Parking Written by Sarah Greenslade, British Parking Association
Streamlining the parking experience Sarah Greenslade, public affairs and communications coordinator at the British Parking Association, looks at the latest revolution in parking - the parking data standard The pain of not finding a space when you could lead to smarter, smoother and simpler need one and the sheer unpredictable nature payment systems and motoring services for of parking could about to be a thing of the parking, right across the UK, Europe and past. The Alliance for Parking Data Standards beyond, transforming the way we drive and is working to create a common language park - a world-first for parking. Remember for all parking data, otherwise known as a what is was like to travel in London before data standard. It will revolutionise the all-zones Travelcard and later the way drivers find, book and the Oyster card? Well, the pay for parking, and increase work of the Alliance could The Alli accessibility to places be a similar revolution in for Park ance including town centres driving and parking. and the high street. Around the world, Standa ing Data rds is w The Alliance is new services and to creat o jointly owned by technologies e a com rking l a n the British Parking are joining guage m for all p on Association (BPA), the together to make arking data, o International Parking parking, mobility t known herwise & Mobility Institute and transport as a (USA) and the European infrastructure a standar data Parking Association better experience d (EPA), and funded by the for customers and Department for Transport. business owners. Whether Their standardised data model it is car-sharing, ride-sharing,
micro-mobility services, prepaid parking, dynamic pricing in parking, remote operations management, or improved reporting, data sharing is the key to being able to adopt these services. So, if the Alliance did not exist it is likely the parking sector would have had data standards created and imposed on it from the outside or in a way that aligned to a singular business model, stifling diversity and innovation in the sector. In the future, the parking data standard will be key to having seamless integration and compatibility between parking entities world-wide, including the automotive industry, map and app providers, IT developers, universities, highway and event operators, airport and railway operators, as well as the end users themselves. With parking app usage increasing and an increasing number of connected vehicles on our roads, the creation of a harmonious parking data standard is very timely. It also means that all local council parking data and company data could be using the same language soon. This will make it easier for councils to exchange data so that drivers of connected vehicles can find the right parking space, at the right time, and at the right price for them. It could also tell drivers if there are electric charge points nearby, the type of on-site services available and display the parking terms and conditions of each car park. The Alliance will maintain the parking data specifications over time as living, open specifications that will evolve and expand as the marketplace evolves. This will allow companies to focus their resources on innovating new services and operations with the assurance that everyone is working to a common data standard. E Issue 26.4 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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