation and according to each nation’s share of the UK total. www.britishparking.co.uk

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NEWS

Parking policy can change driver behaviour Parking policy reform could encourage the transition to a sustainable transport system.

This is a key message in a new report from the Transport Planning Society (TPS).

The TPS parking policy statement, called Just the Ticket!, outlines 18 parking policy recommendations to encourage behaviour change towards lower carbon travel.

The statement argues that current parking practice inadvertently promotes car ownership and use, as: • New developments are often required to provide abundant parking; • Parking on verges, pavements and other public spaces goes unchallenged; • There is a widespread expectation that parking should be provided, and at a low cost, and; • There is little discussion or understanding regarding the costs that the parking of cars and other vehicles can impose on others in society through

ANDREW POTTER

Transport Planning Society proposes a low carbon approach

TPS sees cycle parking, servicing and al fresco dining as a better use of the kerbside congestion, noise, pollution, consumption of space and risks they pose to vulnerable road users.

Just the Ticket! provides a comprehensive analysis of various parking policy measures to reduce these impacts and overall car-dependency, in favour of more sustainable modes of transport. The recommendations include: • Increased use of charges and taxes for workplace parking.

• Enabling employers to provide tax-free incentives for non-car commuting to the workplace.

• Reducing parking provision

in residential areas to an agreed timeline as part of a long-term process of reducing cardependency.

TPS suggests that following these recommendations would make the allocation of road space more efficient and equitable. The society argues parking charges would be fairer by reflecting the impact of the whole car journey on the whole of society.

The TPS said the changes proposed would deliver benefits both immediately and in the long-term, driving behaviour change and helping decarbonise

Digitalisation will enhance kerbside management Transport Technology Forum publishes Deloitte’s discovery project report Managing the kerbside may not always get the attention it deserves but it is an essential part of a digital road network.

The Transport Technology Forum has published a report by Deloitte on how digitalisation could improve management and data integration of the kerbside.

The research pre-dates the government’s announcement in October that it would implement the National Parking Platform (NPP), which lays the foundation for digitising kerbside services.

The Department for Transport’s Kerbside Management Discovery research project looked at the current situation on the kerbside, which it described as “chaotic, dysfunctional and unsafe” because of extensive illegal and non-compliant activity at the kerbside.

Researchers from Deloitte Digital noted that this is a growing issue because the kerbside is facing new and increased demands, for example from new forms of mobility and expansion in online delivery services, along with a vast increase in kerbside electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints and more use of micromobility.

16 | PARKING REVIEW

AUGUST 2022

Kerbside Management – Discovery Report Reimag agin ining ng trans nsportt and freig ight, ht, servic vicin ing and delive very access to the kerbsid ide

User research for and on behalf of the Department for Transport, Traffic and Technology Division

Kerbside Management: Discovery Project The project was designed to identify new tools and approaches, such as data models and market innovation being used to deliver a more digitised kerbside potentially capable of responding more dynamically to changing demands.

Deloitte carried out 20 in-depth interviews and three independent reviews with SMEs, along with a study of more than 50 existing reports into kerbside issues and solutions. This led to suggestions around five work packages and five more so-called “areas of opportunity” for potential further study.

Deloitte suggests that further research could be done to help communicate government policy around kerbside management, support local authorities in managing conflict and demand, look at data standards and integration and what

the way we travel.

Tom van Vuren, director of policy at the Transport Planning Society, said: “Parking is often one of the most hotly contested issues in a neighbourhood, yet the lack of effective parking policy takes public space away from vulnerable road users and more valued alternative kerbside usage, and so contributes to further local air and noise pollution, and congestion.

“This report shows the pivotal role of well-designed parking measures in reducing car dependence and use, promoting alternative modes of travel, ultimately cutting our transport emissions and reclaiming public space.”

Just the Ticket! was produced

by Andrew Potter, director at Parking Perspectives, who said: “As all car travel relies on parking at the start and end of each journey, parking policy has a significant influence on how people choose to travel. The recommendations outlined in Just the Ticket! offer a clear and practical approach to reshaping parking policy to bring about progressive changes in behaviour needed for a greener transport network.” https://tps.org.uk

they can achieve, fund meaningful pilots and exploit co-operation opportunities between different existing initiatives.

The report suggests harnessing EV charging infrastructure roll-out to drive kerbside strategies, test more TRO concepts, commission a project discovery which will shape a national kerbside framework and strategy, and write a business case for kerbside management.

“The kerbside has become one of the UK’s most valuable transport assets. Better managing it represents a major lever for economic growth,” said Oliver ParsonsBaker, UK lead for Future of Transport at Deloitte. “By integrating EV charging rollout with kerbside access strategies, underpinned by emerging open data platforms such as DTROs and NPP, we could completely rethink a system currently designed to make illegal kerbside use inevitable. At Deloitte, we believe this represents a truly once in a generation opportunity to take a step towards decarbonised, greener, safer, more liveable cities.”

Deloitte spoke to local authorities, solutions providers and organisations including Transport for London, Coventry City Council and Harrogate Borough Council, Grid Smarter Cities, Voi Scooters and AppyWay, as well as the RAC, Disabled Motoring UK and Living Streets. https://ttf.uk.net/

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NEWS

B

lue Badges are disabled parking cards issued by local authorities to help people with mobility issues park closer to the goods and services they need to use. In August 2019, Blue Badge scheme eligibility criteria were extended to include more people with non-visible and neurological disabilities that may affect their ability to access goods and services.

Blue Badges are issued according to need of the applicant and are not related to any specific condition. Anyone may be awarded a Blue Badge if they meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria. Badges can also be issued to organisations who transport people with disabilities. Upon issue, a Blue Badge is valid for a period of up to three years.

More than 2.5 million Blue Badges are held in England, which means that disabled parking permits have been issued to 4.6% of the population. New data from the Department for Transport (DfT) reveals the region with the most Blue Badge holders as a proportion of their population is the North East, with 5.4%, while London was the lowest, with 3.1% As at 31 March 2023, data from the Blue Badge Digital Service (BBDS) database reveals 2.57 million Blue Badges were held, an increase of 5.7% since March 2022. The BBDS figures reveal between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 some 1.14 million badges were issued, an increase of 101,000 badges (9.7%) on the previous year. This increase is likely to be at least in part due to the effects of the gradual easing of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions on local authority processes and staffing. Some 39% of Blue Badges were issued without further assessment.

Access to a car Access to a car would seem to give disabled people a greater opportunity to travel.

Statistics on trips taken by disabled people are obtained from the National Travel Survey (NTS) reveal that, on average, in 2022 disabled adults in households with access to a car, and where they were the main driver, took more trips per person per year (879) than those in households without access to a car (493 trips), or those with access but who were a nondriver (565 trips). In 2022, 33% of disabled adults lived in households without access to a car, compared with 13% of non-disabled adults.

The NTS reveals that in 2022 disabled adults in England made 25% fewer trips than nondisabled adults. Disabled adults in England made an average of 686 trips, compared to 916 for non-disabled adults, with the difference being smaller amongst the 16 to 59 age range (14%) than amongst the over 60s (35%).

New analysis on income shows that in general, the difference in number of trips taken between disabled and non-disabled adults decreased with increasing income.

Blue Badges on issue The number of badges issued includes those issued to people who did not hold previously hold a badge, and those resulting from reapplications from existing badge holders.

There were 1.14 million Blue Badges issued in

Blue Badge use on the rise Department of Transport data reveals 2.5 million Blue Badges are now held in England as issuing rates pick up post-pandemic the year ending March 2023, an increase of 101,000 badges (9.7%) on the previous year.

The DfT said the increase is likely to partly reflect the continued recovery from coronavirus (COVID-19). The overall increase was primarily driven by a 15.5% increase in the number of badges issued subject to further assessment.

Of the badges issued, 4.0% (46,000 badges) were issued under the eligibility criteria for people with non-visible disabilities (introduced in August 2019). This is higher than in the year ending March 2022, when 2.5% (26,000) of all badges issued were for people with non-visible disabilities.

Out of the 1.14 million Blue Badges issued in the year ending March 2023, 685,000 (60%) were subject to further assessment, 445,000 (39%) were issued without further assessment and 7,000 (1%) were issued to organisations.

Out of the badges issued without further assessment, 94.1% were issued to those who met the relevant criteria under Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Almost all of the remaining badges were issued to those registered blind (5.3%) and those on War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement or Armed Forces and Reserved Forces Compensation scheme (0.5%).

Blue Badges held Some 2.57 million valid Blue Badges were held as at 31 March 2023, an increase of 5.7% (138,000 badges) when compared with the previous year. Of the badges held, 3.3% of all badges (86,000) were held by people with non-visible disabilities. This was an increase from 2.6% (64,000) in the year ending 31 March 2022.

On 31 March 2023 4.6% of the population in England held a valid Blue Badge, up from 4.3% the previous year.

As at 31 March 2023, 2.68 million people (4.7% of the population in England) were entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment (previously known as automatically entitled). The number and proportion of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment has been rising since 2015.

Out of the 2.68 million people who were eligible for a Blue Badge without further assessment, 38% held a Blue Badge. This shows a decreasing trend over recent years – the equivalent figure was 60% in 2015. Prior to 2015 this figure was relatively stable for several years.

The region with the most Blue Badge holders as a proportion of their population was the North East (5.4%). The region with the lowest proportion was London (3.1%), which also had the lowest regional proportion of retired people. Similarly, metropolitan areas such as Birmingham (3.8%) and Manchester (3.3%) also had comparatively low proportions of Blue Badge holders.

Lost and stolen badges In England, 6,300 badges in the year ending March 2023 were reported to be lost or stolen. Of these, 73% (4,600) were reported to be lost, and 27% (1,700) were stolen. The DfT said it is possible that not all instances of loss or theft will be reported and recorded, and therefore will not be included in these figures.

The DfT revealed that it has ceased to collect data on Blue Badge prosecutions. The department said: “While we received a small number of expressions of disappointment in this decision, it appears that these statistics were not widely used, and we therefore do not intend to resume producing these statistics for the foreseeable future. We continue to welcome feedback on this decision.”

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Organised by:

Headline Sponsor:

Supported by:

Supported local authority places*

Improving the quality of life for kids by challenging the dominance of the car The case for School Streets is becoming ever compelling with more and more councils installing them. They are increasingly being seen as a way of effectively addressing the congestion, road safety and air quality concerns that many schools experience.

The number of School Streets in the UK has been rising steadily in recent years. In London there were just 76 School Streets in 2019 – there are now nearly 600 schemes across nearly every London borough, with a quarter of primary schools located on School Streets. Monitoring of schemes has revealed how they are enabling children and families to safely walk, wheel, scoot or cycle to school. And by making active travel possible for everyone, they help contribute to efforts to tackle the health crisis and climate change.

Landor LINKS is running a pair of one-day conferences – one in the North and the other in London – to showcase best practice and offer practical guidance. The events will bring together professionals from a range of disciplines. l School Streets South, run in partnership with Lambeth Council, takes place on 29 February at Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton. l School Streets North, in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority, will take place on 15 March at Great Victoria Hotel, Bradford.

Key themes A range of issues will be discussed including: l funding l partnerships l active travel l health and wellbeing l consultation and engagement l infrastructure design l monitoring l traffic management l enforcement

The School Streets Exhibition Both conferences will be supported by exhibitions showcasing systems and services for the School Streets sector.

Exhibitors include:

Turning the grey green

For details about booking an exhibition space contact Jason Conboy at: jason@landor.co.uk * We are offering a limited number of free places to local authorities (maximum of two per authority) on a first come, first served basis.

PR378_P12-19_News.qxp_PR378_p12-19 17/01/2024 16:30 Page 19

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

STEPHANIE PATHAK

SAMUEL DILLON

TRACY BRABIN

ED CLANCY OBE

LUCY ATKINSON

DR ANNA MOORE

AYANDA COLLINS

ASA THOMAS

Hosted by:

Thursday 29 February 2024 Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton, London The opening speaker at the London event will be School Streets champion Rezina Chowdhury, Lambeth Council’s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air.

Hosted by:

Friday 15 March 2024 Great Victoria Hotel, Bradford School Streets North will be opened by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin.

Panellists will include: l Rosslyn Colderley, Director, Sustrans North

Panellists at School Streets South will include:

l Aya Collins, Operations Director, Smart Transport Hub

l Stephanie Pathak, Strategy and Planning Manager, Transport for London

l Scott Patient, Cabinet Member for Climate Action/Housing/Active Travel, Calderdale Council

l Samuel Dillon, School Streets Officer, Lambeth Council

l Peter Carlill, Lead Member for Active Travel and Sustainable Transport, Leeds City Council

l Zahra Ali, Transport Projects Officer, Hounslow Council l Lucy Atkinson, Programme Manager, Urban Design and Engagement, Sustrans

Richard O’Malley, Strategic Account Director North, Marston Holdings, will explain the challenges of managing and enforcing School Streets schemes.

l Liz Brooker MBE, Road Safety and Sustainable Transport Manager, Lewisham Council

Asa Thomas, Research Fellow in Active Travel and Micromobility, University of Westminster will share the key findings of his PhD on School Streets.

Dr Anna Moore will offer two, inter-linked perspectives as a Respiratory Specialist Registrar at the Royal London Hospital and a member of campaign group Mums for Lungs.

Special guest speaker at School Streets North will be Ed Clancy OBE, Olympic cycling gold medallist and Active Travel Commissioner, South Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Book your place now: landorlinks.uk/school-streets-south

Book your place now: landorlinks.uk/school-streets-north

PR378_P20-21_Business.qxp_PR378_p20-21 17/01/2024 16:32 Page 20

BUSINESS NEWS

Conduent sells parking business to Modaxo Ownership to kerbside and public safety activities transferred US-based Conduent has sold its parking IT and enforcement services business to Canada’s Modaxo, a transportation solutions company.

In the UK Modaxo has been building up its parking portfolio, and already owns the Imperial and Taranto software businesses.

Conduent Incorporated has agreed a definitive agreement to sell its Curbside Management Solutions and Public Safety Solutions businesses to Modaxo, which is a division of Canadian group Constellation Software.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Cliff Skelton, Conduent president and chief executive, said: “This divestiture demonstrates continued progress in streamlining our portfolio to drive increased focus on our core

Cliff Skelton capabilities and enable synergistic growth to create shareholder and client value.

“The proceeds from this transaction and that of our previously announced BenefitWallet transaction , will be used principally to reduce debt. We will continue to be open-minded regarding the use of capital associated with future portfolio rationalisation efforts. We are committed to ensuring a seamless transition

APCOA Parking is now ‘APCOA’ APCOA PARKING has shortened its name to APCOA. The change of name took effect on 14 December 2023. Going forward the parking services provider said it will deliver services across four distinct business lines – ‘Parking’, ‘Charging’, ‘Technology’ and ‘Urban Solutions’.

Philippe Op de Beeck, chief executive of APCOA, said: “We are now embarking on the next step in the implementation of our longterm growth strategy. The combination of our four business lines will ensure that we will maximise the use of our parking infrastructure and the urban space it occupies – in the interests of the owners of the respective parking spaces, the users of our services and urban society in general. In this way, we intend to contribute to a sustainable future of mobility.”

The group manages more than 1.8 million individual parking spaces at 13,000 locations in 13 European countries. It claims to have more than doubled its portfolio in the last 10 years. By 2025 APCOA aims to exceed revenues to 1 billion euros.

In terms of the ‘Charging’ business line APCOA is investing in infrastructure for electric cars and

20 | PARKING REVIEW

operates them as chargepoint operator (CPO). APCOA has to date installed 4,000 charging points in Europe, including 3,000 since the beginning of 2023 alone. The company aims to operate a total of 100,000 charging points by 2035.

Charging points have been installed at APCOA locations across Europe by partners such as Tesla, BP, Ionity and Mer. ‘Technology’ encompasses digital platforms for new products and interfaces for the integration of third-party companies and their services. These include the consumer car park apps APCOA FLOW and APCOA Connect. For example, the barrier opens automatically at the entrance and exit and payment is just as timesaving via the app.

Collectively, the APCOA apps already have over 8 million registered users.

The ‘Urban Solutions’ business line focusses on the transformation of car parks into so-called “urban hubs”. APCOA intends to transition car parks into multifunctional use spaces. For example, the car parks can be used as urban fulfilment centres for city logistics, warehousing, and distribution services.

for our associates and clients while continuing to drive innovation in our road usage charging and transit businesses to enable streamlined, high-volume mobility services.”

The kerbside and public safety businesses, which support approximately 130 government clients across the globe, operate largely independent from the rest of Conduent’s transportation portfolio.

The kerbside management arm provides parking enforcement systems and public safety provides automated photo enforcement processing, both for state and local municipalities.

The public safety business provides traffic management solutions such as automated photo enforcement for speed and red-light violations.

The Conduent Transportation business stream will continue to provide road usage charging and transit services. Upon completion of the sale, the Curbside Management and Public Safety businesses will be rebranded with a new name and logo under Modaxo’s ownership.

The transaction covers UK parking management contracts now held with Oxfordshire and Reading councils. It is expected that most employees from across Conduent who primarily support the kerbside management and public safety businesses – including those in the UK – will transition to Modaxo’s People Transportation Davison.

NPED moves into pilot phase

Alan Wood Legal paperwork creating the National Persistent Evader Database (NPED) has been finalised, says chief executive Alan Wood.

NPED uses data from a range of sources to track the vehicle registrations of people who do not pay parking tickets or tax, MOT or insure their vehicles. It will also monitor vehicles without keeper details and cloned plates.

Wood has spent 10 years setting up a centralised database of offending vehicle behaviour.

Wood said research shows a large percentage of these multiple offenders have direct

links to vehicle related criminal activity and anti-social behaviour and more than 60% of persistent evaders are noncompliant, Vehicle Excise Duty, MOT or insurance.

“NPED will establish the true state of our vehicle community,” said Wood. “It is a truly connected way to create a single data environment of offending vehicle use that assists to identify, prioritise, locate and deal with the most persistent and/or highest risk offenders.

“Phase 1 is a small pilot of six local authorities in or close to London who will allow the team to test the system in a live environment and ensure system stability ahead of phase 1B national roll out.

“Around 70% of all warrants issued under the Traffic Management Act get written off. For some councils that could represent more than half-a-million pounds a year to fund much needed services.

We have to reduce that misery, and this is the first step to taking back control of our vehicle community.”

PR378_P20-21_Business.qxp_PR378_p20-21 17/01/2024 16:32 Page 21

BUSINESS NEWS

Syrett is new YourParkingSpace MD New managing director has completed year working with Flowbird Online parking platform and operator YourParkingSpace has named Andy Syrett as its new managing director. Syrett joined YourParkingSpace as UK sales manager in 2016. He spent last year seconded to Flowbird Group, the parking technology group which acquired YourParkingSpace last summer in a deal valued at over £120m.

In his new role, Syrett will be responsible for expanding YourParkingSpace’s inventory to offer more options for drivers.

Brannan Coady, chief executive of YourParkingSpace, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Andy to our leadership team. He has a proven track record of innovating technology and company evolution. This aligns perfectly with our vision for the future.”

Charles Cridland, chief information officer and co-founder, added: “Andy’s arrival adds a dynamic dimension to our lead-

Andy Syrett ership ranks. His wealth of experience and strategic acumen align perfectly with our vision for the future. As YourParkingSpace embarks on a new chapter, Andy’s leadership is poised to be a driving force behind our future achievements.”

Harrison Woods, co-founder, of YourParkingSpace and chief marketing officer at Flowbird Group, said: “Andy’s appointment marks an exciting chapter for us. His dedication to driving

the company forward and his understanding of the industry dynamics make him the ideal leader to guide our company.”

New managing director Andy Syrett said: “I am honoured to return to YourParkingSpace, a company that has consistently redefined the parking landscape.

I am excited to work with the talented team and contribute to the next chapter of innovation and growth. Together, we will continue to deliver exceptional value to our drivers and clients.”

Creative Car Park links with JustPark Parking app JustPark has entered into a partnership with Creative Car Park, a provider of car park management solutions.

The JustPark app offers prebooking, on-demand and in-car bookings. Creative Car Park’s 1,750 sites across the UK will be added to JustPark’s network, making its clients’ spaces reservable to drivers using the app.

Anthony Eskinazi, founder and chief executive of JustPark, said: “I am delighted to announce this collaboration with Creative, which not only expands our reach, but also strengthens our position as the most helpful app on the market, with the addition of up to 1,750 sites for our drivers to use. We want to ensure our drivers are never frustrated when looking for a space and this new partnership will offer them even more choices and convenience.”

JustPark says Creative Car Park will benefit from an improved and deeper understanding of their client base through the enhanced data and insights that JustPark offers on driver habits and behaviours.

APH.com wins British Travel Award for record 13th year in succession 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

Nick Caunter

• Parking Supervisors (Both Enforcement and Back Office)

Airport Parking & Hotels (APH.com) has won the British Travel Award for Best Company for Airport Parking for an 13th consecutive year.

The awards took place at Battersea Evolution in London on 28 November. The winning companies were determined solely by the record breaking 1.5 million consumer votes cast between July and October 2023.

Established in 1980, APH owns car parks serving Gatwick and Manchester Airports, and also offers parking at all major UK airports as well as airport hotels, airport lounges and via trusted partners other extras such as car hire and travel insurance. APH.com managing director Nick Caunter was presented

with the award on stage by TV presenter and actress Charlotte Jackson Coleman in front of an audience of 800 senior travel executives and representatives.

Caunter said: “The British Travel Awards is incredibly important to us and we’re very proud and honoured to be voted once again the best in the industry by the travelling public.

We would like to say a huge thank you to our customers for voting APH their preferred airport parking company. This award really shows the high-quality service APH customers receive from our staff, so my thanks and congratulations to the entire APH team for all their consistent hard work.”

• 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***

PARKING REVIEW | 21

PR378_P22-23_Oxford P&R.qxp_PR378_p22-23 17/01/2024 16:33 Page 22

ED NIX

PARK & RIDE

A vintage bus lines up next to a modern electric bus at Redbridge Park & Ride

A magical history tour Oxford has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the country’s first permanent park & ride site

O

n Monday 10 December 1973, the Redbridge park & ride site began operating with a car park and dedicated bus service. Although experimental park & rides had been set up earlier – including one in Oxford at the Forte Motor Lodge on the A34 in the 1960s – Redbridge was the first permanent example of the pioneering transport management system.

Previous proposals for easing Oxford’s traffic congestion had included an inner relief road through Christ Church Meadow, which was rejected after a campaign opposing it. There were also calls for a giant commuter car park on Port Meadow, connecting to a water ferry on the Oxford Canal, but this didn’t materialise into a plan. The success of Redbridge inspired Oxfordshire to create the largest park & ride system in the country, with 5,900 parking spaces at five sites on the outskirts of the city. Today, the Oxford Parkway and Thornhill park & rides are run by Oxfordshire County Council, while the Pear Tree, Seacourt and pioneering Redbridge sites are all operated by Oxford City Council.

At an event staged to mark the golden jubilee, Cllr Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport management, said: “It’s almost unthinkable now to imagine Oxford without its park & rides. They have become part of everyday life for so many people, providing a convenient and economical way to travel into the city centre and Oxford’s hospitals.”

Cllr Louise Upton, cabinet member for planning and healthier communities, Oxford City Council, added: “Oxford has a proud history of leading transport innovations, and I am delighted that we are able to celebrate 50 years of park & ride services in our city. Our park & ride services have evolved over the years to cater to the changing needs of users. Imagine the number of car

22 | PARKING REVIEW

journeys into the city that have been saved over 50 years!

“By using the park & ride service instead of driving, commuters and visitors are helping to reduce congestion on our roads, improve our air quality and support a faster, more reliable bus network.”

Unlike many other park & rides around the country, Oxford’s appear to be thriving again following the impact COVID-19 had on the bus industry and user numbers are close to pre-pandemic levels. New payment arrangements have been introduced as part of measures to make the park & rides the first choice for visitors to the historic city. Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council worked with bus companies Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach to introduce a joint ticketing and parking offer in

A 1960s double-decker that served Redbridge P&R

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PARK & RIDE

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Redbridge Park & Ride in 1973

Oxfordshire and Oxford councillors celebrate the golden jubilee with Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach

2022. Parking for up to 16 hours and return bus travel for one person costs just £4, while for two people it is £5. With both options, up to three children under 16 can travel for free. The deal proved so popular that it was recently extended until April 2024.

Luke Marion, managing director of Oxford Bus Company, said: “Myself and the team at Oxford Bus Company are very proud to have been involved in operating Oxford’s world-leading park & ride system continuously for the past half a century. There have been major changes in the vehicles and technology we use on the service since it started 50 years ago, and the introduction of the new fleet of electric buses to the service is the latest step in this continuing evolution. With today’s levels of traffic congestion, the park & ride is more important now than it has ever been. We look forward to developing the service further over the years to come, to support the continued development of our city.”

The golden anniversary comes at a time of positive change for the county’s bus industry, as the first of 159 electric buses start arriving as part of an £83.8m deal – many of which will serve Oxford using the park & rides.

Rachel Geliamassi, managing director of Stagecoach West, said: “We’re delighted that Stagecoach have played our part in the longevity and success of the world’s first permanent park & ride scheme and to be able to toast its success over 50 years. It’s great to be part of a collaborative group of partners who have worked together to present the customer proposition for existing and new customers. We’re excited to take this as an opportunity

The Energy Superhub Oxford at Redbridge Park & Ride

to look forward to the introduction of the new electric vehicles on to the park & ride routes in 2024, along with the continuation of the combined parking and bus tickets, taking the scheme to another level and providing affordable and sustainable travel options to our residents and visitors.”

The Redbridge park & ride site itself has also evolved over time to feature paved parking areas, landscaping and a reception building for people while they make the transfer between car and bus. Last year it became home to Energy Superhub Oxford, a major electric vehicle charging hub. The charging hub at the Abingdon Road site offers fast and ultrarapid charging for 42 vehicles and is powered entirely by renewable energy.

To mark the landmark, vintage buses visited the park & ride site and blue plaque was unveiled by the Oxford Civic Society (OCS). Ian Green, OCS chairman, said: “Fifty years ago, persistent pressure and well-argued advice from OCS was instrumental in the council’s decision to introduce the park & ride scheme.

Oxford was only the second city in the country to do so and Redbridge was the first such site to be made permanent. The job of better managing traffic in our city is far from finished and we are proud of the vital role the park & ride sites continue to play.”

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TRAFFIC & PARKING

Laura Padden

Tom Gallagher

Michael Wiktorko

Paul Slowey, Sara Fisher and Graham Footer

The future of parking Traffic + Parking 2023 discussed policy, operational and technology trends

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ajor initiatives that will improve the way in which various aspects of public parking is managed and planned were unveiled at the Traffic + Parking conference, which was held at the Manchester Conference Centre on 15 November 2023. The event saw the unveiling of a new repository of traffic and parking appeals, an introduction to the Park Active standard for accessible car parks, and a first look at the Transport Planning Society’s new parking policy strategy. There were also in-depth explorations of the Blue Badge scheme, updates on the National Parking Platform and a debate inspired by the government’s Plan for Drivers.

Enforcement trends Laura Padden, director, PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulation Outside London) started the day with a keynote address in which she stressed the importance of local authorities engaging with communities and stakeholders in order to gain consent for parking enforcement, the regulation of moving traffic regulations and implementation of clean air schemes.

Caroline Hamilton, chief adjudicator of Traffic Penalty Tribunal, provided a first look at an innovative project called Traffi-iCase. This is a database bringing together key case reports on appeals cases heard by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, London Tribunals and the Transport Appeals Service for Scotland.

Speaking from the front line, Michael Wiktorko, service area manager, parking enforcement, London Borough of Hackney provided an insight into how the council has created a new parking enforcement team. The service had been outsourced for over 20 years, but has been taken back in-house. The council’s team has now taken responsibility for both front line and back office functions. The team covers kerbside and off-street parking, moving traffic and bus lane restrictions, and tackles abandoned and untaxed vehicles.

24 | PARKING REVIEW

Making parking accessible The Blue Badge scheme is a lifeline for people who depend on cars as a means of accessing town centres and essential services. Paul Slowey, founder of fraud investigation service BBFI, chaired a session exploring ways of improving accessible parking provision and tackling problems such as fraud and misuse of Blue Badges.

Park Access is a brand new accreditation that aims to become recognised throughout the whole of the UK for accessible and inclusive parking and electric vehicle charging facilities. Graham Footer, chief executive, of Disabled Motoring UK, and Sara Fisher, head of operations and business development at the British Parking Association, explained how Park Access will enable everyone, regardless of their accessibility needs, to identify car parks and facilities, such as EV chargepoints, that they can use with ease.

On Friday 26 May 2023, over 80 local authorities came together to work collectively on a National Blue Badge Enforcement Day of Action. The day was organised, coordinated and led by Lambeth, with the support of London Councils. Tom Gallagher, Lambeth’s parking investigations and highway enforcement manager, set out how the day worked and plans for the future.

Joanne Lewis, parking process investigation manager at the London Borough of Haringey explained how the council developed a virtual Resident Blue Badge Holder Permit to allow holders to park in non-dedicated parking bays, residential, shared use and pay-by-phone parking bays. Meanwhile, its new Blue Badge Checker is used by compliance and process investigation officers and civil enforcement officers to undertake Blue Badge operations around the north London borough.

Progressive parking policies Andrew Potter, director of Parking Perspectives, set out a range of positive policies for planning and managing parking that has been developed for the Transport Planning Society (TPS). Just the Ticket! identifies that parking happens all over the country, and affects most people who drive. Rules and laws about parking, and charging, are already established and accepted, so the TPS argues that parking

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TRAFFIC & PARKING meet challenges such as reducing emissions and improving road safety, while also supporting the needs of local communities and businesses. They did not endorse the waging of culture wars.

Delivering the National Parking Platform

Rubena Hafizi and Christian Constantinides

Alan Wood, Nick Lester-Davis, Anjna Patel MBE and Dan Hubert

presents a ready-made policy tool by which people’s trip-making choices can be influenced.

While electric vehicles (EVs) mostly have less environmental impact than petrol and diesel vehicles, they nevertheless cause pollution through the release of tiny particulates from the brakes and tyres. EVs also contribute to congestion and take up road space. Rubena Hafizi, assistant director, parking services at Islington, and Christian Constantinides, managing director, Smart Transport Hub, discussed a scheme that ensures electric vehicle drivers pay their fair share.

Islington Council has introduced UK’s first multi-band parking permit scheme for EVs with the aim of cutting private car ownership and encouraging active travel.

Consultations on changes to parking provision are notoriously challenging and sensitive, with consultation data often the subject of great debate among officers, members, and the public alike. Steph Bortoli, head of communications and engagement at Project Centre, looked at how to use and present consultation data to support evidence-based decision-making on parking projects and policies.

Focussing specifically on Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ), she explained how Project Centre has been increasing CPZ consultation response rates and is using data dashboards to support better decision-making and to plan and accelerate the roll-out of CPZ programmes.

Making plans for drivers The UK government’s Plan for Drivers seeks to re-shape the way in which traffic and parking policies are implemented and managed at a local level. The plan sets out to improve the experience of driving and services by delivering: smoother journeys; stopping unfair enforcement; making parking easier; cracking down on inconsiderate driving; and helping the transition to zero-emission driving. Transport secretary Mark Harper hopes to achieve these aims by curbing the blanket imposition of measures such as 20mph zones and low traffic neighbourhoods. The Plan for Drivers also supports the provision of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and wants to make it easier for drivers to pay for parking by rolling out the National Parking Platform.

Ollie Miller, technical director, WSP, led a discussion with a panel comprising Dan Hubert, chief executive officer of AppyWay, consultant Nick Lester-Davis, Anjna Patel MBE, chair of British Parking Association, and Rob Shoebridge, traffic and transportation group manager at Derby City Council.

The panel felt the parking sector already has a strong track record of developing and delivering parking policies and technologies that

The National Parking Platform (NPP) is a scheme that will allow drivers paying for parking to use their choice of app, rather than whatever app the local council has signed an exclusive contract with.

Keith Williams of Parking Matters explained how the Department for Transport has funded a pilot since 2021. Starting in Manchester, and now encompassing several early adopters.

Parking payment platform RingGo has been an advocate of the NPP. Peter O’Driscoll, managing director of RingGo, said NPP provides the foundation for an open market which allows multiple phone parking providers to operate alongside each other. He said this will encourage competition and enable motorists to choose their preferred parking app. O’Driscoll’s proposition prompted a lively discussion about harnessing NPP, with advocates including Ken Prior, head of parking at Liverpool City Council, and Dan Hubert of AppyWay, while a somewhat sceptical note was sounded by Paul Moorby OBE, chief executive officer of Chipside.

Having listened to the NPP debate, Alan Wood, chief executive of the National Persistent Evader Database (NPED), said he saw value in the idea of making it easier for law-abiding drivers to find and pay for parking easily. Meanwhile, Wood said he will identify the miscreants and scofflaws who flout the rules.

Programmed by Parking Review and organised by Landor LINKS, Traffic + Parking is an annual conference discussing topical policy developments, operational best practice and technological changes. www.traffic-parking.uk

Tomorrow’s parking world Traffic + Parking hosted a series of insightful presentations on harnessing technology Digitising Traffic Regulation Orders Kent County Council has worked in partnerships with its districts to create a system of standardised digital Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) which displays all traffic restrictions in a web and map-based format on the ParkMap platform that is accessible to both the public and borough civil enforcement teams.

Alexis Newport, head of traffic order consultancy services, Buchanan Order Management Directing parking enforcement in real-time The Dispatch system provides civil enforcement with real-time intelligence gathered by mobile ANPR units directly to their handheld device, identifying vehicles parked in contravention and displaying a mapped location for immediate follow-up.

Nigel Coltman, general manager, Egis Creating efficiencies with parking software Parking companies and local authorities can connect their payment, permit and camera systems to more efficiently manage their car parks and the kerbside.

Flo Ermeje, account manager, Unity5 Creating solutions that meet local needs The Known Vehicle List is a way of ensuring compliant vehicles enter area-wide road management schemes, including 20mph Zones, School Streets, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Zero Emission Zones.

Dean Fennell-Connell, sales director, UK parking and public safety, Conduent Transportation Using AI to answer PCN queries Voice Master is a PCN helpline that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to handle calls from the public about penalty charge notices. The system advises callers like an expert human, ensuring that everyone – whatever their digital or literacy skills – can access the help they need.

Jason Barbour, managing director, Barbour Logic

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PARKING POLICY

Infographic showing Just the Ticket! policies

That’s just the ticket!

Andrew Potter and Tom van Vuren explore the Transport Planning Society’s Parking Policy Statement

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here is an urgent need for us to reduce carbon emissions. As transport is now the largest source of UK emissions of greenhouse gases, it presents one of the keys to a more sustainable world. If we are to deliver a more sustainable future, current travel patterns need to change dramatically. Put simply, we need to drive less. Parking affects everyone who drives, and is an already established part of transport policy and planning. Therefore, parking is a policy tool that can be used immediately, with widespread effect.

The Transport Planning Society (TPS) has put together a Parking Policy Statement containing a number of key recommendations for government to use parking policy to drive a shift in behaviour from personal car to other modes of travel.

Just the Ticket! follows on from the TPS’s key strategic statement State of the Nations: Transport planning for a sustainable future, published in 2020, whose fundamental premise was that there is an urgent need for us to reduce carbon emissions.

Just the Ticket! identifies that parking happens all over the country, and affects most people who drive. Rules and laws about parking, and charging, are already established and accepted, so it presents a ready-made policy tool by which people’s trip-making choices can be influenced.

Changes to planning Several of the recommendations in the first section of Just the Ticket! on planning are not new. Greater use of maximum car parking standards, that limit the amount of car parking provided at new developments, including a reprise of national guidelines, is presented as an essential part of creating “human-scale” places for us to live and work in.

Remove parking, and things can be closer together, meaning it is easier to walk and cycle, and of course, somewhat more difficult to drive or own a car. Also in there is a reminder that when off-street

26 | PARKING REVIEW

parking is reduced at new developments, planning authorities have to get a grip on the controls for on-street parking, to preserve some level of service for those that need that space.

But what is new is the statement’s recognition that some draconian shift in the amount of parking we provide new build homes doesn’t align with over 40 years of out-of-town and suburban developments and lifestyles effectively reliant on a car to access goods and services.

Instead, it proposes that new developments are built with much lower in-curtilage or private parking, ready for a future landscape where travel habits have changed, but in the meantime offer ‘Parking Supply Bridging’: parking areas that remain owned by the local authority and while available now for parking, can be repurposed for other uses over a reasonable timescale.

Another item of note, amongst reinforcement that developments should be mandated to provide minimum levels of parking for cycles and car clubs and all those other good things, is the idea that the use of planning obligations should be extended to include such things as a requirement to provide free cycle use for guests staying at the city’s hotels and guest houses or for them to make an annual commuted payment to help sustain the local cycle hire scheme, to which hotel guests would then have free access.

There is another nod to understanding that this cannot work as a war on drivers, but is a journey that we all have a vested interest in completing. When discussing limits on the amount of car parking permitted at new developments, the document urges planning authorities to ensure that smaller format urban grocery stores are granted enough parking so that they are viable.

As the document states, these urban stores provide a service to many local people who do walk and cycle, but it may be a requirement that for them to exist, they do still need to serve an element of customers who will arrive by car. If we don’t allow these sites to succeed, we effectively force all those local residents to drive to the out-of-town stores.

Whose car is it, anyway?

Part two of Just the Ticket! explores issues of social equity. It is less the recommendations in the second section are challenging, but the fundamental re-think of how we have accepted and allowed cars to be parked wherever the owner has felt able, with no accounting of the lost amenity caused by that action.

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PARKING POLICY For years we have all assumed that if a piece of road is not needed for traffic, and doesn’t block someone’s driveway, we should park a car on it. The first challenge in this section is that we should stop using this spare highway as parking by default, and think of all the other useful and worthwhile things we could do with it. The society are recommending that while highway authorities may still decide parking on spare highway is a good use, they should not do this until they have considered how else that space may contribute to the local community or retail vitality of the area.

The document continues to develop the question of “Whose car is it, anyway?” It makes the point that any other thing we personally own we have to find and provide storage for at our own cost. Yet when it comes to our cars, it is a common theme for residents to demand of their local council to provide them adequate space for parking, and to protect that space for their exclusive use through some permit scheme.

The recommendation is that everywhere this happens people should pay the full value of what they are getting – 14 square metres of hard-standing, with drainage, lighting, sweeping and general maintenance, often in an urban setting. This is rarely charged for at a rate that is close to what it would achieve if used in any other way.

Charge-payers who don’t have cars to park, are subsidising car owners, because their local government is failing to demand a proper return on this public asset.

A further recommendation is made to get tougher on those who park their cars or vans on those pockets of greenspace or chew up the verges in residential areas. This the document reminds us, is public space, not somewhere for people to occupy with their personal property. The document plays out some common defences and justifications for this behaviour, before reminding us again where it thinks responsibility for owning and parking cars must ultimately lie.

Providing nationwide legislation to enable highway authorities to be effective against parking on pavements is also recommended.

Polluter provides subsidies The third and final section of Just the Ticket! on environmental taxes and charges essentially sets out a number of policies by which those that continue to enjoy driving may, through parking charges, help provide the finances to support other more sustainable modes of travel.

The first thread discusses the success of the Nottingham Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) to raise money from those driving into the city to support the delivery of its tram system. It recommends that a number of large UK cities should be mandated, by central government, to introduce similar levies and deliver transformative public transport systems, within the near term. It also recommends that the scope of such levies could be extended, and the requirements for introducing them, streamlined.

In a similar vein, it recommends that there should be a reverse turn relating to current tax laws in respect of benefit-in-kind.

Parking that is provided at the workplace, or paid for by the employer, should become a taxable benefit, whereas financial help given to employees to come by bus or bike, should stop being so.

This is another example of the document looking to recommend policies that present a simple nudge in changing the balance between what it costs to drive to work rather than taking a bus or bike. A small change that could impact the choices made as to how people get to work, across the country, every day of the week. There is also a call to review what rateable values are applied to parking, and a suggestion that current assessments may be patchy and outdated.

The revelation that there is legislation from the 1960s that allows local authorities to require public car parks to be licensed, and that they can stipulate within that licence the tariffs to be charged by the operator, opens up a range of ideas and opportunities. In particular this document sees this as a solution to large car parks offering ever lower all day parking rates in an attempt to fill excess capacity. Car parks throughout a city centre could be regulated such that commuter parking is set at a minimum charge that ensures it is not a cheap option. It should certainly not be less costly than taking a bus, nor such a trivial charge that it encourages people to drive when they might otherwise walk or cycle.

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Small changes to parking, offers substantial changes to behaviour. And with that, it offers a significant boost to us as we make our most important and urgent journey to date, to decarbonise how we travel.

Just the Ticket!

The final theme in this section looks at how parking charges may capture some of the impact that using a vehicle has on the environment and wider society. A small number of local authorities have begun applying differential charges for parking based on the vehicle’s engine type or emissions rating. Charging a less environmentally-friendly vehicle more to park is a proxy for charging it more for its journey to that parking place. The recommendation supports greater application of this approach and picks up on an emerging consideration of charging more for larger and heavier vehicles, on account that they take up more space and present a greater risk to other more vulnerable road users.

The document’s final recommendation introduces the concept of ‘Utility Pricing’. Rather than charging people for their parking based on the length of stay, which is how we’ve done it for years, it suggests that there are circumstances when it would be far better to charge the parking based on when the vehicle arrived, and when it leaves, the car park. This is, ultimately, an indication of when the vehicle is used and when it has an impact on congestion, pollution, others’ use of the roadspace and other users’ safety. The technology exists to do this, and the document describes how this might work well as a framework upon which a new set of parking charges could be established. These could make driving to the car park cheaper at off-peak times but more expensive when to do so means the driver has invariably added to the congestion and pollution that arises from those journeys.

The concept is novel. It has merit: A parked car is not causing any significant environmental harm, so why charge it for the time it sits idle?

Something different In summary, this is not just another academic treatise on how we must all stop driving and go vegan, written by people divorced from the real world and devoid of the responsibilities and demands placed upon most working people.

Make no mistake, it sees parking as something that is in many cases under-charged and over-provided. Reducing our car use though policies that make parking a little more costly or a little less convenient is a central theme of switching the balance between the attractiveness of driving and using some other mode of transport that is less damaging to our climate. But the ideas in Just the Ticket! are not without balance, and central to this document is an appreciation that there are some judicious policy recommendations to progressively transition us away from a de facto decision to drive, and instead go easier, go cheaper and go cleaner, by other modes.

And it’s a good read!

We do have a climate emergency and we do need to do something.

The Transport Planning Society have presented us with some thought-provoking ideas.

Andrew Potter is author of the report and director at Parking Perspectives and Tom van Vuren is director of policy at the Transport Planning Society. https://tps.org.uk

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PARKING POLICY

Just the Ticket!

The Transport Planning Society has made 18 key parking policy recommendations Recommendation 1. The government should establish new guidelines on the maximum amount of car parking to be provided at new developments.

Recommendation 2. Highway authorities should use on-street parking controls to ensure that new developments approved on the basis of lower car ownership do not result in additional unwanted parking in local streets.

Recommendation 3. Planning authorities should apply ambitious maximum parking standards and as necessary use ‘Parking Supply Bridging’ to support transition from current car ownership habits to future requirements. ‘Parking Supply Bridging’ should be implemented with explicit terms of use and a clear timeline or identified trigger points for its removal.

Recommendation 4. Local planning authorities should set maximum parking standards such that they do not constrain the viability of new retail development in locations that will attract a significant amount of access by walking, cycling and public transport. These standards should be applied consistently so that they do limit development in what would otherwise be predominantly car-dependent locations.

Recommendation 5. Planning authorities should continue to apply minimum standards for other modes where these support and promote the use of more sustainable methods of travel.

Recommendation 6. Local planning authorities should extend the use of planning obligations to set service standards to provide alternatives to the car. The obligation should include a mechanism to ensure compliance.

Recommendation 7. The Network Management Duty should be amended to include a five yearly re-evaluation of the use of any road space not required for statutory purposes of traffic circulation or access to premises. Such space should be considered for use for other purposes that support the community function, provide amenity or create commercial value for the local community. Parking of cars for such space should be evaluated as only one option alongside other purposes that may be suggested or suitable.

Recommendation 8. The government should provide guidance for highway authorities to recover from the beneficiary all the costs, including the opportunity cost, associated with the provision of a permit that offers some exclusivity to the use of the public highway for parking a vehicle.

Recommendation 9. The government should mandate all highway authorities to undertake a review, where formally requested by a recognised heritage organisation, of the suitability of parking in an identified location, and support that authority in any introduction of traffic orders where they determine that the parking is detrimental to the local amenity.

Recommendation 10. Highway authorities should develop and promote policies that enable other uses of highway space within permit schemes that are consistent with more sustainable travel and the creation of more inclusive local environments.

Recommendation 11. The government should mandate that local authorities must address the appropriation of public space for personal use to safeguard footway and other public space from parked vehicles. Highway authorities must be required to apply consistent and rigorous steps to address this and be provided by government with the necessary resources to do so.

Recommendation 12. National governments should establish a selection of cities for which they provide suitable political, legislative and financial support to enable the implementation of Workplace Parking Levies (WPLs) within a defined timescale.

Recommendation 13. The government should revise the WPL regulations to permit levies on other parking provision beyond just the workplace and streamline the requirements to demonstrate just cause for highway authorities to introduce such levies.

Recommendation 14. The government should revise the legislation regarding travel to work tax benefits to ensure, as a minimum, equity between modes and work towards providing additional tax relief for those travelling to the workplace by noncar modes.

Recommendation 15. The government should require The Valuation Office to revise its guidance on the methods used for assessing the rateable value used to assess commercial car parking space, to ensure all spaces are recognised and a full account of the market value of those spaces is used.

Recommendation 16. The government should issue guidance to highway authorities regarding the application and suitability of off-street public car parking licencing and promote its adoption in locations with an oversupply of public car parking.

Recommendation 17. The government should promote the use of differential charging for parking based on the characteristics of the vehicle. This could include carbon emissions, vehicle mass, and fuel type.

Recommendation 18. The government should provide guidance to local authorities regarding the conditions that make utility pricing suitable, the technologies required and the suggested process for its introduction.

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Presented by:

Organised by:

Supported by:

Car Parks 2024 is an event focused on the design, construction, operation and maintenance of parking structures. The day will offer topical presentations, expert panels and a chance to network with colleagues in an exhibition showcasing the latest systems and services.

CAR PARKS 2024 Thursday 14 March 2024 15 Hatfields, London SE1 Key themes At Car Parks 2024 expert panels will address key issues and answer questions on: l Car park design

Car parks are not just places to garage vehicles. They are dynamic spaces whose users are always on the move. They are important civic structures that support their local economy, open up destinations and provide space for a wide range of other services activities.

l Selecting structures

A new generation of public car parks is showing that multistoreys can be iconic gateways to town and city centres and act as catalysts for urban regeneration. The day will also showcase recent champion car parks from the British Parking Awards.

l Lighting, CCTV, ventilation and lifts

l Exterior design l Fire safety l Circulation and signage l Renovation and refurbishment l Managing car parks l Designing out crime l Electric vehicle charging

The day will showcase The Institution of Structural Engineers’ new book Car Park Design.

The publication won the 'Special Jury Award' at the British Parking Awards 2023 as an exceptional entry that particularly impressed the jury, which is a panel of experts drawn from across the parking, automotive, transport and related sectors.

Who will be attending When attending Car Parks 2024 you will meet: l Car park operators and facility managers l Architects, engineers and consultants l Parking system providers l Mobility service operators l Electric vehicle infrastructure providers l Property developers l Real estate investors

Programme The conference will feature expert presentations and topical debates. If you have an idea for a talk contact the event’s programmer Mark Moran, Editor, Parking Review: mark.moran@landor.co.uk

landorlinks.uk/car-parks-24

Exhibition Car Parks 2024 provides your company with the perfect opportunity to carefully target the marketing of your services to the car park design, construction and management sectors.

To participate contact Jason Conboy: jason@landor.co.uk

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BRITISH PARKING ASSOCIATION

BPA vice president Richard Walker, president Stuart Harrison and chief executive Andrew Pester

Promoting positive parking The BPA annual dinner celebrated collaboration and creative writing

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rofessionals from across the parking sector gathered together to honour colleagues and thinkers at the British Parking Association’s annual dinner, which took place at Draper’s Hall in the City of London on 29 November.

Anjna Patel MBE, chair of the BPA board, opened the evening by thanking everyone for their contribution to the sector. She extended a special note of recognition to the association’s staff, BPA council members and the board.

“Collaboration, learning from each other, sharing knowledge, and mutual respect are all essential ingredients for a successful career in this amazing sector,” she said.

The evening’s first talk was by Shawn Conrad, chief executive of the USA’s International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI). Conrad praised the work of the BPA and said he was looking forward to deeper collaborations between the two associations.

BPA president Stuart Harrison spoke about how he is travelling the country to meet members and learning about the work being done by the parking community.

Harrison told the gathering: “Whether we work in the public or private sector, it is important that we work collaboratively where possible in order to raise standards,

change perceptions and demonstrate our commitment to a cleaner, greener and safer society through effective parking management. Whatever your specialism, your association is here to support you, through our diverse, knowledgeable and leading membership community.”

The president then presented the annual Ernest Davies Award to David Peach, managing director of Workflow Dynamics, for a speculative fiction piece called Time Off Travellers, which explores how autonomous vehicles may shape everyday driving.

Peach said: “It was good to see everyone in the illustrious surroundings of Drapers Hall. With thanks too to Mark Moran, who kindly supported publication of the original article that lead to the recognition.”

Ernest Davies was a journalist, politician and early president of the BPA and the award is given in his name for advancing parking knowledge. There was also a special commendation for Russell Simmons, chief executive of Ballast Nedam UK, for an article he wrote on suicide prevention in car parks.

The evening’s guest speaker was Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson who talked about her inspirational sports career. She praised the work of the BPA, which has worked with Disabled Motoring UK on the new Park Access accreditation to encourage the provision of more accessible and inclusive parking facilities.

The event featured a silent auction in support of the BPA members’ charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. www.britishparking.co.uk

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson

The BPA Annual Dinner

David Peach and Stuart Harrison

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INTERNATIONAL PARKING COMMUNITY

We are taking proactive and decisive decisions to ensure clarity, consistency and fairness Will Hurley

The journey to a new world The International Parking Community discussed the new code of practice at its annual conference in Manchester

T

he parking sector is working with the government to ensure the long expected new code of practice for parking on private land is fit for purpose, says Will Hurley, the head of the International Parking Community (IPC), an accredited trade association serving the parking industry. Addressing 2023 IPC Annual Conference in Manchester, Hurley said: “For many, frustration with delays to the new private parking code of practice may have turned to exasperation, but the government’s call for evidence has focussed minds and prompted the industry to rally like never before. For that reason, I believe 2023 will be seen as a major turning point for the UK parking industry. With our collective resolve, we are showing how a closer working relationship with the industry will help to better inform the decision-making process and avoid any further delays or contradictions.”

By seeking to set out clear rules for using car parks, the private parking sector is taking a pro-motorist position, said Hurley. “We are demonstrating our support for the pro-motorist agenda by reinforcing the principle of fairness for responsible motorists as well as those landowners and operators who comply with best practice and the laws of the land.”

Speaking at the Emirates Old Trafford Conference Centre on 16 November, Hurley said the industry is now using empirical data to help the government correct inaccurate assumptions and

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minimise future risks. “Commercial sensitivities and concerns about potential misinterpretation have previously restricted the collation, sharing and presentation of such collective and insightful data. However, the response of IPC members to the call for evidence has helped us to correct some significant oversights made by the government and provided much-needed perspective,” he said. “This is now enabling us to move onto the front foot and lead by example. We want to show the government and the motoring public that we are taking proactive and decisive decisions to ensure clarity, consistency and fairness rather than just waiting for the outcomes from the call for evidence and the subsequent consultation. And, in the process, we want to remove many of the uncertainties and provide our members with the assurances they need to move forward with confidence once again.

“That’s why we’ve now confirmed changes to our own code and audit criteria to reflect key and agreed elements of the new single code and to pave the way for a smooth and seamless transition to the ‘new world’. And, moving forward, I very much hope the government takes our lead on a number of important issues – such as the need for every sign and every site to be audited before enforcement actions can be taken.”

Preparing for the new code The IPC’s membership and operations manager, Chris Naylor, provided delegates with a practical update on the changes to the IPC’s code and audit criteria which will come into effect on 1 January 2024. This session covered changes to the site onboarding process, signage, consideration and grace periods and the process for issuing parking charges as well as issue resolution and the application of reduced settlement payments.

Naylor stressed that the changes aimed to raise standards in

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INTERNATIONAL PARKING COMMUNITY line with the government’s target outcomes and agreed elements of the new single code, and will help to put IPC members in the best possible position when the government’s Private Parking Code of Practice is finally introduced.

There was a session where delegates could raise questions with members of the IPC steering committee including Ashley Bijster (Imperial), Paul Dawson (Agena Group), Simon Renshaw-Smith (Excel Parking Services), Rohan Krishnarao (BW Legal) and Louis Ellis (TRACE). Concerns about the growth in repeat offenders and persistent evaders featured prominently in the discussion. Questions were also raised about the forthcoming consultation process and the impact of the general election on the implementation of the new single code.

Paul Dawson said he did not expect the recent ministerial change or the outcome of next year’s election to have any significant impact on the timing or content of the new legislation.

Simon Renshaw-Smith said the provision of substantiated data has provided a far better understanding of the problems posed by repeat offenders and the impact that such inconsiderate behaviour has on the parking experience of responsible motorists.

Ashley Bijster was keen to emphasise how the introduction of the new code provides the perfect opportunity to improve education of motorists on all parking matters. Such thoughts were reiterated

by Louis Ellis who said that the impartiality of the new code will help to provide reassurance and certainty by definitively legitimising all enforcement processes and practices.

Taking control The conference’s overall theme of ‘Taking Control’ featured prominently in a series of talks from speakers in a presentation area alongside the exhibition hall.

Alan Wood, chief executive and founder of the National Persistent Evader Database (NPED), highlighted how a centralised database of nuisance vehicles is helping to address the scourge of persistent evaders. Wood said that joined-up thinking is helping to identify and address such issues more effectively than ever before and will help to reduce costs for enforcement agencies.

Jason Barbour, founder and managing director of Barbour Logic, talked about the benefits of breakthrough technology for improving operational efficiencies and services for customers.

He explained how new technologies are continuing to extend service capabilities and open new doors for businesses and he showed how solutions such as the Voice Master AI helpline for penalty charge notice (PCN) queries can transform response times and recovery rates for parking operators.

Rob Shoebridge, traffic and transportation manager at Derby City Council, urged delegates to “ditch the hamster wheel” and not be afraid to break convention. He showed how incremental service and process adjustments had helped his local authority to reduce the number of PCN challenges significantly and more than double PCN income in just three years.

Richard Williams, director of Transfer 360, talked about the value of parking operators working more effectively with lease and fleet companies to minimise lost revenue.

Stuart MacLaren from Atria and Mark Wilson from Zatpark both stressed how effective data management and analytics helps management teams take control of their business with wellinformed decision-making and forward planning.

People in parking The concluding session of the day tackled topics for people working in the parking industry.

Annie Oliver, legal and compliance manager at Parking Control Management looked at the pressing need to address violence and aggression towards parking attendants. She said that a multifaceted approach is required to resolve such an important issue, as parking attendants are 50 times more likely than other workers to experience physical violence in their work.

Jackie Thomas, compliance auditor at the IPC, emphasised the importance of training and skills development for delivering consistently high service standards and better service outcomes while also improving morale and staff retention. https://theipc.info

Supporting good causes

Wise Parking’s Carolyn Wicks wins a prize in the charity auction The evening featured a series of fund-raising activities in support of Alder Hey Children’s Charity and DEBRA UK, a national charity and patient support organisation for people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). More than £25,500 was raised for the two charities. This takes the total sum raised at the IPC’s Annual Conferences for worthy charitable causes to well over £100,000.

The fund-raising programme was full of fun and included a hilarious ‘carrot in a box’ game that culminated with Carolyn Hicks from Wise Parking winning a 1ct diamond bracelet to a crescendo of cheers from the audience. Other raffle prizes included VIP tickets to a Taylor Swift concert and a luxury spa visit.

“EB is a heartbreaking and extremely painful genetic skin condition where the skin is as fragile as a butterfly’s wing and blisters and tears at the slightest touch,” explained Ann Avarne, DEBRA UK’s Corporate Partnerships Manager.

“Thanks to the generosity and kindness of everyone at the event, we can continue to improve the quality of life for people living with EB and fund pioneering new and existing research to identify treatments.”

Becky Parsons, corporate partnerships officer at Alder Hey Children’s Charity, added: “It was a wonderful evening and the money raised will certainly help us to continue to provide children with the best possible experience while they are under the care of Alder Hey. On behalf of our young patients and everyone at the charity, a heartfelt thank you to all of those who contributed to such a successful fund-raising event.”

And the winners were...

RingGo’s Tom Derrick flanked by HUB Parking Technology’s Chris Lawrie and the IPC’s Chris Naylor The evening saw the annual IPC charity gala dinner Master of Ceremonies, which included the presentation of four IPC Awards. The Agena Group secured two awards with the company’s Environmental Committee named Parking Team of the Year and Mohsin Zafer confirmed as Parking Attendant of the Year.

Charles Cridland, chief information officer of YourParkingSpace was named as Parking Person of the Year, while RingGo’s business development executive Tom Derrick was presented with the Young Parking Person of the Year trophy.

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Design – Build – Service

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CAR PARKS

Bristol Airport to create new interchange Griffiths Farrans JV to build public transport hub at Bristol Airport Bristol Airport has commenced work on its largest capital project ever, a scheme to create a public transport interchange hub and multi-storey car park.

The £60m project will deliver a public transportation interchange hub, additional multistorey car park and glazed bridge link between the car parks and terminal.

The scheme will provide a new waiting area and rest facilities, as well as an enlarged drop-off and pick-up area.

The project forms part of Bristol Airport’s overall transformational development plan enabling 12 million passengers a year to use the airport.

Griffiths Farrans JV has been awarded the contract to deliver the public transport hub.

Enabling works started in May to divert services and work has now begun to construct a new access ramp to the current car parks.

The public transport interchange hub will provide access for coaches, buses and other forms of public transport on the top level of the multi-storey car park. The interchange will more than double the number of bus and coach bays to 16.

The multi-storey car park will provide over 2,000 spaces that will adjoin the existing multistorey car park. The terminal will be accessed via a glazed pedestrian bridge link on the same level.

The top level of the car park will also provide a dedicated

The interchange will sit on top of a new multi-storey car park drop-off and pick-up location for family, friends or taxis and a new gateway for all customers, with ease of access to the terminal.

Dave Lees, chief executive of, Bristol Airport, said: “This project is transformational for our customers. It is the largest single capital investment project since the terminal opened in 2000 and will take 18 months to complete.

“As with all large-scale projects, they are complex and the devel-

opment work will need to be phased to accommodate the normal day-to-day airport operations.

During the project, customers will see several temporary changes taking place, including temporary relocation of some car parks and changes to internal roads layouts. We will continue to keep customers informed of the changes via directional signage, customer messaging on car park bookings, the website

Design for the new interchange

and on social media.”

Simon Dunn, pre-construction director at Griffiths Farrans JV, said: “Griffiths and Farrans have worked in partnership with Bristol Airport and fellow CRH business Tarmac to deliver the optimum solution for the airport, with a keen focus on sustainability.

“Over 100,000 tonnes of excavated material will be processed into suitable material for use in the project. All asphalt materials removed from the existing car park will also be processed for re-use within the asphalt material that will be provided for the perimeter roads.”

Glenn Gilmore, regional director, Griffiths Farrans JV, added: “We are looking forward to getting started with this exciting project which will play a significant role in the step change of Bristol Airport as it elevates its offering to support new air links and increase inbound tourism.”

Demolition of fire ravaged Luton Airport car park starts Work to dismantle the Luton Airport car park destroyed by fire could take up to 16 weeks to complete. The Terminal Car Park 2 has to be demolished after structural reports found it unsound.

The fire broke out on level three of the car park on 10 October. It is thought to have started in a diesel car before it spread rapidly.

The blaze started at about 20:45pm at the Terminal Car Park 2 which is immediately next to the main terminal.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said previously that it was unlikely that any of the cars would be able to be used again. The airport said it had provided the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) with the registration details of 1,405 vehicles. Cars trapped in the ruined structure will be removed from the different levels as part of the dismantling process. Salvage companies appointed by insurers will then take the cars.

After the fire

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CAR PARKS

Fareham multi-storey to be demolished Redevelopment will see Osborn Road MSCP replaced by surface site The Osborn Road multi-storey car park in Fareham, Hampshire, has closed ahead of its scheduled demolition on 8 January.

Fareham Borough Council officially closed the car park on 2 January, to allow the relocation of the team and equipment prior to the site’s handover to Neilcott Construction.

Once demolished, the multistorey will be replaced with a surface car park providing larger parking bays and four electric vehicle charging points. There will also be capacity to add a further 12 electric vehicle charging points if required, says the council.

The surface car park will be opened in 2024 in time for the

Osborn Road first large performances at the new arts and entertainment venue Fareham Live.

Residents are also being reminded that alternative parking can be found nearby at Fareham Shopping Centre multistorey car park, which leads

directly into the shopping centre.

For those who need help to be independently mobile in the town centre, a Shopmobility office offering mobility equipment for hire can be found within the shopping centre.

Cllr Seán Woodward, executive

leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: “I am delighted that the work is about to begin to replace the underused and outdated Osborn Road multistorey car park with the new Fareham Live surface car park.

“Fareham Shopping Centre multi-storey car park is an excellent alternative for town centre parking while the work is taking place, with plenty of disabled spaces available and an easy route into the shopping centre itself, where Shopmobility can be found for anyone who requires their services.

“I would remind residents that our town centre car parks provide more than 1,000 car parking spaces within walking distance of the shopping centre, and the number of spaces will increase significantly once the new Fareham Live car park is complete.”

GOOGLE MAPS

DENIZ HUSEYIN

Bromley’s The Hill car park closes

The Hill Safety concerns have led to the closure of The Hill car park in Bromley, south London. The multi-storey on Beckenham Lane has previously been the subject of partial closures.

The car park was partially demolished in 2012 in order to prolong the life span of the building.

Bromley Council said regular condition surveys have been undertaken, with latest one showing that one of the concrete slabs has weakened significantly.

Cllr Nicholas Bennett, executive councillor for transport, highways and road safety said: “We have expected this news to come forward at some point even though the latest survey results were a great disappointment.

“Safety is absolutely paramount, which is why we have acted to close this car

36 | PARKING REVIEW

park as soon as we understood the outcome of the survey work.

“There is nearby car parking that can be used, both on street and in other car parks.

“We will now seek to understand more about the condition and the options available to us.”

Following the closure, further investigation into the car park’s condition will be carried out and future options will be considered.

The Hill’s regular users and season ticket holders are advised to use nearby alternatives such as Station Road car park, the Civic Centre multi-storey at Stockwell Close and several on-street parking spots.

Affected season ticket holders will be contacted directly regarding the alternative arrangements.

The Grafton MSCP

Worthing multi-storey up for sale The Grafton multi-storey car park in Worthing, West Sussex, is to be sold and the site turned into homes, leisure facilities and commercial units.

Members of Worthing Borough Council have approved plans to sell the site and neighbouring shops to a developer.

The council said after selling the site there would be sufficient parking spaces in remaining council car parks to cope with demand.

A Worthing council spokesman said: “The move will remove ageing, unattractive buildings from the area, allow the construction of much-needed homes and support the regeneration of

the seafront.”

Caroline Baxter, Worthing’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Grafton has done its job as a car park but it is in the centre of an ugly, untidy part of the town that urgently needs to be transformed.”

Baxter told BBC Radio Sussex that the car park was underused, with only a quarter of the 440 spaces being used at any one time. Redeveloping this site would benefit the community and support the regeneration of our historic seafront, she said.

“We want to see the very best ideas, innovative designs and high quality architecture,” she told the programme.

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CAR PARKS

Solar canopy for Eastbourne hospital

Cornwall’s New County Hall gets a solar car park

NHS trust works with Veolia and 3ti to harness sunshine A hospital in Eastbourne has installed solar panels over a surface car park to cut carbon emissions. The solar canopy is part of a series of measures to reduce emissions by 57% by 2025 at Eastbourne District General Hospital. Other measures include installing new glazing, better roof insulation and installing electric heat pumps.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and contractor Veolia claim this is the first solar car park at any UK hospital.

The trust said the improvements would save the hospital the equivalent of 4,129 tonnes of carbon each year.

Veolia has been working with solar car park specialist 3ti to create a new solar array comprised over 2,412 solar panels across eight canopies that cover 400 car parking spaces. As high energy users, the hospital will make significant savings by generating its own renewable electricity on site, and reduce the

Installing the solar car park hospital’s reliance on electricity from the National Grid.

The solar canopy addresses the need for workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging by providing ten solar-powered EV chargepoints for staff use.

By covering the car parking areas the solar canopies also provide shelter from the elements, and give enhanced security in the form of overhead lighting.

The solar car park is part of the £27m energy management contract with Veolia to upgrade Eastbourne District General

Hospital, and deliver wide ranging energy upgrades and target carbon savings of 4,129 tonnes per year.

With funding provided through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme for affordable, low carbon energy efficiency upgrades across the public sector, the scheme is one of the first to take a whole building approach that accounts for how facilities and the energy delivery systems interact with each other, while maintaining an indoor environment that enhances patient care.

C R E AT I N G

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OFFICES

A canopy of 543 solar panels will cover the entire visitor’s car park at Cornwall Council’s New County Hall. The 230-kilowatt project will power a third of the energy needs of Cornwall Council’s headquarters in Truro and decrease its carbon footprint.

The canopy will be built over the visitor and council pool vehicle car parks at the front of New County Hall and will generate around 200,000kWh every year, reducing the building’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50 tonnes of carbon annually.

During the work the 62-space visitor car park and 31-space council pool car park will be shut with alternative parking provided in the members’ car park on the east side of the building until spring.

The solar canopy is the latest in the council’s programme to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy in its buildings from approximately 8 megawatts to more than 20 megawatts by 2030 – one of the highest renewable energy levels among local authorities in the country.

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PARKING REVIEW | 37

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PARKING TECHNOLOGY

Esri UK users can access AppyWay kerbside data Lambeth Council among first users of enhanced GIS service Two companies specialising in digitally mapping towns and cities have formed a partnership designed to help UK local authorities plan active travel and low carbon initiatives.

AppyWay has joined Esri UK’s partner programme, giving Esri customers access to digital kerbside data for the first time.

The companies say their partnership will allow local authorities to better understand the UK’s complex kerbside restrictions when planning active travel and low carbon initiatives, including EV chargepoint, escooter or cycle hangar projects.

AppyWay provides granular digital maps of the kerbside, showing all traffic regulation orders (TROs), such as on-street parking, permit parking and yellow line restrictions, covering over 500 towns and cities.

When integrated into Esri geospatial mapping applications, data from AppyWay adds another dimension to existing information on street furniture, air quality, tree surveys and roadworks, for example. This additional insight will help local authority planning, highways and traffic teams make decisions on how best to use their street space for new sustainable mobil-

An Esri map using AppyWay data ity schemes and meet active travel and net zero targets.

Lambeth Council in south London is one of the first authorities exploring how the new integration will deliver benefits and support its Kerbside Strategy and Transport Strategy.

Tom Brown, spatial information manager at Lambeth

Council, said: “The new partnership – and specifically the dynamic availability of data from AppyWay via Esri UK’s web feature service – allows our organisation to maximise the benefits of accurate kerbside and roadway information, for a range of ‘business as usual’ and project work, relating to traffic man-

AppyWay joins fintech programme AppyWay is among a group of financial technology start-ups joining the Mastercard Start Path Emerging Fintech programme to grow and scale through hands-on mentoring and access to co-innovation opportunities.

Dan Hubert, founder and chief executive of AppyWay, said: “Seamless payments are an essential ingredient for reducing congestion and

pollution, as well as the connected vehicle revolution.”

Companies joining Start Path will receive hands-on mentoring as well opportunities to engage with Mastercard’s global network of banks, merchants and digital partners. Since its launch in 2014, Smart Path has engaged more than 370 start-ups from 52 countries across five continents.

agement orders, licensing, road and parking bay closures, controlled parking zones, as well as wider GIS analysis alongside existing geospatial data.

“Crucially, AppyWay’s approach also ensures resources do not have to be devoted to ongoing manual data management, meaning that, once established, data is automatically and instantly available to our Esri ArcGIS users across these and any future projects, as well as being deployable in other software platforms.”

In replacing traditional paperbased TRO information with a digital version, AppyWay seeks to open up new ways in which this data can be applied. Dan Hubert, chief executive of AppyWay said: “Combining AppyWay’s authoritative kerbside data with Esri’s industry-leading geospatial tools adds significant value, allowing local authorities to unlock the full development potential of the kerb.”

Founded in 1969, Esri is a provider of geographic information system (GIS) software, with 4,000 staff in 73 countries. Laura Dean, partner manager, Esri UK, said: “The new partnership places AppyWay digital kerb data into the hands of those that need it most – the planners, designers, engineers and architects tackling the geographic challenges involved in creating more netzero places to live.”

Mobilityways launches commute emissions reduction planning tool Employee commute solutions provider Mobilityways had launched a new digital planning tool. CommuteIQ is designed to provide large UK employers with a 360 degree view of the real world commuting options available to all their staff. The data is displayed through a visual dashboard and interactive maps.

The digital dashboard tool works with employee data, including the postcode of their homes and places of work, to display the potential impact of each mode of transport, and suggest lower emission commute alternatives.

CommuteIQ maps and analyses the viability of each commute – for instance, walking or cycling – based on several factors, including the length of the average commute per mode of travel, and the greenest and safest journey per mode. So, for example, it would only suggest an employee could travel to work by bike or public transport if it was actually viable – not just because it is technically possible.

Julie Furnell, managing director of

38 | PARKING REVIEW

Mobilityways, said: “We know that if a commute by public transport involves more than one change and takes over twice as long as that convenient solo car journey they are taking today the employer has a very slim chance of persuading that member of staff out of his car and onto public transport. An alternative mode of transport will need to be offered.”

Based on postcodes of all employers’ staff CommuteIQ is also able to identify whether another member of staff who drives to the office lives within a mile of him or her. If the company has the Liftshare car-sharing scheme in place, then there is an immediate potential to share a lift into work on the days when both employees are commuting into the same office.

For sustainability and transport senior managers the CommuteIQ and Mobilityways dashboards also allow organisations to compare their current ACEL (Average Commuter Emissions Level) to their ACELO (Average Commuter

Emission Level Opportunity), which highlights the lowest possible ACEL if all employees commuted sustainably.

Mobilityways says that as the only standardised methodology for calculating and comparing commuter emissions, ACEL helps employers to measure and manage their commuter emissions in line with their net zero goals. An analysis of over half-amillion postcodes by Mobilityways has helped the climate technology firm to calculate that just over 40% of all employees could walk or cycle to work.

Julie Furnell said: “To date, the commute to the office is still the least efficient journey we ever make. It contributes over 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year – five per cent of total UK emissions. In the past, it has proved very difficult to track and measure these emissions due to the number of variables in an individual commute. But now, supported by CommuteIQ and Mobilityways’ suite of tools, big data and know-how, it makes all this possible.”

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PARKING TECHNOLOGY

VertexGIS offers moving traffic regulation maps Wokingham adopts app-based digital mapping of MTROs Changes to the law regarding the enforcement of Moving Traffic Orders (MTROs) outside London have prompted much interest among local authorities who are keen to enforce regulations and thus facilitate the smooth flow of traffic throughout their districts.

VertexGIS has launched MTROmapAp (Moving Traffic Order mapping) to its Traffic Regulation Order mapping system.

The latest edition of TROmapAp is now a three-inone system comprising Static TRO mapping, Moving TRO mapping and Consultations. All are available at a click from one screen.

VertexGIS co-founder Jenny Lonergan said: “The new system provides a much improved service for the public and at the same time simplifies and speeds up the TRO process for local authorities, reducing costs by as much as 40%, a very important factor in the current climate of real terms reduced govern-

A VertexGIS MTROmapAp map ment funding to councils.

“Because VertexGIS provides a service that includes the cloud hosted TROmapAp system you get all the advantages but none of the drawbacks of licencing proprietary TRO software. And as far as reliability goes, TROmapAp is created using the same GIS software and hosted on the same platform used by the UK military, whose most

fundamental requirement is reliability.

“The new system brings all the TRO information to one screen, navigable in seconds, a real time saver and vast improvement on what was already best in class.”

MTROmapAp has gone live at Wokingham Borough Council to back up the local authority’s first tranche of MTRO restric-

ParkMap now features live highway data ParkMap, Buchanan Computing’s traffic order management solution, is now able to share live highway data, both to and from other systems.

The new data connectivity is enabled by the use of an open API which Buchanan Computing says makes the whole process of creating traffic orders easier and more intuitive, allowing an officer to call in related current datasets as and when required, without having to embark on lengthy data quests, often resulting in the creation of needless copies of data which quickly go out of date.

It will now be quicker and easier to add temporary traffic orders, road collision data, and other street assets such as lamp columns, easing up the process of making and deploying effective traffic orders.

Alex Smith, managing director of Buchanan Computing said: “ParkMap is currently used by over 90 local authorities across the UK for the management of their traffic

Buchanan Computing’s ParkMap regulation orders, including Westminster, Cardiff, Glasgow, Kent, Essex, Lancashire, and South Lanarkshire.

“The latest version of ParkMap is genuinely innovative, allowing for the first time, an operational open API service, for both providing and consuming parking data, wider traffic orders and highway data sets. No other platform has this capability currently, meaning that ParkMap is not only pushing data out to traffic enforcement teams, it is

consuming data to improve the design of traffic orders.

“For the first time, all the information needed to create traffic orders is accessed in one place without the need to replicate anything. This method of delivery represents a sea change in the way services are delivered and removes unnecessary data replication.”

Buchanan Computing says potential benefits of ParkMap’s Data Services APIs include: • Better traffic management solutions for road users.

tions being enforced under the new regulations.

Geoff Hislop, parking manager at Wokingham, said: “VertexGIS has produced very clear and precise mapping of our first tranche of Moving Traffic Enforcement restrictions, which are labelled with TSRGD sign images familiar to all road users.

“The new version of TROmapAp which VertexGIS have provided, enables council staff and the public to easily switch between viewing static TROs, moving TROs and also view any proposed changes on the Consultations page. This is an excellent addition to our services, enabling customers to see both existing and proposed restrictions and make informed decisions as part of the consultation process.

“Having VertexGIS manage all our TRO mapping and amendment mapping requirements, saves time, reducing costs and helps all our processes to run efficiently.”

VertexGIS offers a package of cloud hosted Traffic Regulation Order mapping, online consultation drawings, surveying and all maintenance of TRO data.

• Cost-effective access to traffic order data for traffic enforcement organisations via the National Parking Platform.

• The capability to improve local authorities kerb management collaboration by enabling crossboundary data sharing.

• Facilitating public engagement for capital and local projects by allowing broader use of the data.

• Improving communication with local authorities’ contractors (i.e. sign manufacturers, lining contractors etc. to ensure high level of on street assets maintenance.)

• The ability to enable driverless cars to navigate the UK’s complex road restrictions.

• Helping with emissions reduction planning, including EV charging schemes.

• Links to underground assets maintenance providing access to relevant information for more accurate planning and repair costs.

• Creating additional revenue streams.

• Assisting with planning freight logistics in cities.

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EVOLUTION

The speedy growth in ultra-rapid chargers Zapmap reveals record rate of chargepoint installation in 2023

R

ecord growth in the number of ultrarapid chargers and high-power charging hubs opening across the country to support electric vehicle drivers on longer journeys was the defining characteristic of the year gone.

Other pieces of the EV power puzzle, however – from the regional distribution of high-powered devices through to encouraging growth in low-powered, on-street chargers – can also be seen in data from chargepoint mapping service Zapmap.

Year-end figures for EV chargepoint installations for 2023 show year-on-year growth of 45% in the total number of net new public chargers installed across the UK. The figure is up from 31% for the years 2021 to 2022.

The increase in the rate of charger installation last year was clear to see. In October, the UK passed the significant milestone of 50,000 public charging points, having only surpassed the 40,000 mark in February 2023.

Furthermore, 2023 saw the rate of net new chargers increase to almost 1,400 devices every month – up from 730 net new devices each month in 2022. This represents growth of 89% in the pace of monthly chargepoint installations.

Zapmap’s new charging statistics come alongside the start of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and news from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders confirming record sales of new pure-electric cars in 2023.

A total of almost 315,000 pure-electric cars were sold in the UK last year, which means there are 51% more EVs on the road than at the end of 2022. In parallel, the number of

40 | PARKING REVIEW

high-powered chargers grew by 52% in 2023, to a total of almost 10,500 devices across more than 5,000 locations at the end of December.

Most of the growth was from ultra-rapid chargers providing 100kW or more of power.

Designed for drivers looking to recharge their vehicle as quickly as possible on longer journeys, these devices can add roughly 100 miles of charge in about 15 minutes.

At the end of 2020, the 788 devices in the UK of 100kW or more accounted for 20% of the country’s high-powered chargers. By the end of December 2023, there were almost 4,870 of these ultra-rapid chargers, comprising a significant 46% of high-powered devices across the country.

Furthermore, the year-on-year growth in the number of UK charging hubs – more than six rapid or ultra-rapid devices – rose from 108 at the end of December 2022 up to 264 by the end of 2023, an increase of 145%.

These charging hubs are opening in a variety of locations, typically near strategic road networks. Interestingly only 20% are located at motorway services, and charging hubs can be found in a variety of locations from retail parks, car parks, fuel stations to dedicated charging areas which provide amenities for EV drivers.

While a recent Zapmap survey revealed electric car drivers’ best en-route charging networks, the company’s latest figures illustrate encouraging developments in the UK’s regional distribution of high-powered charging devices.

Since 2022, Greater London, South East England and South West England have joined Scotland in having more than 1,000 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers available, and nearly all geographical areas of the UK displayed good growth, notably Northern Ireland, albeit from a low base.

At the other end of the charging spectrum, low powered chargers to support those without charging points at home has also grown – there are 72% more on-street chargers than there were this time last year, although the roll-out is regionally patchy and largely dependent on the engagement at a local authority level. In 2023, however, there was good progress in the roll-out of the governments £450m LEVI scheme to support local authorities, and it is expected that 2024 will see further developments in this area.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and chief operating officer at Zapmap, said: “Overall 2023 was a very good year for EV charging with the rate of installation showing record growth, particularly for the higher powered chargers to support EV drivers on longer journeys. Zapmap’s focus continues to be on providing EV drivers with the information they need to find reliable, available charging when they are out and about. Whilst less than 3% of EV drivers would go back to petrol and diesel, we know that EV drivers want more chargers and a better charger experience. As we move into 2024 we look forward to continued progress in both these areas as more and more drivers make the positive move to driving electric.”

Ian Johnston, chair of ChargeUK, the body which represents chargepoint operators, said: “These numbers can give drivers further confidence. Our members are putting chargepoints in the ground at record pace and will spend £6bn before 2030 on ensuring the UK has the right charging solutions in the right place. But we intend to go even further and faster this year to make the UK the best place in the world to drive and charge an EV.” A summary of the key findings from Zapmap’s annual EV Charging Survey is now available to download. www.zap-map.com

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EVOLUTION

Gaps exist in motorway charger network The UK government has failed to meet its target of having six or more rapid or ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers at every motorway service area in England by the end of 2023, new research conducted by the RAC shows.

Just 46 (39%) of 119 motorway services reviewed by the RAC on Zapmap now have the target number of chargers above 50kW to serve the UK’s growing fleet of battery-electric vehicles which should have exceeded the one million milestone by the end of 2023. The number of rapid chargers has grown from just 27 (23%) at the end of April.

Since the end of spring a further 178 high-powered chargers have been installed at motorway services. There are now more than 400 ultra-rapid chargers at services which means more than half (55%) can now offer some of the fastest possible charging speeds to drivers.

Only 18 service areas have no rapid charging above 50kW, but worryingly four have no publicly accessible charging facilities whatsoever: Leicester Forest on both sides of the M1, Tebay South on the M6, and Barton Park on the A1(M).

There are now 693 Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors – the most common charging connector – at the 101 services offering high-powered charging, an increase of 225, or 48%. For

RAC

Government fails to hit high-power charger target, says RAC

Rapid and ultra-rapid charging the CHAdeMO connectors predominantly used by Nissan and Renault electrics cars, there are now almost 300 (282), up 32% compared to the end of April.

Seventy per cent of all highpower motorway charging is now ultra-rapid, reducing the time drivers need to spend ‘filling up’ significantly.

There are now 14 services in England which have more than 12 such devices – up from only six in the spring. The Moto-run services at Exeter on the M5 has the most high-powered chargers of all motorway services, with 24 devices. Looking at all highpowered motorway chargers collectively, there are currently an average of five (4.9) devices at all 119 service areas in England – up from 3.4 at the end of April.

The government’s target of having at least six rapid chargers above 50kW in situ by the end of

2023, with some having more than 12, is set out in the Taking charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, published in March 2022. The strategy’s intention was to accelerate the rollout of high-powered chargers on the strategic road network through the £950m Rapid Charging Fund so that EV drivers have confidence in the ability to undertake longer journeys.

However, it was not until early December 2023 the government announced it would be providing £70m in grants for a pilot scheme involving upgrades at 10 motorway service stations.

As of November 2023 charging statistics from Zapmap show the UK has 53,029 charging devices of which a fifth (19% or 9,992) are rapid or ultra-rapid. Looking at this figure against the RAC’s research reveals that only 6% (581) of all these high-powered

chargers are at motorway service areas.

The government says it expects there will be around 300,000 public chargers of all speeds as a minimum by 2030 and more than 6,000 high-powered chargers along strategic roads by 2035.

Forecasts in the Competition and Markets Authority’s report Building a comprehensive and competitive electric vehicle charging sector that works for all drivers suggest that at least 280,000480,000 public chargepoints will be needed by 2030.

RAC EV spokesperson Simon Williams said: “It’s clear from our research that the government has fallen well short of its target of having six high-powered chargers at every motorway service area in England. While that’s the case, some very good progress has been made since the end of April when we last carried out our survey, with four-in-10 services (39%) now having met or exceeded the target number of chargers, compared to just under a quarter (23%) eight months ago.

“There is undoubtedly an eagerness among chargepoint companies and motorway service operators to install these types of units but, unfortunately, it’s often the high-power cabling to the grid that’s the major barrier which is out of their hands. More clearly needs to be done to make this process simpler than it is currently. Hopefully once the government’s Rapid Charging Fund kicks fully into action some of these hurdles will be overcome.”

DfT: £70m fund will pave way for ultra-rapid chargers A £70m pilot scheme launched at the COP28 climate change conference will pave the way for ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargepoints at motorway service areas, says the UK government.

Speaking on COP28 Transport Day in Dubai, transport secretary Mark Harper laid out plans for up to 10 trial sites in England with enhanced electrical network capacity.

Harper said this will ensure electricity network capacity is future-proofed for at least 10 years, to 2035.

The transport secretary said: “This government is on the side of drivers and working with the private sector to provide robust chargepoint infrastructure is part of our Plan for Drivers, with today’s announcement paving the way for more ultra-rapid chargepoints. This £70m pilot scheme is the starting point and sends a message to consumers and industry that

we are investing wisely and rapidly to grow the future of transport in the UK.” The rapid chargepoint announcement will be backed via the government’s Rapid Charging Fund (RCF). The RCF pilot will look to fund between five and 10 sites, subject to the applications received.

The initiative will cover a portion of the costs of upgrading the electricity grid at successful motorway service areas, ensuring that the private sector can continue to expand the charging network and providing consumers more confidence to choose EVs. Technology and decarbonisation minister Anthony Browne added: “This is an important next step in our journey to net zero, and demonstrates the government’s commitment to help the private sector expand our charging network.

“The scheme follows our world-leading

zero emission vehicle mandate, meaning we are truly supporting drivers and industry in making the switch to electric.”

Motorway service areas are strategically important as they provide regularly spaced stopping points along the motorway. The government believes investment here addresses the need for a highly visible and dependable longer-distance charging network to support drivers and to accelerate future EV purchases. The pilot, which is being delivered by National Highways, will help gather evidence to inform the design of a full fund.

The government has launched a consultation seeking views from stakeholders including chargepoint operators, motorway service area operators, and electricity suppliers, on where chargers are needed most and how best to design the Rapid Charging Fund.

PARKING REVIEW | 41

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EVOLUTION

GRIDSERVE’s Gatwick forecourt opens Airport charging hub offers 24/7 charging and convenience store GRIDSERVE has launched its latest Electric Forecourt at the South Terminal of London Gatwick Airport.

The forecourt is located on the Ring Road South approach to London Gatwick’s South Terminal. The building is open from 4:30am to 10pm, seven days a week, with the chargers available 24/7 all year round.

The Gatwick forecourt features 30 EV charging bays, 22 of which are 350kW-capable high power chargers. The chargers feature both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors. There are also four 22kW-capable low power AC chargers and four Tesla Superchargers on site, ensuring all types of electric vehicle can charge easily.

GRIDSERVE launched its first Electric Forecourt in Braintree, Essex, and a second in Norwich, with the aim of creating an EV charging experience that is fundamentally better than filling a car with petrol or diesel.

Upstairs the hub has been split into three distinct zones.

There is a Little Fresh convenience store that features Amazon’s sensor-controlled Just

London Gatwick Electric Forecourt Walk Out technology, which allows customers to tap using contactless payment card or smartphone wallet to enter the store, grab any items they need and leave. There is also a Costa Coffee store, which allows Costa Club members to pre-order and pay for selected food and drinks prior to arrival.

The third section of the building is an electric vehicle experience area, within which visitors can learning about maximum charging speeds or book a test drive from GRIDSERVE EV gurus.

Toddington Harper, chief executive of GRIDSERVE, said: “As we launch our third, and most technologically advanced Electric Forecourt at London Gatwick,

we mark a significant milestone in the evolution of sustainable transportation. We are excited to open our first charging facility at an international airport and help support London Gatwick on its journey to net zero.

“It is clear that with this awesome London Gatwick Electric Forecourt we have continued to raise the bar, in delivering the best possible customer experience. In addition, we have also stepped up our efforts relating to EV awareness and information, test drives and car leasing, helping to accelerate the switch to electric in the vicinity.”

Bronwen Jones, development director at London Gatwick, said: “We are proud to be the first European international air-

port with its own dedicated electric vehicle charging forecourt.

GRIDSERVE has been placed in a strategic location and will be available to millions of passengers, commuters, staff, residents and businesses that pass through the area each year. We are committed to creating a lowcarbon economy by providing new infrastructure that everyone can use, so together we can reduce emissions.”

GRIDSERVE now has over 175 locations with more than 1,200 charging bays, mostly with 350kW+ high power chargers at Electric Super Hubs serving motorway service areas (MSAs).

Construction has begun on the next Electric Forecourt, which is located on the Knebworth Estate in Stevenage.

The fourth Electric Forecourt from GRIDSERVE will serve visitors, staff and local communities around the historic estate and in the wider Hertfordshire area.

Located near junction seven of the A1(M). Once completed, will enable 34 electric vehicles to be charged simultaneously.

Planning permission has also been approved at several other sites including Markham Vale, Gateshead, Plymouth and Nevendon (Basildon), with more than 30 additional sites also under development.

Cairn Lodge Services uses hydrogen to power charging points Cairn Lodge Services on the M74 in Lanarkshire in Scotland has launched electric vehicle charging facility powered by hydrogen. EV drivers visiting Cairn Lodge Services will have access to six ultra-rapid EV chargers from SWARCO Smart Charging. The chargers will be powered by green hydrogen until a suitable electrical grid connection is established.

Cairn Lodge Services is part of the Westmorland Family motorway services business that also runs the Tebay and Gloucester services. The company has partnered with GeoPura to connect its heat and power unit (HPU), fuelled by green hydrogen, to EV chargers provided by SWARCO. The GeoPura HPU supplements the current grid supply and provides sufficient electricity for EV charging.

Nabil Subuh, chief executive of Westmorland Family said: “The rapid growth of the EV market has underscored the pressing need for accessible and reliable charging facilities. As EV adoption soars, the pressure on the electrical grid has become increasingly evident, leaving businesses like Westmorland to look for creative, sustainable alternatives until there

42 | PARKING REVIEW

Caroline Leigh (property director, Westmorland), Anne Buckingham (MD, SIS, SWARCO Smart Charging) and Matt Barney (business development manager, GeoPura) is sufficient grid capacity. To the customer, the charging experience is no different to a grid connected charger, and by utilising this new technology we can provide much needed EV charging facilities sooner, meeting the growing demand without having a negative impact on the environment.”

Westmorland says the solution offers scalability for off-grid EV charging in

various applications, even in areas where grid upgrades are delayed or not feasible.

By incorporating the GeoPura HPUs Cairn Lodge Services is overcoming electrical grid capacity restraints and avoiding delays to the opening of its EV charging facilities. It will now be able to meet the demands of the holiday season and the expected surge in EV charging requests throughout the Christmas period.

Andrew Cunningham, CEO of GeoPura, said: “If we can charge our EVs from the grid, where in the UK 50% of the energy is renewable that is by far the best option, however our existing distribution grid wasn’t designed to provide the energy required for an electrified transportation network. This means that many locations where we need to charge our cars don’t have sufficient power available to give the service that their owners require.”

Anne Buckingham, managing director SWARCO Smart Charging, added: “The introduction of hydrogen power is a novel solution to accelerating the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure until the distribution of electricity can catch up with the demand from new EV charging sites.”

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EVOLUTION

Places for London seeks charging hub partner TfL property company identifies five sites for ultra-rapid chargers Places for London, Transport for London’s property company, has begun searching for a single joint venture (JV) partner to help it bring forward a number of electric vehicle ultra-rapid charging hubs across its estate.

Five sites across London will initially be offered to the joint venture, with the potential for more to be added in the future.

The partnership will build on existing work by Transport for London (TfL) to grow the capital’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure while also helping generate revenue for reinvestment into London’s transport network.

The JV partnership aims to deliver new off-street charging hubs that will be able to simultaneously charge multiple vehicles. The sites will also help support placemaking in the local areas by including retail and welfare facilities on some of the larger sites where possible.

TfL says that London leads the UK in the uptake of EVs, with 142,000 plug-in electric cars and vans already registered in the capital. With almost 18,300 chargepoints to date, London currently has more than a third

• Hillingdon Circus: an area next to Hillingdon Tube station (9 bays).

Design for an ultra-rapid hub of all EV charging infrastructure across the UK, more than any other UK region.

Seb Dance, London’s deputy mayor for transport, said: “The wheels of change are turning on London’s streets, and they’re electric. Londoners are charging ahead with electric vehicles, registering new electric cars at a far greater rate than the rest of the UK.” Places for London is looking for a partner that has experience in the EV charging sector, such as designing and building EV charging hubs elsewhere in the UK and operating a portfolio of industry-leading charging points.

It is open to interest from a consortium or a single entity.

Five locations have been iden-

tified as initial seed sites, with the potential to increase the number of sites available to the JV over time. Each site will deliver a minimum of six publicly accessible ultra-rapid charging bays, including at least one bay for those with accessibility needs, which will allow drivers to charge their vehicles in approximately half an hour.

The five initial locations and anticipated number of bays are: • Hanger Lane: a vacant site off the North Circular (20 bays) • Canning Town: a roadside location off the A13 (8 bays) • Hatton Cross: a dedicated area within the car park (6 bays) • Tottenham Hale: a former car park that is used currently as a worksite (6 bays)

By creating a long-term JV partnership, this opportunity will enable Places for London to directly shape the design and delivery of the hubs while generating long-term revenue, which can then be reinvested back into the transport network. Mark Farrow, director of strategy and planning at Places for London, said: “These charging hubs will make it even easier for those who need to rapidly charge their electric vehicles, with several bays at each location.”

This procurement is separate, but complementary, to procurement undertaken by TfL that focusses on delivering single and double bay charging sites across the capital. The sites are located on strategic roads to support high mileage, essential road users such as commercial vehicles and businesses. In May 2023, a delivery contract was awarded to Zest, with 39 rapid charging bays expected to be delivered by the end of 2024. This means that TfL has now released 126 rapid charging bays to the market in total, exceeding the initial target of 100. Subject to the supplier, the remaining sites could be delivered by the end of 2025.

Hackney maps out EV plan East London council sets out possible locations of public electric vehicle chargepoints A new electric vehicle charging map showing the locations of over 2,500 planned chargers has been published by Hackney Council.

The locations of the new chargers are spread across the east London borough – with over 10% serving housing estates – and have been informed by the views of 1,500 local residents who requested electric charging near them.

Last year, the council announced its intention to become a national leader in EV charging with a partnership with Zest to provide and operate over 1,500 lamp column chargers and 1,000 free standing fast chargers.

The majority of the chargers are aimed at local residents for slow, overnight charging of electric vehicles. However, the council is also installing fast and rapid chargers for drivers that need to charge on the move. All housing estates in the borough will be served by at least one charger.

Pavements will be kept free of charging infrastructure to maintain accessibility for pedestrians. The chargepoints will be mounted on existing lampposts, or installed in parking bays.

The move is part of the council’s commitment to decarbonise the transport system in Hackney – a key goal in its Climate Action Plan, which was adopted by cabinet in May. Hackney is expected to have the densest network of EV chargers of any area in the country when the roll-out is completed in 2026, with 3,000 chargers in the borough’s seven square miles.

All of the charging points will use 100% renewable energy, with a discounted rate available for Hackney residents through Hackney Light and Power, the council’s energy services arm.

Cllr Mete Coban MBE, cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, said: “While we’re targeting a 15% reduction in traffic in the borough by 2026, the switch to electric vehicles will help to tackle pollution and create a greener, healthier Hackney. We’ve listened to the views of local people who’d like to see a charger near them and produced this map so people can see where chargers will go as we roll them out in the next few years.”

The council will be consulting local residents as chargers are introduced near them.

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EVOLUTION

Vehicle-to-Everything projects receive £4.8m Families could use electric vehicle batteries to power homes The UK government is awarding four projects £4.8m to develop and implement Vehicle-toEverything (V2X) technologies.

Bidirectional charging technologies could enable families to charge cars when electricity costs are lowest and use it in their home at peak times when prices are higher. Households and businesses could even save money on their bills by selling electricity from their vehicles back to the grid.

Bidirectional charging enables electricity stored in a vehicle’s battery to flow back into the grid or back into the home and workplaces, which can then be used to power other devices. This builds on existing smart charging technologies, where EVs can be charged when electricity prices are lower overnight. Families could then use these V2X technologies to save money on their bills by selling the electricity back to the grid when prices are higher.

Businesses could also benefit from the V2X technologies by storing electricity in their fleets of EVs and using it to power their operations at a later date.

These technologies will also help make it even easier to rely on renewable technologies such as solar panels, with less need for fossil fuels to provide for surges in demand by allowing stored renewable energy to be sold into the grid instead.

Four projects are receiving a

V2X FastHub will connect EVs to the grid A V2X charging hub could enable electric vehicles plugged in at workplaces, leisure destinations, fleet depots and delivery hubs can help balance peaks in electricity supply and demand. The V2X FastHub consortium of British companies has secured £1,344,552 in government funding to explore how electricity stored in EV batteries can be used to smooth out peaks in supply and demand on the UK’s electricity grid. 3ti, is leading the project funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, delivered by Innovate UK. share of £4.8m of government funding to support their work testing and implementing these innovative technologies.

The successful companies are: • Hangar19 in Chelmsford will demonstrate a 3-socket bidirectional charger, making a wider range of EVs available for energy flexibility and bidirectional charging • 3ti Energy Hubs in Leatherhead will combine a quick-to-deploy bidirectional charging hub with a solar canopy and energy storage battery, housed in recycled shipping containers, which can make access to bidirectional charging available in more des-

tinations, including vehicle depots • Otaski Energy Solutions in Gateshead will trial a bidirectional EV charger to enable fleet EV operators to access energy in a flexible way which could deliver savings in line with electricity supply and demand surges • Electric Green in London will work with QEnergy to trial wireless V2X technology with a fleet of 20 delivery vehicles at Royal Mail.

Minister for affordability and skills Amanda Solloway said: “The prospect of families being able to store energy on their doorstep in electric vehicles

TTF helps local authorities procure EV chargers The Transport Technology Forum (TTF) has published a short guide to assist local authorities in procuring electric vehicle charging equipment at the roadside.

The TTF’s EV Charging Infrastructure Working Group’s 12-page document has been put together to help authorities successfully procure both the technology

44 | PARKING REVIEW

and chargepoint operators (CPOs), and explains different procurement models, including the concession, lease, landlord and own and operate models. The differing roles of stakeholders are explained in relation to each procurement model.

It takes authorities through applicable laws and regulations before helping them define their EV Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) requirements, then presents a typical EVCI Tender Document Format.

The procurement guidance follows last year’s publication of a simple starter guide aimed at helping local authorities understand the challenges around delivering on-street charging networks for electric vehicles. As with that document, the latest assistance is delivered with the support of the Office of Zero Emission

and use it to power their homes is incredibly exciting. This is exactly the sort of ingenuity and creativity that makes the UK one of the world’s most innovative nations. By backing this technology, we could save families hundreds of pounds a year, while also supporting jobs, investment and growth.”

Transport minister for technology and decarbonisation Anthony Browne added: “We’re continuing to support drivers, and this innovative new development is the next step in levelling-up our charging technology, which will benefit many households across the country.

“This government has already spent over £2bn in the transition to electric vehicles and our charging network is growing at pace, with 44% more public chargepoints than this time last year, meaning drivers can charge more easily than before.”

The programme is part of the overarching up to £65m Flexibility Innovation Programme, supporting the efficient and flexible use of electricity, within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).

Dr Marco Landi, head of technology and innovation, electrification services, JLR said: “We are delighted to be collaborating on this project with partners and the UK government to be able to accelerate and pioneer V2X technology. This funding will drive our work to make charging simpler, greener and cost effective, which is key to our all-electric future.”

Vehicles (OZEV).

“Procuring EV charging infrastructure requires a different approach to other roadside equipment that authorities will be very experienced in buying,” explained Shamala Evans-Gadgil, EV programme and project manager at Coventry City Council who led the drafting of this guidance. “As with our starter guide, this document is about empowering local authorities, especially those who haven’t started yet, to begin this journey and provide that initial kick-start document to help them build their EV network.”

The TTF guide is designed as a starting point for authorities to understand the process, who within their organisation should be involved and some of the potential pitfalls. They can then refer to more detailed guidance which is referenced within the document.

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EVOLUTION

2,000 chargers for South Tyneside North East council teams up with Connected Kerb South Tyneside Council has entered a partnership with Connected Kerb, a provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure providers. The deal will deliver up to 2,000 new chargepoints to be installed across the North East of England.

Cllr Ernest Gibson, lead member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “We have an extensive network of electric vehicle charging points across the borough supporting people to charge their vehicles while out and about. This is just one of the ways we are working hard to drive down carbon emissions.

“Unfortunately, the existing network is unreliable and costly to maintain. This new operational model is a huge step change for South Tyneside. It will greatly expand our existing charging infrastructure, providing a more reliable, modern comprehensive system while giving us scope to expand the net-

Cllr Ernest Gibson work to meet future demand as more people turn to using electric vehicles.”

The council currently has 59 electric vehicle charging points across the borough. The partnership will see all of the old legacy chargepoint units replaced with Connected Kerb’s on-street chargers, along with the addition of the new charging points.

Under the new model, Connected Kerb will be responsible for the management, maintenance and operation of the charging points.

South Tyneside is the only

local authority in the North East yet to charge people to use the electric charging points, having offered more than two million kW in free electricity since the first unit was installed in 2010.

One of the main changes will be introducing a tariff for electricity consumption, which is currently subsidised by the council at a cost of £200,000 per year, having seen a 70% increase in use and consumption between 2021 and 2022 alone. The move will also save the council a further £20,000 a year in back office and regular maintenance costs.

Jersey’s discounted EV parking scheme will end in 2024 Discounted parking for electric vehicles in Jersey will not continue past 2024, the Government of Jersey has announced.

With the introduction of the Electric Vehicle Purchase Incentive last year, and a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles, minister for infrastructure, deputy Tom Binet, and minister for the environment, deputy Jonathan Renouf, confirmed that the Eco-Permit scheme would run until 31 December 2024.

The scheme was put in place in 2008 to encourage people on the Channel Island to buy electric vehicles. Under the scheme, electric car owners can use States of Jersey car parks for 12 months with no charge from the vehicle’s initial registration. Parking prices are half price after 12 months. However, the government said the popularity of electric cars meant revenue from parking was decreasing.

The end of the scheme means an electric vehicle purchased in early July 2024 will only be guaranteed free parking for the six months to the end of 2024.

Evyve plans charging hub in Corby

Chargepoint network operator evyve has been given the green light for the development of 10 ultra rapid charging bays in Corby.

The chargers will be installed at Corby Retail Park, Phoenix Park Way, a retail destination owned and operated by Peel Retail Parks.

EV drivers visiting Corby Retail Park will benefit from extra wide and accessible bays with state-of-the-art 150kW electric vehicle chargers capable of recharging most vehicles in under 30 minutes.

The site chargers will accept all payment methods including contactless credit/debit cards

and third-party roaming partners including Allstar, Octopus and Zap-Pay. Cllr Matt Binley, North Northamptonshire Council’s executive member for highways, travel and assets, said: “With the number of electric vehicle users growing, it is important that we look to the future and how the infrastructure needs to adapt to keep up with demand.

“We have recently consulted on our draft electric vehicle infrastructure strategy and this formed part of a bid to government for funding to help improve our network, primarily off-street.”

Plug into the Future EVolution is an independent source of news and analysis on planning, creating and operating electric vehicle and zero-emission charging infrastructure.

www.EVolutionMagazine.co.uk PARKING REVIEW | 45

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DOCUMENT AND STATIONERY SERVICES Services include: Demand Forecasts Analysis Strategy Policy Pricing Survey Design & Execution Management Plans

PSD - incorporating

Contact: harry@parkingperspectives.com 01245 330370

www.parkingperspectives.com

Tel: 07807 832554 Email: pipltd@outlook.com

Parking strategy & policy development Making the most of your assets Consultation & analysis Efficiency & productivity review

Usage surveys & analysis Development of revenue channels Equipment tenders & procurement Operational service reviews

For professional and independent consultation in parking please contact: Phil Grant on 07807 832554

The Parking Shop – is the market leader for parking related statutory document mailings and sustainable manual enforcement stationery.

We also supply line marking and signage solutions and as part of our service we offer on site surveys and reports. www.parkingandsecuredocuments.com Email: contact@parkingandsecuredocuments.com Main office: 01761 409290 PARKING REVIEW | 47

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To be a part of the best day in parking contact Jason Conboy for details of sponsorships.

Email: Jason@landor.co.uk | Tel: 020 7091 7895