Parking Review Issue 389

In studying parking Donald Shoup identified a space that other academics had overlooked

Dear Donald... you paved the way

Donald Shoup, the American academic who made the study of parking a lifelong passion, has passed away aged 86 after a short illness. Shoup’s research focussed on parking policy and its impact on urban planning, sustainability, and economic development. In his acclaimed 2005 book, The High Cost of Free Parking, Shoup recommended that cities should charge fair market prices for on-street parking, spend the revenue to benefit the metered areas, and remove off-street parking requirements.

In studying the subject of parking, Shoup identified a space that other academics had overlooked, and policymakers undervalued. He said: “Reforms in planning for parking may be the simplest, cheapest, quickest, and most politically feasible way to achieve many important policy goals.”

His influence is evident in the emergence of a group of academics who call themselves ‘Shoupistas’. Like them, we pay tribute to a man who was revered as an original thinker and valued for his wit, charm and friendship.

Mark Moran Editor

Parking guru Donald Shoup passes away UCLA

Learning important lessons

School Streets reduce road danger, encourage active travel, improve

New funding is being sought for the National Parking Platform after Department for Transport withdraws support

Driving improvement

PATROL’s new competition encourages local authorities to develop campaigns to combat Blue Badge fraud

Business trends

Digital payment specialist EasyPark adds Parkopedia to its growing portfolio of parking technology brands

Celebrating Professor Donald Shoup

Remembering the US academic who revealed how reforming parking policy could transform the way in which cities work

Parking structures

New car parks for Bridlington and Newcastle-under-Lyme, rail station developments and a multi-storey collapses in Canada

It’s time for real change on climate

The widespread adoption of electric vehicles is vital to achieving net zero by 2050, says Climate Change Committee

EVolution

The latest policy developments in zero-emission transport

Huseyin

7091

Beck Hill, Bridlington

Priscilla Benedetti

Donald Shoup

Art by Alison Waters

Learning valuable lessons

Data suggests that School Streets reduce road danger, encourage active travel, improve air quality, have health and wellbeing benefits, create verdant and attractive environments, and support community cohesion. But beyond all of that, they can also strengthen the case for people-friendly streets across wider areas, as discussed at the School Streets conference. Deniz Huseyin reports.

School Streets are here to stay, more are on the way, and data is revealing beyond doubt their myriad benefits. These were recurring themes at the third annual School Streets conference, once more hosted by Lambeth Council and organised by Landor LINKS.

Some of the authorities that were just embarking on their School Streets journey at the first conference returned to report how they are now implementing their second and third tranches, as well as refining the first schemes.

Some issues remain pertinent, among them consultation, engagement, design and implementation. Also discussed was School Streets as catalyst for improving wider areas, encompassing the whole journey from home to school. Other topics included who should be exempt from restrictions, the case for camera enforcement and why good data is so important.

School Streets in London

There are now more than 640 School Streets in the capital, London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman told delegates. This, he said, represented 18% of all schools in London. “We have many more coming in the next three years. We’ve probably got at least another 150, if not more, schools wanting School Streets.”

Though the continuing spread of School Streets was “excellent news”, it was only part of a broader vision, said Norman. “It’s all well and good having a nice wide area outside the school, but the rest of the journey, be that one kilometre or two kilometres, needs to also be safe and accessible for people.”

School Streets that are part of a wider Low Traffic

Neighbourhood, and connected to cycle lanes, have resulted in “massive changes” to travel behaviour, he said.

There needs to be a shift from School Streets to School Zones, which incorporate local traffic management measures, such as new crossings across main roads, so that people can move between the neighbourhoods, said Norman. “I think that’s the next piece of the puzzle.”

Norman praised the role of charities such as Living Streets, Sustrans and Solve the School Run in building a compelling case for School Streets. “There are lots of organisations across the capital that play an instrumental role in putting political pressure on leaders in the different boroughs, on me, on Transport for London, and on the Mayor of London to make sure that this change happens faster.”

Living Streets

Katherine Holcroft, head of major projects at Living Streets explained how the charity’s interactive WOW travel planner has had a dramatic impact on travel behaviour. Children who walk/wheel, cycle or scoot to school once a week for a month are rewarded with a badge. On average, WOW schools see a 30% reduction in car journeys taken to the school gate and a 23% increase in walking rates, said Holcroft.

When beginning the process of introducing School Streets, it made sense to prioritise the schools where implementing a scheme is relatively straightforward, she said. “And once you’ve done that, it’s easier to get that buy-in from others.”

Living Streets also helps develop complementary features in and around School Streets to provide “greener, more social spaces”, said Holcroft. She cited the work the charity has done with Lambeth Council to replace parking spaces with parklets.

Lambeth Council

Samuel Dillon, Lambeth Council’s school streets manager, reported that the borough now has 43 School Streets, representing about 65% of their primary schools. By November, he expects this to rise to 90%. He said: “We’re working with our transport and highways team to look at solutions for the remaining 10% of schools.”

The council plans to review the existing School Street zones to

Will Norman, Priscilla Benedetti, Katherine Holcroft and Samuel Dillon

see if any should cover a larger area to address issues around traffic displacement. Each scheme is launched using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders during the three-month ‘soft launch’ period, after which ANPR cameras are installed to a enforce scheme.

Solve the School Run

In the case of Rosendale Primary School in Lambeth, camera enforcement was necessary from the outset, revealed Nicola Pastore, co-founder of the charity Solve the School Run. “It is one of the most ambitious and complex School Streets in Lambeth, so it went straight to ANPR enforcement,” she said.

It took Solve the School Run five years to convince the council to go ahead with the Rosendale scheme, according to Pastore.

The scheme involved implementing traffic filters on three roads spanning 2km and installing four ANPR cameras. “Before the scheme there were traffic volumes of 800 cars per hour,” she said.

The Rosendale scheme has been “absolutely transformational,” said Pastore. “It has created very safe and healthy journeys for the children accessing other schools in the surrounding area.”

Beyond the usual reasons for implementing a School Street, the most “powerful justification” is that it creates safe and healthy journeys for the children who are already walking and cycling to school. Families with young children are often “under-represented” in consultations and feedback to councillors, which is why it is necessary to collect solid data to challenge bias. Pastore previously worked as a financial data analytics consultant, and she uses this experience to quantify the impact of the school run, and to get better data on how children are making journeys. “So, we combine those data insights with various experience on the ground and campaign for solutions from School Streets to school buses to help other communities and local authorities to improve their school route.”

Westminster City Council

Carla Leowe, road safety officer, Westminster City Council, sees good quality data as vital during all stages of a School Street scheme from concept to completion – and beyond. “You need to collect data at every point possible, wherever you can, from whoever you can,” she said.

Having this data helps to ensure a scheme is prioritised on need and fairness, “and not on who shouts the loudest”.

Westminster City Council has so far implemented 13 schemes, of which seven are CCTV enforced, three are patrolled by traffic marshals and three are signage only.

The three-year budget for School Streets in Westminster is £2.726m, which includes a support staff budget of £165,000.

The total cost for each School Street in Westminster ranges from £100,000 to £150,000, which includes feasibility studies, traffic modelling, Traffic Management Order consultation, communication materials, stakeholder engagement, signage and CCTV enforcement (the cost of cameras plus operational costs in the first two years). Any surplus raised goes to the council’s children services, adult services and transport, Leowe said.

Medway Council

Finance was also touched on by Ruth Du-Lieu, deputy director of place, Medway Council, who said that enforcing School Streets brings in revenue to cover the cost of the schemes. Medway has so far installed nine School Streets and plans to add another nine. Camera enforcement has been implemented after a sixmonth warning period in the case of each scheme.

Alongside School Streets, the council has also been installing red routes, which have improved the reliability of bus services, said Du-Lieu. This has benefitted those children who take longer journeys to school, she pointed out. “If you’ve got children who live on the other side of town, they can get a bus and walk some of the way. All the things we’re delivering are now fitting together.”

Du-Lieu praised the steadfast support of the council’s portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, Alex Paterson. “He told us, ‘we’re on this journey and we’re going to do it – we’re going to make it a much nicer place for our children’.”

Playtime is serious business

The School Streets conference offered delegates something a little out of the ordinary; a role playing session where participants discussed proposals for a fictional School Street.

The ‘Playtime’ session – devised and led by Andrew Potter, director at Parking Perspectives – asked participants to inspect street maps of the area and decide how large the scheme should be. They were also asked to choose timings of restrictions and who should be exempt from restrictions during hours of operation.

Several delegates were given roles including cabinet members, council officers, residents, parents, teachers, businesses, emergency services, campaign groups and, for good measure, a conspiracy theorist.

It turned out to be a lively session, with many delegates inhabiting their roles with gusto.

There were notable ‘performances’ by Simon O’Brien, walking and cycling commissioner for Liverpool City Region; Vicki Franks, active travel officer, West Yorkshire Combined Authority; Su Guy, active and sustainable travel officer; Robert Davis, chairman, Road Danger Reduction Forum; Rowena Champion, executive member for environment, air quality and transport, Islington Council; Rezina Chowdhury, deputy leader (Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air), Lambeth Council; Pete Dyson, behavioural scientist and bicycling mayor for Bath; Tom Cohen, reader in Transport Policy at University of Westminster; Nicola Pastore, cofounder, Solve the School Run; Idowu Ereoah, traffic enforcement manager, Haringey Council; Claire McDonald, campaigner, Mums for Lungs; and many others!

‘Pacifying’ Parisian streets

Since becoming Mayor of Paris more than a decade ago, Anne Hidalgo has challenged the dominance of the car and has set about transforming the urban landscape. This has included higher parking tariffs for polluting vehicles and reallocating road space to pedestrianised streets and cycle lanes. She has also resolutely championed School Streets.

Details of latest developments in the French capital were presented by Priscilla Benedetti, School Streets project head at Greater Paris Metropolitan Region. The COVID-19 pandemic served as the impetus for School Streets, as they allowed social distancing.

In 2020 some 50 School Streets were launched in Paris, initially with just rudimentary features such as gates and plantings. “What we saw in 2020 was a new mobilisation from parents who wanted their School Streets to be closed to traffic,” said Benedetti.

Since then, School Streets in Paris have been adapted to include a host of measures including rain gardens, seating, art installations, play areas and cycling zones for children as well as a place for school fairs and other events.

The municipal authority aims is to “pacify” 300 streets in Paris by 2026. Rather than use cameras, schemes are very basic, with little more than a gate to stop traffic. “This is easily reversible and it’s cheap,” said Benedetti. “We tell people, ‘let’s try it for three months, and if it doesn’t work we will go back to how it was before’.”

But support for School Streets invariably grows once they are in place. Businesses have seen the benefits of School Streets, said Benedetti. “There will be a café, for example, that sees that closing the street has actually increased the number of customers.”

Parking platform is at a crossroads

Department for Transport hopes parking sector will step in to fund National Parking Platform

The future of the National Parking Platform (NPP) is now under review after a government decision to withdraw funding. The Department for Transport said it is working with the parking industry to explore options for taking forward delivery of a national platform.

The NPP is intended to remove the need to sign up multiple different apps in order to pay for parking. This could potentially connect thousands of council and privately-owned parking sites into a single system.

The platform has been under development at the Department for Transport (DfT) since 2019, but taxpayer funding for the pilot version is being withdrawn in the next few weeks. Transport minister Lilian Greenwood announced that DfT funding will cease from 31 March. In a written answer to a question from the Liberal Democrats, Greenwood said it was hoped the parking sector would carry the project forward.

Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley wrote to the DfT asking what discussions had been taking place with local authorities on a standardised parking app. On 14 February Lilian Greenwood responded: “The government continues to support the concept of a National Parking Platform (NPP), a digital system designed to connect parking apps across the UK to provide a simpler service for users, by enabling them to use the app of their choice wherever they park.

“The government recognises the many benefits of a NPP and the depth of support for it across the parking sector with over 200 local authorities having expressed an interest in

joining. However, we are of the view that it could and should be delivered without the need to rely on public funding, particularly given the dire financial position the government inherited. The department is working with the parking industry to explore options for taking forward delivery of a national platform. The industry has responded positively to this and the pilot version of the NPP will continue to be funded to 31 March 2025 while these discussions continue.”

Parking Review asked the Department for Transport who owns the NPP and how discussions were proceeding. A DfT spokesperson said: “We support the National Parking Platform, and we understand the parking sector is both willing and able to deliver it without taxpayer funding. We are working closely with them on how this can be achieved.”

Parking Review also asked the DfT why funding had been withdrawn. The DfT responded: “The government inherited an extremely challenging financial picture, but we are fixing the foundations, which includes making sensible decisions about how to deliver projects where the gap between promised schemes and the money available has become clear.”

Parking Review also asked the DfT for details of how much has been invested in the NPP since 2019 and what savings expected to be made, but no details were provided.

Real-world trials have been taking place since 2021, initially taking place in Manchester and now across a number of local authority areas. The official National Parking Platform website states the trials have taken the underlying concepts and standards, and united them into a working technical system. It is claimed that some 495,000 parking transactions per month across 470 parking

locations are now handled through the NPP.

The NPP was included in the Plan for Drivers announced by the previous Conservative government. In September 2023 the then transport secretary Mark Harper promised the National Parking Platform pilot would be rolled out nationwide so that drivers can use an app of their choice to pay instead of downloading multiple apps. It had been expected that the NPP would be rolled out nationwide in late 2024.

During 2023, the government funded a system upgrade so that it would be ready to operate across the UK.

Throughout 2024 there was a concerted move by the DfT to encourage local authorities, parking payment channels and technology providers to sign up to the NPP. Councils were offered free membership of the scheme if they signed early. Over 200 local authorities have expressed an interest in joining the NPP, with over 20 considering ‘early access membership’. However, in the wake of last year’s general election, the expected Autumn 2024 national launch did not occur. Looking forward, there has been no official announcement by organisations within the parking sector on how the NPP will be funded and managed going forward.

Cashless payment provider RingGo, an advocate of what it terms the ‘open market’, said: “The DfT is exploring potential delivery models for a National Parking Platform with the parking sector and wider industry. The pilot is currently processing 1% of the total cashless parking market today and has demonstrated the societal and economic value that a National Parking Platform will bring. During the first few months of 2025, there will be a transition of the platform from pilot to scale-up. During that time, the platform will continue to run as usual.”

Drivers get more time to pay to park

New private parking panel updates joint code of practice

The operation of parking on private land has been revised to give more protection to motorists who struggle to pay within a given timeframe.

The parking sector’s two main trade associations have now updated their joint code of practice to address concerns around what the media has dubbed ‘The 5-minute rule’.

Since 17 February, drivers using private car parks monitored by fixed camera technology such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) have had a new safeguard in place if they experience delays in making payment.

The update has been introduced by the Private Parking Scrutiny and Advice Panel (PPSAP), a new body created by the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC) to oversee the operation of the code of practice.

The BPA and IPC published their single code of practice in October 2024. It applies to all private parking operators who are a member of either the BPA

judge at Derby Crown Court has ordered Excel to pay expenses to another driver, Peter Barton, who took more than five minutes to pay for a parking session.

or the IPC, which are DVLA accredited trade associations.

This accreditation allows their members to access vehicle keeper data when seeking payment of parking charge notices issued on private land.

The new rule on payment windows has been designed to ensure that motorists who face genuine difficulties in paying within a short timeframe are treated fairly. However, PPSAP states that remains essential for all drivers to read signage carefully and follow the rules of their chosen cark park.

The update applies only to sites where camera technology is used. It does not apply to local

Heathrow has become the first airport to sign up to the British Parking Association’s Approved Meet and Greet Parking Operator (AM-GO) scheme.

The BPA wants the AM-GO scheme to become the recognised standard for all airports and off-airport meet & greet parking services.

The process of onboarding quality meet & greet operators servicing Heathrow has begun.

Tom Prowse, Heathrow’s

head of surface access commercial, said: “Heathrow is committed to making every journey better from the moment passengers arrive. While we recommend passengers use official onairport parking, we also want to ensure they have the information and confidence to enable them to make informed decisions about the services they might wish to use around the airport.”

authority car parks and private car parks which are operated without ANPR or CCTV camera monitoring.

The BPA and IPC said the panel moved swiftly to implement this change to the code following concerns about the 5-minute rule being first raised in late 2024.

The ‘5-minute rule’ made headlines after a motorist, Rosey Hudson, talked about being taken to court by Excel Parking over a £1,906 claim after taking longer than five minutes to pay at a car park in Derby due to poor signal on her phone.

Hudson’s case was eventually dropped by Excel. Meanwhile, a

Will Hurley, chief executive of the IPC said: “It is crucial that there is a mechanism to identify and resolve issues quickly. I am pleased that the panel has acted swiftly to introduce safeguards for motorists. It is important drivers play their part by reading and following instruction on signage when parking their vehicle. Our sector is making significant strides in elevating standards. The single code, along with the creation of the Panel and its swift action reflects the sector’s positive progress and commitment to fairness.”

Andrew Pester, chief executive of the BPA, added: “It is a real testament to the PPSAP that this change has been implemented so efficiently. The parking sector is always striving to ensure it operates in the interest of compliant motorists and to ensure that parking is fairly managed for all. This change is another important step in achieving this.”

The PPSAP will be engaging with consumer groups in early 2025 and has committed to reviewing and addressing any emerging issues promptly.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport joins IPC’s meet & greet scheme

Liverpool John Lennon Airport has been assessed by the Accredited Airport Parking Provider (AAPP) scheme.

The AAPP scheme was launched in 2024 by The International Parking Community (IPC). The accreditation is designed to assure travellers that its meet & greet parking service meets industry standards, giving them confidence when choosing the official on-site operator.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s accreditation differentiates its service from unregulated off-site operations in the surrounding area.

Lucy O’Shaughnessy, commercial director of Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: “As the only official onsite meet & greet parking provider, it’s really important for us to demonstrate to customers the measures we have in place through the AAPP scheme, in order to give them the peace of mind regarding the care we provide for the safety

and security of their vehicle whilst parked on site with us.”

Will Hurley, chief executive of the IPC, said: “The AAPP scheme is designed to give consumers peace of mind when booking airport parking. We are delighted that Liverpool John Lennon Airport has achieved accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to the highest industry standards.”

Parking providers joining the AAPP must adhere to a set of standards and undergo regular audits to ensure compliance.

The scheme ensures a high level of service and safeguards against financial losses, compromised safety, and potential vehicle damage caused by rogue traders.

Accredited providers can display an official AAPP badge.

Should issues arise, the scheme offers a clear complaints process, with an escalation path to the IPC for unresolved cases.

New code applies to parking on private land

The BPA’s Anthony Powell and Heathrow’s Tom Prowse

Location Data Visualisation and Analytics

London parking penalty price bands to rise

Mayor Khan agrees with proposed change in cost of PCNs

The cost of penalty charge notices issued by London’s boroughs for parking offences look set to increase by £30.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has agreed to a request made by London Councils, the body that represents the capital’s local authorities.

London Councils argued that increasing the cost of PCNs would act as a deterrent to antisocial and obstructive parking.

London’s boroughs differentiate penalties based on the severity of the offence, with higherlevel charges for more serious transgressions, such as obstructing roads, and lower-level penalties for less severe matters such as overstaying in parking bays. Penalties also vary depending on the location.

Higher-level charges in Band A areas would increase from £130 to £160, and the cost of PCNs issued in Band B areas would rise from £110 to £140. Band A typically covers central London, while Band B applies to outer areas.

The revised penalty charge notice (PCN) levels would be:

• £160 for Band A higher-level

offences – this charge is also the set-level penalty for bus-lane and moving-traffic contraventions

• £110 for Band A lower level

• £140 for Band B higher level

• £90 for Band B lower level.

The 50% discount currently in place already would remain for those who pay their PCNs within 14 days.

London Councils argues that the cost of enforcement has increased significantly and that the increased PCN charges are needed at an appropriate level so that they are effective as deterrents.

“Through using PCNs to manage parking and traffic, boroughs can reduce congestion and incentivise road users to drive and park safely, protect access, crossings and junctions, and increase

active travel such as walking and cycling,” a London Councils spokesperson said.

London Councils says any net revenue raised by PCNs goes toward transport schemes such as the Freedom Pass.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said: “The Mayor considered evidence provided by London Councils, acting on behalf of all London boroughs, who believe the increase is needed to ensure adequate deterrence for noncompliance, given the considerable increase in PCNs.

“The number of people receiving PCNs has increased by 50% over the last 12 years. In that time, enforcement costs have risen, and boroughs are concerned the penalty charge regime isn’t sufficiently recovering costs.

Vehicle recovery firms want fee rise for untaxed cars

The Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators (AVRO) is calling for removal and storage fees for untaxed vehicles to be reviewed.

AVRO has written to the transport secretary Heidi Alexander requesting an immediate review and uplift in the fees.

Mick Puleston, head of ARVO, said: “AVRO has requested a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport to discuss removal and storage fees for untaxed vehicles and for these to be aligned with the 2023 statutory fees for vehicle removal, storage, and disposal. This adjustment would create a more sustainable rate for roadside recovery operators. Currently, operators face significant financial pressures in delivering their essential services and must be

appropriately remunerated. Being required to work for rates introduced in 1995 is simply not sustainable.”

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is responsible for removing untaxed vehicles from public roads.

Many UK police forces, under devolved powers from the DVSA, also undertake these removals under the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1997 (the 1997 Act). This regulation sets a removal fee of £100 and a storage charge of £21 per day.

In contrast, under The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (the 2023 Act), removal fees are £192, with storage at £26 per day. ARVO says these

PCNs are a vital way we keep London moving by deterring inconsiderate driving and protecting road space such as disabled bays.”

The proposed increases will now go to transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who will have a month to raise any objections. The Department for Transport said it could not comment at this stage.

The proposed rise is supported by Caroline Russell, Green Party member of the London Assembly’s transport committee, who said the rise would bring the capital’s boroughs’ fines in line with Transport for London’s (TfL) roads “It’s all about making sure that people don’t park in a way that introduces danger onto our roads,” she said. “I thought this was a sensible piece of tidying up. Anyone who parks legally won’t get a fine, and they do want to make sure the fine acts as a deterrent. The idea that it’s revenue-raising is not really going to fly.”

However, Matt Jaffa, from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), criticised the move. “We are very concerned about the 25%+ increase during a cost-ofdoing-business crisis,” he said. “Overzealous fines are on the rise and small firms can ill afford these extra costs.”

rates are more viable for recovery operators.

Puleston said: “The disparity between these regulations creates financial strain for recovery businesses, which have faced mounting pressures in maintaining their critical services. AVRO argues that applying the outdated fees from the 1997 Act makes it economically unfeasible for operators to continue providing these essential services.”

The Department for Transport (DfT) has stated that fees are continually reviewed. However, ARVO points out the fees were last revised in 2008.

Puleston said: “Roadside recovery operators have faced significant financial pressures in providing the crucial and critical service that they do, and they must be suitably remunerated for the service they provide.”

Solihull begins enforcement in four locations

Solihull Council has selected four locations for its new traffic enforcement operation, having received government approval for the powers last November. The cameras will enforce banned U-turns on A34 Stratford Road and yellow box junctions at Warwick Road. Other areas include School Streets and pedestrian zones in Solihull Town Centre. Each camera costs £25,000 and the council plans to fund them over three years.

Paul Tovey, the council’s head of highway management, said that officers had gained useful information from authorities which had already implemented similar systems. “What they are seeing is good compliance,” he said.

Solihull was in a third tranche of 22 English councils given powers to enforce moving traffic violations.

Parking permit for older people

St Albans offers residents over 70 annual parking pass

St Albans City and District Council has introduced a permit to help people who have difficulty with digital payment methods such as a mobile phone app.

Residents aged 70 or over can apply for a new Access Permit, which has been designed to make parking in the Hertfordshire city easier and to ensure older residents do not feel digitally excluded.

The Access Permit was created following resident feedback that car park permits had a wider purpose than just value for money.

Costing £190 a year, the permit is valid for one visit a day for up to three hours at offstreet car parks run by the council in St Albans and Harpenden.

Sites include car parks at Drover’s Way, Russell Avenue, the Civic Centre, Westminster Lodge and Verulamium in St

The Park Access online application page

Albans, and Amenbury Lane and Bowers Way East and West in Harpenden.

Cllr Helen Campbell, lead for car parking, said: “There is no statutory duty placed on us to provide such a permit and I am not aware of any councils that do, so this is quite an innovation.

“We are an inclusive council, responsive to the needs of all our community, and the permit

is a demonstration of that. Many of our older citizens are more than happy to pay by contactless cards or apps, but there are some who struggle with these modern methods.

“The Access Permit will help by providing them with a more traditional way of paying. The price of £190 per year is designed to reflect a fair price for an average driver over a year’s use.”

Man prosecuted over assault on Cornwall CEO

A man has been successfully prosecuted after assaulting a civil parking enforcement officer working for Cornwall Council . The officer was attacked last year after issuing a penalty charge notice (PCN) to a driver who had parked in breach of traffic regulations.

Luke Pentecost, of Falmouth, became verbally abusive before physically assaulting the officer. Fortunately, there were no significant injuries.

The incident was investigated by police and Pentecost, aged 32, was charged with assault. After pleading guilty at Truro Magistrates’ Court on 16 January, he was given a community order for 12 months, a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement for 20 days and an Alcohol Abstinence Requirement for 120 days.

He was ordered to pay costs of £85 to the Crown Prosecution Service and a Surcharge of £114 to the court. In addition, the court ordered that he pays compensation of £150 to the victim.

Praise for Edinburgh’s pavement ban

Charities Guide Dogs and Living Streets welcome new regime

The benefits of the pavement parking ban have been praised by Guide Dogs Scotland and Living Streets Edinburgh. City of Edinburgh Council worked with these organisations to lobby for the introduction of controls in Scotland.

Edinburgh has marked a full year since enforcement began against parking on pavements, at dropped kerb crossing points and double parking.

Up to 26 January 2025 there had been 5,098 penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued for footway parking, 1,591 for dropped kerb parking and 1,607 for double parking.

Since enforcement began there has been an overall decreasing trend in PCN fines being issued for pavement parking – with the exception of the busier summer months.

The council introduced the rules to make streets safer for pedestrians and road users. Pavement parking particularly impacts people who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters, those who are blind or partially sighted and people pushing prams or buggies. This practise also damages pavements, which are expensive to repair and become a trip hazard for everyone.

Parking attendants have the powers to issue PCNs to vehicles parked on pavements, some verges, at crossing points or dou-

ple like me who move around the city and use a power wheelchair. Pavements are for people and the enforcement of this ban reinforces that. It is great to also see that Glasgow has followed us and are beginning enforcement on their city streets from 29 January.”

ble parked. A parking ticket will be issued at the national level of £100 but reduced to £50 if paid within the first 14 days. This follows a similar process to existing parking tickets issued in Edinburgh.

Transport and environment convener, Cllr Stephen Jenkinson, said: “Since we introduced these changes one year ago, we’ve seen many residents and visitors modify their parking habits accordingly, with the problem of pavement parking disappearing in many streets across our city.

“The overall gradual decrease in PCN fines for pavement parking also shows we’re headed in the right direction, ultimately we want to see zero fines. Every driver is responsible for parking their vehicle considerately, and where this would not cause an obstruction to the pavement or road.

“We brought the pavement parking ban in to provide a safe and accessible environment for everyone, especially those with

Man jailed for crash that hurt two

sight impairments, mobility issues or pushing buggies.

“We’ve also heard from many people who really appreciate clearer, wider pavements and who no longer need to walk on the road as a result of the ban. I’m proud that we took this decision to make our streets as safe and accessible as possible – and that local authorities across Scotland are now looking to Edinburgh’s lead and implementing schemes of their own.”

Transport and local access forum convener Cllr Kayleigh O’Neill added: “The pavement parking ban has been so well received in Edinburgh, and I am so grateful to everyone who has played a part in making that happen. Strong awareness, resident co-operation and council enforcement has meant that disabled people, elderly people, those with buggies and prams, all have an easier time getting around.

“So many streets that have been blighted in the past are now free and accessible for peo-

Mike Moore, policy and campaigns manager at Guide Dogs Scotland, said: “One year on from the enforcement of pavement parking restrictions in Edinburgh, people with sight loss say it has made a real difference. By keeping pavements clear, the new rules have helped to ensure that people in the capital can get out and about safely, without the fear of being forced on to the road by inconsiderate parking.

“We welcome the start of enforcement in Glasgow, which marks an important step towards a consistent approach across Scotland. With both of Scotland’s largest cities now taking action, we hope to see continued progress by local authorities to make our streets safer and more accessible for all pedestrians.”

David Hunter, Living Streets Edinburgh group convener, said: “The City of Edinburgh Council deserves credit not only for being the first in Scotland to apply the national ban on pavement parking, but also for adopting a ‘no streets exempt’ policy.

“This been the most significant change to make Edinburgh a safer and more attractive city for pedestrians since the introduction of widespread 20mph speed limits.”

Consultation on digital TROs

A man who crashed a stolen car into a Northampton car park, seriously injuring two university students, has been jailed.

Joshua Coulton, 23, lost control of a stolen Seat Leon during a police pursuit on 18 October last year.

Coulton had pleaded guilty to six offences, including two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, at a hearing in December. He was sentenced to three years and two months in prison at Northampton Crown Court.

In an impact statement read out to the court, one of the victims, a woman in her 20s, said the incident had destroyed her life and career plans.

The Department for Transport has issued a consultation on draft regulations of digital Traffic Regulation Orders.

The statutory instrument will set out the mandatory information that must be sent by all traffic regulation authorities to the new digital publication service for Traffic Regulation Orders and notices, also known as D-TROs.

The consultation asks for views and comments on the mandatory information that must be sent to the D-TRO service, along with when it must be sent, once the regulations come into force.

The closing date is 21 March.

CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL

The aftermath of the crash on 18 October

A parking officer on patrol in Edinburgh

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Digital

Patrolling

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PATROL’s Driving Improvement competition offers councils

£25,000 to develop Blue Badge fraud prevention campaigns

Local authorities could win funding worth up to £25,000 from Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London (PATROL) to support campaigns that tackle the abuse of the Blue Badge scheme.

The competition is open to local authority parking and traffic enforcement teams, and their associated communications team.

The annual PATROL Driving Improvement Awards are focussed on inspiring and recognising communications campaigns and activities that drive positive change – both in local areas and replicable nationally – in the delivery of and public engagement around parking and traffic enforcement services.

Laura Padden, director of PATROL, said:

“The Driving Improvement Awards seeks bids focussed on an important and pressing issue or theme each year. In 2025, this is the misuse of Blue Badges, with recent data indicating continuing rises in both badge thefts and fraudulent usage. Blue Badge abuse undermines the integrity of the disabled parking scheme and the rights of disabled motorists, so it is critical for councils to increase public awareness and education on the issue and its prevalence in their communities.”

PATROL is offering access to funding of up to £25,000 from its existing innovation and research reserves for authority bids to deliver a communications campaign or activity with objectives aimed at addressing Blue Badge abuse.

Activities could include, for example, new public information, marketing, branding or PR. Bids should focus on implementation locally, but with the scope for the campaign or activity to be replicated by any England and Wales authority within the PATROL Joint Committee, or to be taken forward by PATROL itself to elevate on a national scale.

PATROL recognises that some authorities may lack the in-house expertise to deliver a campaign or activity, but may still have strong ideas to contribute to this year’s theme. These authorities are still encouraged to enter a bid, making it clear in their submission that they would prefer PATROL to undertake the communications activity on their behalf.

Laura Padden adds: “This is a fantastic opportunity for authority parking and traffic teams (as well as supporting communications teams) to showcase their creativity and commitment to addressing local challenges, while also helping to drive change nationally. Participating in the awards will not only highlight your authority’s dedication to improving community engagement, but also position parking and traffic teams as leaders in

It’s time to call out the

Blue Badge fraudsters

innovative problem solving.”

Shortlisted authorities will be recognised at PATROL’s Annual Reception in Westminster, London, on Tuesday 15 July 2025, where the winner of this year’s awards will be announced. PATROL will then support winning authorities to implement their campaign or

activity ahead of the 2026 event, with the outcomes, learnings and best practice shared with the wider PATROL Joint Committee cohort.

The deadline for submissions is 31 March. www.patrol-uk.info

‘Beyond the Uniform’ tells real people’s stories

Brighton & Hove and North Essex Parking Partnership share funding

The Driving Improvement Awards

2024 competition focussed on the issue of tackling aggression and violence against parking patrol officers. The competition was jointly won by Brighton and the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP), who focussed on humanising the role of parking civil

enforcement officers and other traffic enforcement staff who experience abuse from the public.

The two authorities are currently running separate activities in their local areas under the Beyond the Uniform brand until April and will report on the campaign’s outcomes in the summer.

PATROL will then look to coordinate a national roll-out of the campaign with member authorities.

EasyPark Group acquires Parkopedia

Car park mapping specialist joins line-up of key parking brands

International digital payments group EasyPark has bought Parkopedia, a provider of connected car services.

EasyPark Group says the integration will enable it to serve a wider range of vehicles and customer profiles. EasyPark owns apps such as EasyPark, PARK NOW, ParkMobile, RingGo and Park-line. EasyPark’s acquisition of Flowbird, completed in January, also saw it take on the YourParkingSpace brand.

The acquisition forms part of EasyPark Group’s ambition to provide drivers with accurate data throughout their journeys and a seamless payment process when parking at their destination.

“With the addition of Parkopedia, we are making the driver journey more seamless,” said Cameron Clayton, chief executive of EasyPark Group. “Parkopedia’s in-car data inte-

gration and payment technology, coupled with our digital parking solutions and on-street parking equipment, allows us to address the entire driver experience, and we are excited to share this platform with our current and future partners. Together, we will continue making driver journeys smoother and making an open platform for the whole of the global mobility industry.”

Parkopedia develops connected car services used by carmakers, organisations and

drivers. Parkopedia helps motorists find and pay for parking, EV charging, fuel and tolls across 90 countries.

Parkopedia is also developing detailed parking maps and corresponding algorithms to help drivers and self-driving vehicles navigate to an available parking space indoors.

Eugene Tsyrklevich, founder and chief executive of Parkopedia, said: “This is a transformative moment for datadriven mobility. Together with

Key leadership appointments at APCOA

EasyPark Group, we are expanding upon our combined capabilities, providing new products and features, built on highly accurate data and payment expertise, that enhance connected car services and data monetisation opportunities across municipalities and the automotive industry.

“Our combined resources will help accelerate innovation and service delivery, continuing to delight users and enable frictionless global mobility.”

Vitruvian Partners, Verdane and Searchlight Capital Partners LP, the investment firms that own the joint company, support the acquisition. The parties have agreed not to disclose the value or terms of the transaction.

EasyPark Group mobility platform is now present in over 6,000 cities across more than 80 countries, the company simplifies parking and mobility worldwide.

In 2024, EasyPark Group was recognised as one of Europe’s fastest-growing businesses by the Financial Times and Statista.

DVLA announces Moss as new CEO

European parking operator APCOA has made two senior management appointments.

Julian de Unamuno becomes the new chief financial officer (CFO) and Mike Clarke is the new chief human resources officer (CHRO).

Julian de Unamuno joins APCOA from Applus+, where he served as CFO. He brings over 20 years in financial leadership roles, including five years of experience in the parking industry, a sector he is passionate about. Prior to his role at Applus+, he was CFO and chief operating officer (COO) at Empark in Spain. De Unamuno succeeds Nick Pulford, who served as interim CFO.

Mike Clarke comes to APCOA with over 30 years working in human resources roles. Most recently, he

parking, EV charging, technologies for parking and mobility as well as urban solutions.

APCOA has received a Bronze Badge from EcoVadis, a provider of sustainability ratings.

served as COO and CHRO at Hero MotoCorp in India. He previously held the CHRO position at Delphi Technologies and HR International at Hertz. Clarke succeeds Anastasia Kuzmina, who served as interim CHRO.

“We are thrilled to welcome Julian and Mike to the management team,” said Nicola Veratelli, chief executive of APCOA. “Their vast experience, passion, and leadership will play a key role in driving our strategy forward and positioning APCOA for the future. We are confident that they will bring in fresh perspectives as we continue to enhance our business and foster innovation across the company.”

APCOA operates in 12 European countries. It is active in the areas of

EcoVadis assesses companies based on their performance in key areas such as environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. Its methodology provides a third-party assessment of a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, allowing stakeholders to make informed decisions about their partners and suppliers.

“The Bronze Badge awarded to APCOA acknowledges the progress we have made in several critical areas,” said APCOA ESG director Kim Challis. “We have implemented initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint, improve labour practices, and uphold strong ethical standards across our operations. Additionally, we have integrated sustainability criteria into our procurement processes, ensuring that our suppliers share our commitment to social and environmental responsibility.”

Tim Moss CBE has been named as new chief executive of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), effective from 31 March 2025. He arrives from the Welsh Government, where he is currently the chief operating officer and director general for corporate services and inspectorates.

Moss previously worked as chief executive at the Intellectual Property Office. Through these roles, he has experience managing functions including HR, finance and digital data, and has taken responsibility for several independent inspectorates focussed on planning decisions and health outcomes.

Parkopedia

Mike Clarke

Tim Moss CBE

Julian de Unamuno

Clarke moves on from APN Group

Parking innovator played key role in enforcement start-up

Harry Clarke has stood down as chairman of APN Group, a group of debt resolution businesses including Trace Enforcement Services and Moorside Legal.

Clarke was the first chair appointed by APN Group, and took on additional responsibilities as executive chairman from September 2024 to January 2025 while chief executive Mike Marrs resolved some matters relating to his health.

Mike Marrs has now fully resumed his executive role.

Patrick Isaacs, lead investor in APN Group, said: “Harry’s experience of bringing a new business from start-up to scale has been invaluable for this first phase of APN Group’s growth. We are hugely grateful to Harry for leaving the business in such a strong position, and we will remain close with him as he moves to take up fresh challenges

outside the group.”

Clarke is best known as the founder of RingGo, a phone parking app now used by over 18 million motorists.

Harry Clarke said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the formative challenges of APN Group. As any chair knows, you must always be prepared to step-up when the business requires it,

and it’s been deeply rewarding to have shaped APN Group through both executive and nonexecutive roles.

“Having worked closely with the executive team for eighteen months I know, with certainty, that they will steward the business effectively, and I wish them all the best for this next exciting stage.”

Ruxton-Boyle joins Citisense team

Nick Ruxton-Boyle has joined Citisense as technical director. He previously spent four years at Marston Holdings as director of environment, before which he was technical director at Project Centre for two years.

Ruxton-Boyle will lead the Citisense transport consultancy arm. He said: “I am super excited to be joining Citisense and to help steer the next stage of their meteoric journey. The unique combination of cutting edge sensor technology, data analytics and a passionate team is perfectly placed to accelerate transport decarbonisation.”

• Civil Enforcement Officers

• Environmental Enforcement Officers

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

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

• Parking Change Management

• Interim Parking Managers

• Car Park Attendants/Marshalls/Stewarding

• Parking Supervisors (Both Enforcement and Back Office)

• Parking Management (Both Enforcement and Back Office)

• Heads of Parking/Directors

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

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

• CCTV Operators – SIA and BTEC qualified

Looking for staff or need employment? Please contact our experienced team on:

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Mike Marrs and Harry Clarke

Nick Ruxton-Boyle

Taking the stress out of debt

DCBL’s Innovative Customer App

In an era where financial pressures are mounting, and digital solutions are at the forefront of customer service, DCBL has unveiled its game-changing Customer App - an innovative solution designed to ‘take the stress out of debt’.

Developed in-house by DCBL’s support and payment experts, this bespoke app redefines how customers engage to resolve their debts, ensuring an intuitive, user-friendly experience.

A Customer-Centric Approach to Debt Resolution

Tackling the Financial Wellbeing Crisis

Through comprehensive market research and analysis of third-party data, DCBL compiled a report, which found that financial stress is a growing concern in the UK, affecting people of all demographics and circumstances in many different ways.

This report serves as the foundation of DCBL’s year long campaign, ‘Tackling Credit in 2025’, guiding their approach to achieving the goal of providing effective, accessible, and impactful financial support.

A key pillar of the TC25 campaign, is the DCBL Customer App, which provides customers an accessible, private method of managing their debts and gaining control of their finances.

A poor understanding of money can impact wellbeing. 70% of adults in the UK reported experiencing financial stress or money worries last year. This equates to 40 million people in the UK. Additionally, 29% of UK adults reported feeling stressed about organising their finances in the past month, and 34% said they were anxious about managing their money.

Percentage of Brits negatively impacted in each area as a result of financial stress

The DCBL Customer App contains powerful features that make debt resolution more transparent and manageable:

24/7 Accessibility – Customers can check their account, amend their details, review outstanding balances, and make payments anytime, anywhere.

Flexible Payment Options – The app enables users to set up payment plans, manage recurring card payments, and tailor their repayment schedules to suit their financial situation.

Secure Communication Channels – A variety of communication options, including live chat, secure messaging, and call-back requests, ensuring customers receive support at a convenient time for them.

Document and Case Management – Users can access supporting evidence of the debt, track case progress, and review past transactions without the need to contact us.

Proactive Alerts and Notifications – The app provides timely reminders and updates, helping customers stay on top of their financial responsibilities, with no unwanted surprises.

Group Strategy Director, Lee

Samuels-Camozzi

The Future of Ethical Debt Resolution

As digital innovation continues to shape the financial services world, the DCBL Customer App sets a new standard for ethical and accessible debt resolution.

With its customer-first approach and cutting-edge technology, it is poised to revolutionise the industry by making managing your debts less daunting.

For updates on the release of the DCBL App and the Tackling Credit in 2025 campaign visit www.dcbltd.com

Customer App

Saving the world one parking space at a time

Professor Donald Shoup revealed how reforming parking policy could transform the way in which cities work

Professor Donald Shoup, the US academic widely regarded as the world’s leading thinker on parking issues, has passed away. His death on 6 February 2025, at the age of 86, was marked by obituaries both in newspapers, influential transport journals and urban planning websites. This was a testament to the renown of an academic who, through the unlikely medium of parking, had a far-reaching effect on transport and city planning policy across the globe. Shoup’s legacy is evident in the numerous cities that have adopted his recommendations, transforming urban landscapes to prioritise people over vehicles.

Shoup was professor emeritus of urban planning in the Department of Urban Planning at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research focussed on parking policy and its impact on urban planning, sustainability, and economic development. Shoup argued that traditional parking requirements – such as mandatory minimum parking spaces for new developments –led to urban sprawl, congestion, and higher housing costs.

In his 2005 book The High Cost of Free Parking, Shoup recommended that cities should charge fair market prices for on-street parking, spend the revenue to benefit the metered areas, and remove off-street parking requirements. In 2018’s Parking and the City, Shoup and 45 other academic and practicing planners examined the results in cities that have adopted this approach. The influential Planetizen website placed him in the upper reaches

of its ‘100 Most Influential Urbanists, Past and Present’. Topped by legendary New York urbanist Jane Jacobs, Shoup was ranked 6th in a Top 10 line-up featuring the likes of architect Le Corbusier, placemaker Jan Gehl and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.

Born on 24 August 24, 1938, in Long Beach, California, Shoup earned his PhD in economics from Yale University in 1968. He joined UCLA’s faculty in 1974, where he dedicated over four decades to teaching and research, profoundly influencing landuse planning and transportation. Shoup noticed that among those studying local government, everyone seemed to ignore two issues: parking and sewage. As he didn’t want to study sewage, he focussed on parking. “I thought I could find something useful if I studied what cars do for 95% of the time, which is park,” he would recall.

Donald Shoup

He soon became immersed in parking, an apparently mundane subject that he felt was actually at the heart of many issues that people care passionately about, such as affordable housing, climate change, traffic congestion and urban design.

The High Cost of Free Parking showed how city parking policies often prohibit walkability, damage the economy, raise housing costs, and penalise people who cannot afford or choose not to own a car. Over the course of 700 pages, Shoup showed how free street bays make parking and driving worse because low cost creates a scarcity of spaces that leads people to spend time and fuel circling blocks in misery. He argued that city planners’ efforts to solve this problem by mandating that homes and businesses provide more cheap parking only worsen the situation.

“Parking is free for us only in our role as motorist, not in our roles as taxpayer, employer, commuter, shopper, renter, as a homeowner,” he pointed out. “The cost of parking does not cease to exist just because the motorist doesn’t pay for it.”

The book argues that cities make two crucial mistakes regarding parking. First, they fail to price the parking on their streets, and as a result kerb spaces fill up and become hard to find. Second, to solve the problem they have created on the street, cities force into existence, through their zoning codes, excessive amounts of parking off street. In combination, these two errors compound each other. They lead cities to quietly subsidise cars, increase traffic congestion, worsen air pollution, encourage sprawl, degrade urban design, damage the economy, raise housing costs, reduce walkability, accelerate global warming, and make urban life more difficult for people who do not drive.

Shoup’s proposed solution was to reverse these mistakes. He recommended three parking reforms:

• remove off-street parking requirements

• charge the right prices for on-street parking

• spend parking meter revenue to improve public services on the metered streets.

His seminal work led to widespread policy reforms, including the reduction of parking minimums and the implementation of dynamic pricing for on-street parking. His research on employerpaid parking led to the passage of California’s parking cash-out law, and to changes in the US Internal Revenue Code to encourage “parking cash out”.

Shoup’s ideas have been adopted by a growing army of planning and transport experts, academics and practitioners, known as ‘Shoupistas’. He was dubbed the “Sir Isaac Newton of parking”, “UCLA’s parking guru,” a “parking rock star” and the “Shoup Dogg.”

The professor embraced the attention and was famed for his jumpers, love of cycling and peppering his lectures and essays with playful quotes from Monty Python and Seinfeld. His social media biography read: “Professor of Urban Planning at UCLA. Saving the world one parking space at a time.”

Shoup produced countless essays, lectures, podcasts and even appeared in cartoon form when he was the subject of a YouTube animated feature on the television show Adam Ruins Everything.

Shoup became Distinguished Research Professor of Urban Planning in the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

Shoup became a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and an Honorary Professor at the Beijing Transportation Research Center.

In 1993, he was invited to the White House in recognition of his research on employer-paid parking. In 2015, the American Planning Association awarded Shoup its highest honour, the National Excellence Award for a Planning Pioneer.

From 2009-2017, he served as editor of the University of California’s ACCESS magazine. He retired from UCLA in 2015 as a distinguished professor.

In 2018 Shoup edited Parking and the City, a new book of essays picking up the themes he explored in The High Cost of Free Parking. In the new book he wrote: “Few people are interested in parking itself, so I always try to show how parking affects whatever people do care strongly about, such as affordable housing, climate change, economic development, public trans-

Shoup spelled out hope for cities

Isaiah Mouw, host of USA’s The Parking Podcast, asked a friend create artwork that presented Donald Shoup’s face in a style made famous by artist Shepard Fairey. Mouw said, “I saw the Obama ‘Hope’ poster and thought parking reform could use a ‘Shoup’ poster.” Shoup adopted this striking image as his signature image on social media.

portation, traffic congestion and urban design.

“For example, parking requirements reduce the supply and increase the price of housing. Parking subsidies lure people into cars from public transportation, bicycles or their own two feet. Cruising for underpriced kerb parking congests traffic, pollutes the air and creates greenhouse gases. Do people really want free parking more than affordable housing, clean air, walkable neighbourhoods, good urban design and a more sustainable planet?

“Recognising that our misguided parking policies block progress toward many goals that people care deeply about – from providing affordable housing to slowing global warming – may spark a planning reformation. Reforms in planning for parking may be the simplest, cheapest, quickest, and most politically feasible way to achieve many important policy goals.”

Planetizen included Parking and the City in its Top 10 books of 2018, and it has become a vital resource for reformers.

The High Cost of Free Parking’s status as a classic text is secure. Revised in 2011, it has been translated into multiple languages, including Chinese, Russian, Romanian and Persian, and recorded as an audiobook.

In 2018, the American Planning Association included the publication of The High Cost of Free Parking in its timeline of key events in US city planning since 1900. Other books in this timeline included Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Jane Jacobs’ Death and Life of Great American Cities. Now that’s a pretty impressive reading list.

Shoup is survived by his wife, Pat Shoup, his brother, Frank Shoup, his niece, Allison Shoup, and nephew Elliot Shoup.

Shoup was one curious cat

Tributes to Professor Donald Shoup have come from around the globe

Donald Shoup was a founding advisory board member of the Parking Reform Network (PRN), a non-profit that has documented over 3,000 cities that have adopted some of Shoup’s suggested reforms. PRN marked his passing by saying:

“Donald’s curiosity, intelligence, passion, generosity, and kindness allowed him not only to expose the critical problems with modern parking policy, but also to ignite and nurture a movement to change them and make the world a better place.

“The Parking Reform Network wishes to provide our community with a place to share their stories and thoughts to remember and honour Donald. We will provide a copy of these messages to his family at a future date.”

Shoup was a regular contributor to Streets Blog, which recalled: “Donald Shoup often joked that he set out to study parking because nobody else would. He likened himself to a cat, sniffing and marking the tyres of parked cars, while other transportation planners, he said, are more like dogs, running after and trying to bite at cars as they drive down the road.”

The site said: “The beauty of the Shoupian worldview is that it both explains the dire condition of so many cities and plots paths to recovery: He advocated for revising employer parking plans and leveraging transit to avoid game-day traffic tie-ups. Shoup’s conviction that the economic relationship between humans and automobiles had become fundamentally – but not irreparably – distorted helped launch scores of policy reforms that go far beyond the parking meter.”

Andrew Potter, director, Parking Perspectives

“I was tipped off about Professor Shoup by one of his exstudents. They enthusiastically advised me to go find his online video. He moved model cars around a streetscape. This was something different! Despite him making what could be described as a caricature of the kerbside parking problem, it was engaging.

I had understood the problem and his suggested solution. He emphasised his methods when he graciously stood me lunch at UCLA. Generous with his knowledge, he indulged me and influenced my own thinking on how to approach an audience in order to convey a message.

“At subsequent meetings he continued to give, sharing a novel survey method (that we subsequently used) and being the first to suggest to me that larger cars should pay more for parking (now an emerging hot topic). He was approachable and humorous. He joked about the slow adoption of his ideas and the oft-quoted mis-representation of some of his early statistics; he weaved risqué references into parking thought and practice.

“Donald Shoup was always warm and kind, and on your side, regardless of your starting position. He made it fun. He was evidently enjoying it, and made it clear, we should too.”

Colin Black, director, Mayer Brown

“During the noughties I spent a lot of time in the USA and Canada providing sustainable transport planning advisory and was often rolled out as a keynote speaker to demonstrate ‘what those crazy Europeans were up to’.

“At the time Donald Shoup was one of the few Americans promoting a more progressive and alternative approach to car-dominant planning. His research spoke to north Americans in a way that better appreciated the cultural differences. His work was a wake-up call to show how cities across the USA were wasting valuable land and resources by prioritising car storage over more efficient land uses.

“Despite parking being an often-overlooked topic, Shoup managed to make parking an exciting and essential part of transport planning. His book The High Cost of Free Parking became influential among planners, urbanists, and policymakers in north America.

“By fixing parking policies, Shoup argued that cities could

reduce car dependency, encourage public transport use, and make streets more pedestrian-friendly – all of which contribute to sustainability and liability.

“Cities worldwide, from San Francisco to London, have adopted policies inspired by ‘Shoupian’ recommendations, leading to more efficient land use and better urban design. His work showed that something as seemingly mundane as parking could have a profound impact on housing, equity, and sustainability, making him a transformative and inspirational figure in transport planning.”

Adam Millard-Ball, Associate Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA

“I first came across Donald’s work in 2000. I wouldn’t have studied parking if it weren’t for him. And long into retirement, he was a lovely colleague and generous with his advice here at UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. We’ll carry on his work.”

Michael Manville, chair of Urban Planning, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

“Donald spent so much time with his writing because he wanted to make it accessible. He spent so much time with presentations because he wanted to make them entertaining. He built a method where he was always ready to explain to an activist group or a politician, ‘Hey, the missing part here is parking’.”

William Fulton, former UCLA student and former Mayor of Ventura, California

“Whenever anybody asked him how he got so focussed on parking, Don always had a funny answer. If you are a public policy academic, the ones who study national issues – the presidency in particular – are at the top of the heap. Far behind were those who study state issues. At the bottom of the barrel, where Don jokingly used to argue he could be found, were those studying local government. (In some cases, local government doesn’t even count toward scholarly achievement in academia.)

“And among those studying local government, there were two issues nobody ever wanted to touch: parking and sewage. Don didn’t want to study sewage. So he studied parking.

“He wasn’t really about parking. Don was an economist, and his mission was to help people understand the underlying economics of public goods and services. Parking was simply the vehicle, one might say, that he chose to do so.”

Manny Rasores de Toro, director, MR Parking Consultancy

“Donald Shoup was an icon in urban mobility. I had the privilege of knowing Don for many years and spent some quality time with him at various parking events in the USA and Europe, including some fond memories of discussing various aspects of his book, The High Cost of Free Parking, in Malaga during the 2019 EPA Congress where, after having some lovely tapas, we ended up having a good laugh about his famous saying “Saving the world one parking space at a time”.

“Having met Don in social occasions, it became abundantly clear that as well as being an icon of urban mobility, he was very approachable, kind and generous, with a wicked sense of humour.

“R.I.P Don, your urban mobility legacy will be followed and remembered well into the future.”

European Parking Association

“The EPA is saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Donald Shoup. A distinguished research professor at UCLA, Professor Shoup was a pioneering figure in urban planning, renowned for his transformative work on parking policies.

“His seminal book, The High Cost of Free Parking, challenged conventional perspectives of parking practice. His insights have been instrumental in reshaping urban landscapes and transportation policies worldwide. The EPA was privileged to have him attend our Congress in 2019.

“We honour his legacy and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and the global parking and urban planning community.”

The man who made parking sexy UCLA

celebrates the life of Donald Shoup

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Donald Shoup, a longtime member of our UCLA ITS community and a prolific intellectual whose work reshaped the way we think about parking and cities.

A distinguished research professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Don dedicated his career to understanding the crucial link between parking policy, transportation, and land use. His groundbreaking book, The High Cost of Free Parking, changed how cities around the world approach parking, inspiring policies that promote economic vitality, sustainability, and better urban design.

As much as academics can be celebrities, Don was one. He built a legion of followers – planners, policymakers and everyday city dwellers known as Shoupistas – who found inspiration in his work. Yet, despite his influence, he remained humble, endlessly curious and passionate about making his research accessible to everyone, not just scholars and policymakers.

As editor of ACCESS Magazine, and later Transfers Magazine, and author of more than 100 public articles, he had an extraordinary ability to translate research into real-world solutions. Don, who served as the second director of UCLA ITS, often joked that parking was the lowest rung of topics in academic research –but he was just as quick to point out how “sexy” parking policy could be. In fact, that well-worn joke became a signature part of Don’s repertoire, a reflection of the wit and charm that made his work so engaging.

After five decades of dogged advocacy, cities and even entire states have adopted the policies he championed. We’ll miss you, Don – but we’ll make sure your work carries on.

Donald Shoup was a keen cyclist

Donald Shoup’s ideas and personality inspired an army of Shoupistas and recruited many to the ranks of the Parking Reform Network

Copyright:

Matt Cant Photography

Revitalising Bridlington

£15.5m multi-storey to be built in Yorkshire town’s centre

Work on a new a multi-storey car park in Bridlington’s town centre is set to begin this spring. East Riding of Yorkshire Council is to invest £15.5m in the creation of the 426-space car park in the heart of the town centre.

The development is set to enhance accessibility, support local businesses, and drive forward the wider regeneration of Bridlington with the aim of generating around £35m for the town’s economy.

The scheme is a significant element in the council’s plan to revitalise Bridlington and support its future growth. The project forms part of a broader strategy to revitalise Bridlington, attracting more visitors and supporting economic growth.

The development aligns with East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s vision for a vibrant, accessible, and thriving town centre.

Construction work is due to begin in April and the site is due to open a year later, in spring 2026.

It is hoped the new facility in Beck Hill, between Manor Street and Hilderthorpe Road, will provide modern, secure, and convenient parking for residents, visitors, and businesses, helping to ease congestion, improve the

appeal and support the rejuvenation of the town centre. Cllr Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “I am thrilled that we can finally begin work on such a vital piece of infrastructure for the town. This investment is a clear signal of our confidence in Bridlington’s future.

“The new multi-storey car park will not only address current parking challenges but also support the town’s regeneration by making it easier for people to visit, shop, and enjoy everything Bridlington has to offer.

“This council is investing in Bridlington’s future and is committed to creating a vibrant, sustainable town centre that benefits residents, businesses and visitors for years to come. We hope this new multi-storey car park will generate millions of pounds for the local economy.”

The new multi-storey car park will be owned and operated by the council and continues the regeneration of Bridlington, blending in with the recently landscaped Gypsey Race Park, along Hilderthorpe Road.

The plan has received support from local businesses and residents. The council has worked closely with local stakeholders, including the Lords Feoffees and businesses groups, to ensure the project meets the needs of the town.

The building aims to boost the number of parking spaces in Bridlington and enable drivers to park as close as possible to the town centre, increasing the number of visitors and supporting local businesses.

The car park will feature well-lit spaces, electric vehicle charging points, Blue Badge parking bays and easy pedestrian access to key areas of the town centre, including retail, leisure, and hospitality venues.

As well as offering better and more convenient access to the town centre and the harbour, including Bridlington Spa, the site will offer secure night-time parking and attract people to the town centre in the evening, promoting the area’s night-time economy and overnight stays.

The exterior design consists of a series of vertical twisted fins on its exterior to create the impression of a wave in order to reflect the coastal setting.

Bridlington’s new Beck Hill car park

20 FREE places for Local Authority Delegates*

CAR PARKS 2025

Wednesday 2 April 2025 | 15 Hatfields, London SE1

The place for talking about parking spaces

Car Parks 2025 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.

Key themes

At Car Parks 2025 expert panels will address key issues and answer questions on:

l Car park design

l Selecting structural systems

l Managing car parks

l Exterior design

l Fire safety

l Electric vehicle charging

l Payment technology

l Renovation and refurbishment

The Car Park Game

Presented by:

Consultant Andrew Potter will lead an interactive session that will explore:

l whether car park operators should renovate ageing parking structures so they offer a better parking experience, or…

l leave existing car parks as they are, offer a poorer quality of service and tolerate lower yields?

Speakers

Confirmed speakers and panellists include:

l Ian Bailey, CROSS-UK

l Sean Cleary, Cambridge City Council

l Jon Elliott, Stripe Consulting

l Elizabeth Gilliard, Chartered Institute of Logistics (CILT)

l Mark Moran, Parking Review

l Andrew Potter, Parking Perspectives

l Russell Simmons, Stripe Consulting

l Harry Smith, Stripe Consulting

l Christian Stone, Concrete Preservation Technologies

l John Taylor, 49 Parks

l Chris Whapples, Stripe Consulting

Exhibiting opportunities

To discuss exhibiting opportunities at Car Parks 2025, contact Jason Conboy on: 020 7091 7895 or email: jason@landor.co.uk

Exhibitors include:

Car park shines gold in town’s streetscape

Newcastle-under-Lyme multi-storey car park opens for business

A 472-space multi-storey car park has opened in Newcastle-underLyme in Staffordshire.

The Castle car park opens its doors to the public for the first time at 7am on Friday, 24 January. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The five-storey building, located on part of the Ryecroft site on Liverpool Road, includes 472 spaces – including 19 for motorcycles – and 39 electric vehicle charging points which will be fully operational from next week.

Other amenities include automated main doors, energy-efficient lighting, 22 disability spaces on lower levels, and lifts and ramps enabling full accessibility.

The multi-storey car park’s façade features gold panelling and a terracota-coloured cladded stairwell.

The car park is surrounded by trees and hedgerows, boosting the biodiversity of the local area.

The car park is a variable stay, pay-on-return site. New machines

will accept both cash and card payments.

The transformative project underpins the council’s wider £30m redevelopment of the overall Ryecroft site, nearby Astley Place and the ageing Midway car park. The scheme is being led by social impact developers

The Midway multi-storey is set to be redeveloped as a contemporary urban neighbourhood comprising over 100 apartments.

Investment is coming from the previous government’s Town Deal and Future High Streets Fund

Norfolk clifftop parking to be replaced

North Norfolk District Council is progressing work on the replacement of a clifftop car park in Happisburgh.

Planning permission was granted last year for the relocation of the Happisburgh car park from its existing site to a location just off Lighthouse Lane.

Happisburgh has had a car park for many years. The original car park was moved to its current location in 2011 through the Pathfinder scheme after it was lost due to erosion.

The Coastwise scheme previously funded work to enable continued access via the existing entrance to the car park as coastal erosion progressed. This was done, with the cooperation of a neighbouring property owner, by extending the entrance using part of their garden.

This continued access has extended the life of the car park in its current form. However, this is only a temporary solution; as further cliff is lost,

following authority-led bids.

Cllr Stephen Sweeney, cabinet member for finance, town centres and growth, said: “I’m pleased that Castle Car Park is opening. It’s clean, modern, safe and welllit – a major upgrade from the outdated Midway – which will significantly improve people’s town centre experience and support the local economy day and night, both now and in years to come.

“But this is more than just a car park; it’s a vital addition to help secure Newcastle town centre’s future sustainability as a thriving place for everyone. Providing enhanced infrastructure like this underpins the council’s current regeneration which will draw different groups of people into the area.”

New affordable housing is planned for the remaining section of Ryecroft and work has started to thoughtfully remodel Astley Place into modern accommodation and retail space, with attractive public open spaces between the Ironmarket and Merrial Street, which will enable better connectivity between a redeveloped Ryecroft and the High Street.

this entrance will become unsafe for vehicle access.

Planning permission was granted for the replacement car park, and the land purchase is near completion. Happisburgh Parish Council identified the new site and obtained planning consent. Work is now being done to seek a construction contractor for the replacement car park.

The construction work will include decommissioning the existing car park and entrance,

reclamation and reuse of materials where feasible, construction for the new entrance, highway improvements, construction of the car park, installation of necessary signage, and planting of landscaping.

The current lease is also being refreshed with the Happisburgh Parish Council to maintain their management of the replacement car park as they did with the existing car park.

The current car park and associated community infrastructure have been successfully managed for many years by the parish council. This has allowed them to invest in local infrastructure, support local jobs, and set aside funds to support future coastal transition. In the long term, the parish council will continue to enable funds to be directed towards local projects to support the vitality of the community and also continue to raise funds to support local coastal erosion transition and management.

Cllr Harry Blathwayt, portfolio holder for coast, said: “I have no doubt that the future benefits to Happisburgh will prove this project a success.”

The project is funded by Defra as part of the £200m Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes, which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.

Capital & Centric on behalf of the council.

Multi-storey planned for York station

New car park is key element of £25m Gateway project

York station’s long-stay car park will close in March as part of the wider York Station Gateway project. The long-stay car park will be shut to allow Network Rail to begin work on a new multi-storey car park.

This work is a key part of the York station gateway project –a collaboration between Network Rail, City of York Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, LNER and Sisk. The aim is to transform the area in front of the station and improve overall access to and from the city.

The new multi-storey car park will improve parking facilities and provide easier, more convenient access to and from the station. The building will also boast larger parking spaces and feature electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

While the long-stay car park is closed, motorists are advised to plan ahead and consider using alternative parking options.

Network Rail’s commuter

Design for York Station car park

APCOA car park on Leeman Road and other nearby council car parks are available, though they are expected to be busier than usual.

The gates at Lowther Terrace will remain open for pedestrians and cyclists during the closure.

Mike Stancliffe, principal development manager for Network Rail’s Eastern region, said: “Closing the long-stay car park at York station is a crucial

step towards building the new multi-storey car park – significantly improving the station’s facilities. We understand this work may be disruptive to the local community and we apologise for any inconvenience. We greatly appreciate the patience of everyone as we work towards transforming York station.”

Trains will continue to run as normal throughout the closure.

Conservationists win fight against car park wall

Campaigners have won a legal battle against the expansion of a car park that saw a steel wall being erected in a protected Essex landscape.

The Dedham Vale Society and Campaign for National Parks won a judicial review against the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, over the decision to approve the development of a significant car park extension and lighting at Manningtree Station, Essex, without observing a new legal duty to “conserve and enhance” National Parks and National Landscapes.

Lawyers acting for the Secretary of State admitted to an “error of law” and now accept that the failure to apply new duty to the protected landscape was unlawful.

Charles Clover, chairman of the Dedham Vale Society, a charity founded in 1938 to protect Constable Country said: “This is an enormously important victory for the Vale and for protected landscapes everywhere. It means the new statutory duty on official bodies to conserve and enhance National Landscapes and National Parks in their decisions must be complied with by all official bodies. Few have been doing so. This victory comes as a warning to all other official bodies with designs on the Dedham Vale – and any other protected landscapes

The £25m York Station Gateway project, which began in 2023, is designed to improve the area around the railway station. The project includes the building of a new station square and increased areas for pedestrians, taxis and buses. The work involves creating a new station frontage, an improved transport interchange and a new setting for the historic city walls and heritage buildings in the area.

and decided not to contest the case.

such as National Grid.”

Greater Anglia installed the 200-space extension with 58 new eight-metre lighting columns and 190-metre long red steel wall along a regionally important footpath into Constable Country, St Edmund Way, without planning permission in 2020.

A planning inspector decided last May that, contrary to a previous decision by the local council, the development was unlikely to have a significant effect on the environment and that the development therefore fell within the remit of the permitted development regime.

Dedham Vale Society launched judicial review proceedings in August 2024, which the government and Greater Anglia intended to fight. Then, in the weeks before the case was due to be heard in court, the Secretary of State admitted that the government’s actions were unlawful

In a Consent Order filed with the High Court, government lawyers said: “The Secretary of State accepts that the failure to apply the statutory duty to seek to further the purposes of the National Landscape when making the screening decision constitutes an error of law and the outcome might have been different had it been applied.” The government’s decision was therefore unlawful and is quashed. The government has agreed to pay the Dedham Vale Society’s costs.

The Campaign for National Parks was granted permission from the High Court to intervene, on the grounds that the case sets a national precedent for all of England’s 10 National Parks and 34 National Landscapes (previously AONBs).

Dr Rose O’Neill from Campaign for National Parks said: “This is a hugely significant win. For too long, government bodies, such as Ofwat, the Planning Inspectorate and National Highways, have turned a blind eye; the Secretary of State’s admission that this is unlawful paves the way for all others to wake up and take action. The ability of groups like ours to take judicial review is essential to safeguarding this country’s most cherished natural assets. This whole case could have been avoided if government and developers complied with the law in the first place.”

The car park wall

Car park collapses in Canada’s capital city

Ottawa parking garage was sealed off right before structural failure

A section of a multi-storey car park dramatically collapsed in the Canadian city of Ottawa.

Part of the downtown Slater Street car park collapsed early on the morning of 26 February.

Slabs of concrete and a section of an upper wall fell to the ground below, but no injuries were reported.

Around 50 vehicles were left inside the six-level structure.

Ottawa Fire Services said a 911 caller had reported damage to a column in the garage just before 5pm on 25 February.

Firefighters inspecting the site observed five to six girders that support the structure were bowing. As they searched the garage for people, the firefighters noted that cement columns reinforcing the upper roof were cracked and broken.

How the Slater Street garage collapse was reported on social media

he said.

In the hours before the collapse, engineers stated the building was at risk of imminent collapse due a large amount of snow on its roof.

On 25 February city officials, police and parking management firm Indigo kept people away from the car park, helping those whose vehicles were inside to get home by taxi.

Following the collapse, the car park’s owner, GWL Realty Advisors, said: “This is a concerning incident and we’re thankful there were no injuries. We’re working closely with the city, emergency crews and a local team of experts to address the situation, render the site safe, and allow for the removal of any vehicles. We will be engaging with the relevant parties to investigate the cause of this incident.”

Scott Lockhart, the city’s deputy chief building official, told CBC Radio the structure suffered a “pancake collapse”.

“Essentially the floor dropped

The car park was then closed and cordoned off. A section then collapsed at around 4:45am the following morning.

Celebrating a car park in art

A shopping centre car park in Stockport is the subject an art exhibition. Artist Alison Waters has used the Merseyway car park as the muse for her latest collection of ceramics, currently on display at Manchester’s Modernist Society gallery.

Waters’s hand-built stoneware ceramics are inspired by her hometown of Stockport. The diverse shapes, colours, and materials of this urban landscape captivate her visually.

Waters says View Through a Hole is a love letter to a town where Modernist and industrial architectural styles stand side by side.

“There’s a real mix of architecture in the town and everyone loves the Victorian bits, but when it come to the modernist architecture they struggle,” she said.

She said the ceramics were inspired by the views of Stockport through the gaps in a pierced concrete screen at the car park created by sculptor and public artist Alan Boyson in the 1960s.

Waters has partnered with her nephew, the photographer Dylan Barker, to celebrate Boyson’s car park screen, its modernist shapes and the views beyond. Barker is studying photography and 3D design, the two subjects aligning in this exhibition.

“I was exploring Stockport’s shopping centre and car park area with my nephew while he was taking photos for a school project on modernist architecture,” she said. “I became fascinated by the slice of urban landscape visible through the holes in the car park screen. It was like looking onto a miniature landscape – a snapshot of the town’s architectural heritage.”

and subsequently took out the next floors below. And that was located directly over the entrance, which also, unfortunately, took out the ramp and ways to get out the vehicles,”

The car park was built in 1989 and is scheduled for redevelopment. Last June, Ottawa’s planning department agreed a plan for a pair of apartment towers at the site.

Electric cars

Zero-emission HGVs

Rail

Modal shift and efficient driving

Baseline

Electric vans

Other zero-emission vehicles

Vehicle efficiency and hybridisation

Historical

Balanced Pathway

It ’s time for a change

Action on climate change does not need to be pitched against growing the economy. Instead a combination of government and business investment offers a route to a secure and prosperous future for the UK, says the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The committee of experts predicts around 65-90% of the required investment will be paid by the private sector, but there will also need to be targeted public investment.

The committee is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008. Its purpose is to advise the UK and devolved governments on emissions targets and to report to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The committee produces a carbon budget every five years. Carbon budgets must be set in law by the government 12 years before that period of time starts.

The UK is legally bound to be no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2050. Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have more than halved since 1990, mainly through a transition from fossil fuel powered electricity generation towards the use of renewables. But the CCC suggests that to reach the 2050 target there will need to be changes in how people drive and heat their homes.

Under UK law, the CCC provides independent advice on how much the UK should emit over five-year periods, known as carbon budgets, and how it might get there. Each carbon budget is a stepping stone to net zero by 2050. The latest advice is that by 2040, emissions should be 13% of their 1990 levels for the UK to stay on track.

The CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget, which looks ahead to the period 2038-42, is informed by an updated ‘Balanced Pathway’ that represents an assessment of the UK’s best route to reaching net zero by 2050, based on the latest evidence and data. The pathway has been developed

by dividing the UK’s emissions into sectors of the economy and determining credible emissions reductions for each from 2025 to 2050. In each sector, the CCC started from the baseline and considered which emissions reduction options would be most suitable. In many of the sectors that currently dominate the UK’s emissions – including surface transport, buildings, industry and electricity supply – cost-effective options are expected to be available to almost completely decarbonise the sector.

Some emissions are expected to remain in sectors with no credible way to completely decarbonise, including agriculture, aviation, waste and land use sources. The CCC’s pathway explores the best balance between credible options to reduce emissions and balancing these with greenhouse gas removals, both in ‘nature’ (via carbon sequestration in land use sinks) and ‘engineered removals’, such as approaches utilising carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The Seventh Carbon Budget states that one-third of emissions cuts between now and 2040 need to come from households making low-

Annual cost comparison for new electric and petrol cars in 2023 and 2030

carbon choices. This will mainly be achieved through switching from petrol and diesel cars to electric vehicles, and from fossil fuel boilers to heat pumps. The CCC calculates that four in five cars will need to be electric and half of homes have heat pumps within 15 years in order to achieve net zero. The committee would also like to see people use public transport, walk and cycle more frequently.

Emissions cuts will be needed in areas such as flying. The CCC’s citizens panel research found that a frequent flyer tax would have broad public support. It calls on the aviation industry to investment in sustainable fuels and greater efficiency. The CCC no longer directly advises on airport expansion, but previously advised that this could not take place without major cuts to carbon elsewhere.

Interim CCC chair Professor Piers Forster said: “The committee is delighted to be able to present a good news story about how the country can decarbonise while also creating savings across the economy. For a long time, decarbonisation in this country has really meant work in the power sector, but now we need to see action on transport, buildings, industry, and farming. This will create opportunities in the economy, tackle climate change, and bring down household bills. Our analysis shows that there is no need to pitch action on climate change against the economy.”

CCC advice is not policy, but historically the government has accepted its suggestions. Once accepted the targets will become legally binding, but government decide how to achieve them. Ministers will have until June next year to come up with their detailed response to the findings. www.theccc.org.uk

What needs to change

Sector by sector breakdown of emissions reduction

27% of the emissions reduction by 2040 comes from surface transport

The UK is already beginning to see EV sales having a measurable effect in reducing emissions. This will speed up as prices fall and sales grow, with fully electric options accounting for nearly all new car and van sales by 2030 and making up over three-quarters of the fleet on the road by 2040.

14% of the emissions reduction by 2040 comes from homes

Supply chains and the workforce of trained installers for low-carbon heating should scale up through the 2020s so that all new and replacement home heating installations are low carbon (mainly heat pumps) by the middle of the next decade.

12% of emissions reductions by 2040 comes from electricity supply

Demand for electricity will increase, especially during the 2030s, driven by the switch to EVs and heat pumps. To meet this growth and decarbonise the system, low-carbon generation is rolled out quickly. Offshore wind forms the backbone of the future system.

11% of the emissions reduction by 2040 comes from industry

The largest share of emissions reduction comes from electrification of industrial heat processes. Carbon capture and storage is important for tackling process emissions and should be targeted at industrial subsectors with limited alternatives. Hydrogen will play a small but important role in subsectors which may find it hard to electrify.

7% of the emissions reduction by 2040 comes from agriculture and land use

Low-carbon farming practices and technologies, including livestock measures and decarbonising machinery, can achieve a substantial reduction in agricultural emissions. Reaching net zero across the agriculture and land use sectors also requires a reduction in livestock numbers, most notably to free up land to plant trees.

5% of the emissions reduction by 2040 comes from aviation

Growth in aviation demand is managed through ensuring that the cost of decarbonising aviation is reflected in the price of flying. The share of sustainable aviation fuel used increases gradually, with a growing portion of this coming from synthetic fuels in the 2040s.

24% of emissions reduction by 2040 comes from other sectors

Emissions reduce across fuel supply, F-gases, non-residential buildings, shipping and waste. Engineered removals also ramp up gradually from 2030 to reach required levels by 2050.

A balanced pathway

The Climate Change Committee’s advice

Making electricity cheaper: The largest share of emissions reductions in our pathway comes from switching to low-carbon electric technologies across sectors including transport, buildings, and industry. Households and businesses need to be better incentivised to make these choices through the impacts they will see on their bills. This can be done through rebalancing prices to remove policy levies from electricity bills.

Removing barriers: People need to be able to install chargepoints in their homes and businesses. Industries require timely grid connections to allow them to move to electrified production processes. Grid infrastructure is essential to enable everyone to make use of domestically produced low-carbon electricity, reduce household bills, and improve our energy security. Key processes and rules, including in planning, consenting, and regulatory funding, need to enable rapid deployment of low-carbon technologies.

Providing certainty: In many key areas, the best way forward to decarbonise is now clear. Once the market has locked into a solution, we need to deliver it. Government should support markets to do this by setting out clear, timely decisions on support for new technology choices, and dates for phasing out old technology. Certainty will provide confidence to consumers and investors. This should include confirming that there will be no role for hydrogen in home heating.

Supporting households to install low-carbon heating: While the net zero transition should lead to lower energy bills for consumers, support is needed to address barriers in upfront costs, especially for low-income households. Addressing barriers such as the price of electricity, lack of awareness, and misconceptions about heat pumps will be crucial.

Setting out how government will support businesses: Businesses need clarity on the balance between government support and market mechanisms such as the UK ETS and carbon border adjustment mechanisms, so that they can make the transition to low-carbon operations. With the right support, UK businesses could decarbonise early and take advantage of growing global demand for low-carbon goods and services. Farmers and land managers need support to diversify land use into woodland creation, peatland restoration, bioenergy crops, and renewable energy.

Enabling the growth of skilled workforces and supporting workers in the transition: Growing workforces will be a critical enabler of some of the system-wide changes that are needed (for example, switching from gas to electric heating, building out the electricity grid). The UK needs a plan for how to do this. A small number of industries will change substantially, which could adversely impact communities if not managed well. Government, business, workers, and communities should proactively plan for how to address this and ensure that new opportunities are available in affected areas.

Implementing an engagement strategy: Government should provide clear information to households and businesses. It should focus on what actions are most impactful in reducing emissions, the benefits of low-carbon choices, and providing trusted information.

Forthcoming conferences from Landor LINKS about School Streets and safer journeys for children

Thursday 27 March 2025

Sophia Gardens, Glamorgan Cricket Ground, Cardiff

An inspiring mix of speakers, workshops, and interactive sessions, addressing key themes such as community engagement, infrastructure development, and ensuring accessibility for all children.

Find out more at: www.landorlinks.uk

To discuss exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, contact Jason Conboy on 020 7091 7861 or email jason@landor.co.uk

Thursday 1 May 2025

Manchester Conference Centre, M1 3BB

Bringing together local authorities, transport professionals, campaigners and educators to explore the successes, challenges, and future of School Streets

Headline sponsors: Supported by: Supported by:Hosted by:

UK passes 75,000 EV chargepoint milestone

High powered devices continue to show strongest growth

The UK’s electric vehicle drivers now have access to 75,000 public chargepoints. Zapmap data for the state of the public charging infrastructure shows that, as at the end of February, there are 75,675 chargepoints in the UK, representing a 32% year-on-year increase compared to February 2024, when 57,290 devices were recorded.

2024 saw a record rate of chargepoint installation with particularly strong growth in the ultra-rapid segment (150kW+), which has seen an increase of 74% in installations since the end of February 2024.

While ultra-rapid growth has been particularly strong, the public charging infrastructure has seen growth across all charging use cases, from en-route charging for longer journeys, charging provision at destinations such as hotels and leisure centres, as well as lower-powered chargepoints on residential streets for drivers unable to charge at home.

Looking forward, assuming that the ZEV mandate regulations are not watered down, Zapmap expects that EV infrastructure will continue to see strong growth. As projects funded by LEVI (Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) come to fruition, a high number of on-

street chargers will be rolled out through the second half of the year, with numbers being further bolstered by investment from the private sector.

Melanie Shufflebotham, cofounder and chief operating officer at Zapmap, said: “Having 75,000 public chargepoints avail-

able, across the different charging use cases, is a significant milestone for the UK EV market.

“An extensive network of public charging, especially high visibility hubs, helps drive confidence for the next wave of drivers who will be making the switch

Over 1,400 charging places installed at schools

More than 1,400 electric vehicle charging sockets have been installed at UK schools and colleges with government funding support. A total 1,407 sockets have been provided since March last year via the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), which provides funding for chargepoints at flats, rental properties, schools, offices and workplaces.

In addition to schools, the workplace charging scheme supported a further 6,500 sockets in workplace car parks in 2024. WCS funding during 2024 for these sockets amounted to £3m. Over 59,000 workplace charging sockets have been funded by scheme since 2016.

The Workplace Charging Scheme, alongside the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant, has been extended for another year, the government has confirmed.

Educational establishments are able to receive up to £2,500 per socket, while other workplaces can apply for up to £350

per socket.

Future of roads minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Schools are the beating heart of our towns and communities, and rolling out chargers here shows we are building a practical and reliable charging network designed around people’s daily lives. Reaching 1,000 sockets at schools is a particularly significant milestone and builds on a record January for electric car sales, as consumer confidence in the electric transition grows every day. This is helping support jobs, make the UK a clean energy superpower and deliver our Plan for Change.”

Besides being available to teachers, the schools can offer their chargepoints to local residents and visitors, helping to fit charging around people’s daily lives and providing an additional revenue stream to schools.

Speaking about his experience, Chris Norwood, headteacher of the Northfleet

to electric over the next few years.

“As the infrastructure continues to grow, Zapmap’s focus is to make sure that EV drivers have access to the best up-todate information so they can find and pay for public charging with confidence.”

Vicky Read, chief executive at ChargeUK said: “Reaching 75,000 public chargepoints is a significant milestone and an incredible achievement for an industry that is barely a decade old. We know a successful transition to EVs depends on worldclass charging infrastructure being deployed ahead of demand. Today’s announcement is yet more proof that ChargeUK’s members are getting on with the job, with the public network having grown by 37% in 2024.”

Operated by IONITY, the 75,000th public chargepoint is one of eight ultra-rapid and four rapid devices installed at the Village Hotel, Bristol. Each ultrarapid device delivers up to 350kW of power. The site is in close proximity to the M4, M5 and M32 motorways and easily accessible for EV drivers looking for en-route charging.

Andreas Atkins, country manager, UK & Ireland, IONITY, said: “For the UK to have reached 75,000 is incontrovertible evidence, even in an uncertain political climate, that sustainable transport in the UK is here to stay and to grow!”

School for Girls, said: “Developing an environmentally friendly site is an important part of our school vision and practice. We have been able to play our part in reducing emissions, whilst working with students to educate in creating a more sustainable future. Through installing solar panels, LED lighting and car chargers we have been able to save over £500,000 in energy costs (since 2017), funds which are directed back into ensuring the best possible education for our students.

“The car chargers have created over £2,000 in additional school funding which has helped to create an additional farm classroom for all students to utilise. We expect that by modelling the best environmental practice possible we are supporting our students to be proactive in this area in their adult lives.”

The government is also investing around £300m to build 300 miles of new cycle and footways to encourage more children, parents and teachers to bike, walk and wheel to schools.

Drivers believe upgrading signage for public EV chargepoints is necessary to help boost the prominence of the public network according to a study by The AA. More than half of the 8,268 prospective EV drivers said that steps such as a clearer, universal sign should be used to help chargers stand out (56%), alongside totem pole pricing boards used at fuel forecourts (51%), as well as subtle tactics such as including chargepoints on built-in sat-navs for petrol and diesel cars (52%). When asked about updating the existing chargepoint sign, more than three-quarters (77%) said that using a ‘green P’ would have the most impact when indicating the location of chargers, compared to the current sign which utilises the traditional ‘blue P’ parking sign.

As well as upgrading the signs, the AA investigated how many public chargers would be needed to help convince drivers to make the switch from combustion to electric.

The government says it is on track to reach its target of 300,000 publicly available chargers by 2030, however respondents said that a figure around 380,000 by the same deadline would give them the confidence to change to an electric vehicle.

While the total number of chargers is only one aspect of hesitation from drivers, members have also expressed concerns about the speed of charging alongside accessibility and concerns about their personal safety. The AA is calling on chargepoint operators and the government to discuss and tackle these issues more, to help give those considering an EV more confidence to switch.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: “While it’s great to see charging infrastructure installed across the country, there is a danger that many units are hiding in plain sight. Often it is small changes that make a big difference. If a ‘green P’ will help sign the way, highlight the network and give more confidence to those looking to switch to electric, then it seems a sensible upgrade to make. A visible public charging network is just one aspect that drivers are looking at when considering if the time is right for them to go electric. Charger reliability, speed of charging, cost, accessibility and personal safety are all being weighed up by consumers before making the leap. The more government and chargepoint operators can do to help address these issues, the more EVs we may see on the road.”

Yonder received 14,695 responses from AA members to its online poll between 14-21 January 2025, of which 8,268 said they would consider buying an EV in the future. Yonder is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

InstaVolt has welcomed the AA research. The chargepoint operator began campaigning for better EV charging signage two years ago, along with electric car supporter FairCharge and The Sunday Times.The company says that engagement with the government has gathered pace.

Simon Smith, chief commercial officer at InstaVolt, said: “Ultra-rapid EV charging is being rolled out at record pace, and clear signage is the missing piece to reassure drivers

Road signs should turn green to promote chargers

AA survey shows more than three-quarters of drivers would like to see new look signs and more conspicuous totems

that going electric is not only practical but convenient. This is a simple, low-cost solution that can be implemented quickly without the need for major infrastructure investment.

“We’re already engaging with the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and the Highways Agency and discussing how small but effective changes to existing processes can help create clear and visible signs to direct drivers to the thousands of chargepoints across the country.”

Quentin Willson, motoring journalist and founder of FairCharge, said: “We’ve worked with InstaVolt to repeatedly raise the issue of the lack of electric vehicle charging signage across the UK’s road networks and we’re pleased to see the AA, and non-EV drivers, supporting our calls. But we’ve been calling for change for two years now, without significant development. No wonder non-EV drivers believe there’s no charging infrastructure.”

‘Can you help me?’

Some 95% of hitches that could put drivers off EV charging can be solved with a phone-call, says the AA.

The EV Recharge Report for January 2025 reveals that the AA has been assisting a number of EV charging providers for the last five years, with 24/7 telephone and remote technical support for their network, processing more than 7,000 calls a month in 2024.

The top reasons that EV drivers contact chargepoint operators (CPOs) are issues getting the charger to start as well as problems unplugging the unit when they want to leave.

Top 10 calls to AA-supported chargepoint providers 2024 (80,000 calls)

• Unable to start a charge – 16%

• Unable to stop a charge – 11%

• Pricing query – 7%

• Charging cable stuck – 7%

• Customer resolved issue while on phone – 3%

• Unit offline/out of order – 3%

• General enquiry – 2%

• Account enquiry – 2%

• How to sign up on the app – 1%

• App queries – 1%

From December 2024 it became mandatory for CPOs to report on chargepoint helpline calls under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023.

The AA’s suggested green EV charging sign

The existing blue EV charging sign

Renault shares design of EV fire system

Automotive sector given free access to Fireman Access design

The Renault Group is sharing the design of a fire suppression system for electric cars that reduces the time and water required to put out fires.

The French manufacturer’s Fireman Access system, installed in all of its current electric and plug-in hybrid models, is designed to allow EV fires to be extinguished in approximately the same time as a fuelpowered combustion engine.

The development is deemed so significant for road safety that Renault is now offering the technology to other brands so they can install it in their electric or hybrid cars.

Renault Group is making the Fireman Access system available to the global automotive industry as part of a free licencing policy. Part of the agreement states that any licenses that are issued will mean that any upgrades made by other com-

panies have to be made available to all members of the community.

Car manufacturers and parts suppliers can now obtain a free licence for Fireman Access via an open collaborative platform: www.renault.co.uk/universalpatent

In return, licensees agree that any upgrades will be made available to other members of the community.

As a partner of the United Nation’s Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Renault has stated that this is part of its commitment to road

Motability endorses accreditations

The Motability Foundation has endorsed assessment schemes run by AccessAble, BSI Assurance UK and the British Parking Association (BPA) to check the accessibility of public electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints.

The assessment schemes give providers and manufacturers a way of checking if their public chargepoints conform with the PAS 1899 accessible charging standard.

The Motability Foundation had previously given a oneyear endorsement to AccessAble and BSI Assurance UK in October 2023 and gave organisations another opportunity to apply for its endorsement in late 2024.

After evaluating all applications received, alongside AccessAble and BSI Assurance UK, the BPA’s Park Access EV scheme has been awarded the endorsement for the first time for checking chargepoints located in car parks.

The BSI PAS 1899 standard provides industry with a clear

specification for making chargepoints accessible. It was co-sponsored by the Motability Foundation and the UK government Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), following research which found that disabled people can face a range of barriers when using EV public chargepoints. These can include the weight of charging cables, the force required to attach the connector, lack of dropped kerbs around chargepoints and unsuitable parking arrangements.

The Motability Foundation is continuing to support the uptake of PAS 1899 and wanted to provide a way for organisations to check whether their chargepoints are meeting the accessibility standard, and help disabled people make informed decisions on where to charge their EVs with confidence.

Chargepoint providers, landowners, local authorities and manufacturers can contact AccessAble, BPA or BSI Assurance UK directly to arrange assessments.

safety for drivers all over the world.

An adhesive disc is placed over an opening in the vehicle’s traction battery casing, sealing it during normal operation. Should the vehicle start smoking and catch fire – and the flames reach the car battery – then the

water to rapidly douse the cells.

Renault says this process can extinguish a battery fire in just minutes, compared to several hours. It can also use significantly less water than needed with previous EV fires.

Every Renault Group’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle now comes with Fireman Access. This includes Renault, Dacia, Alpine and Mobilize.

Luca de Meo, chief executive of Renault Group, said: “Innovating to improve road safety is part of who we are at Renault. We’re particularly proud of the partnership developed with the fire services in recent years.

“Fireman Access is a practical demonstration of what can be achieved by combining our expertise as a manufacturer with the skills of the men and women who keep us safe every day.

“This move is also in keeping with the commitment made alongside the United Nations,

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Fireman Access