 It is vital that parking services develop apace with both the demands of the car driver and the emergence of new technology. Regulations and standards are also changing to make parking consistent and fair for all
Advances in technology are playing a major role in changing how we park and how spaces are managed. June marked the 50th anniversary of the parking meter and things are very different since the first machine was introduced in London in 1958.
From wind-up meters, we now have state-of-the-art, solar-powered pay and display terminals and parking meters with a sensor to detect when a parking space is free. These sensors mean that once the car has left, any remaining time on the meter is cancelled and resets to zero, forcing the next driver to pay the full price for parking. This can also be used to enforce maximum parking times - you have to leave the parking space before you can purchase any additional time on the meter.
One of the biggest changes is how we pay for parking. Various forms of cashless parking have been operating in the UK experimentally since the late 1980s, but they have become more popular and widespread in the last five years.
Payment methods
Cashless parking systems enable the motorist to have flexibility and choice when making a payment. You can sit at home and use the Web, call using your mobile phone or send a text on the street to pay for parking. Furthermore, Smartcards are growing in popularity. The new technologies also take advantage of advanced speech recognition and incorporate high levels of data security.
The key factor is the provision of choice, and the systems that work best offer cashless options such as debit and credit cards alongside the traditional method of using coins. The growth of cashless payment for parking services will continue as councils and motorists see the benefits of the new systems in terms of efficiency and ease-of-use.
Designs on the future
With ever more vehicles on the roads, finding a place to park is often a main concern for motorists. More and more websites are being developed that give you real-time information on where to find parking spaces. There is also a growing industry for space swapping, where people are using driveways and private parking spaces as alternatives to parking on-street or in a car park.
Different innovations are also being used to maximise space. One example is the ‘floating car park’ which is a modular steel decking system designed to provide additional parking above existing surface level car parks for temporary and permanent installations. All you need to do is build upwards to effectively double the number of parking spaces.
We are now also seeing advanced computer-controlled automatic car parking systems. The parking of the car is carried out using computers and a robot, which means cars are stored as economically as possible in the compact space-saving storage. And getting your car back is as easy as the push of a button by the motorist. Maybe this is the future of the car park.
Managing Britain's parking
On 31 March 2008, on-street parking saw the first statutory changes since 1993. New regulations were introduced to provide motorists with a fair and consistent service across the country, helping raise industry standards in parking.
Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE), formerly named Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE), is more transparent, simple and proportional to motorists. Independent adjudicators now have more power and local authorities will have to make clear that enforcement is based on compliance with local parking regulations and not the number of tickets issued. Under these rules, Parking Attendants are known as Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs).
Off-street parking is not regulated in the same way as on-street. The balance that needs to be struck is between allowing operators to protect their land and safeguarding the interests of the motorist.
Since 1 October 2007 the DVLA will only release vehicle registration information electronically to those companies that are members of an Accredited Trade Association, in order to help drive out rogues operating unreasonably.
As the first Accredited Trade Association, the BPA launched its Approved Operator Scheme (AOS), backed by the Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land and Unregulated Car Parks at the same time. This provides a level of ‘legitimacy’ and self-regulation to parking enforcement on private land and unregulated public car parks.
The BPA believes that over time standards in off-street parking can be raised and that voluntary self-regulation can be effective in ensuring that the services provided are fair and reasonable. The Association is lobbying the DfT and DVLA to ensure that any ‘trade’ operator in parking wishing to access the DVLA Vehicle Keeper Database must become a member of an Accredited Trade Association. Currently only those seeking access electronically are required to be members of an accredited body and the BPA believes that it is in the public interest that this be changed.
Raising standards
As the parking industry grows, so does the development of consistent standards, recognised qualifications and the opportunity for continuous professional development.
Achievements to date include developing a City & Guilds level 2 Award for Civil Enforcement Officers. Certificate holders can demonstrate they have the skills and knowledge laid out in the new Civil Parking Enforcement regulations. The parking control suite of national occupational standards was also updated in 2007 and now covers CCTV enforcement as well as parking control, barrier and pay station control, vehicle immobilisation and vehicle removal.
The BPA recently partnered with Asset Skills to advance the skills agenda in the parking sector. Asset Skills will work with the industry, identifying the required skills to meet future demands. The alliance will aid the delivery of the skills strategy, ensuring national consistency of practice is reinforced and public confidence is increased.
The future of parking
As the recognised authority within the parking industry, the BPA is dedicated to promoting and representing knowledge and standards in every type of parking facility, and bringing together the interests of Government, local authorities and commercial organisations. It is also dedicated to ensuring that changes are fair and consistent and that the motoring public is kept informed of developments and best practice in parking.
The BPA fully supports the development and use of new technologies to improve parking management. 50 years after the introduction of the first parking meter into the UK, there are some great examples of innovation in our industry - all designed to reflect the needs of 21st century motorist, who is evermore energy conscious and demands contemporary payment methods which are easy to use. It will be interesting to see what developments the next 50 years bring. |
