The Department for Transport (DfT) has handed the National Parking Platform over to the British Parking Association (BPA), in a move that could shake up the sector while presenting a much easier service to drivers.
The national platform sits behind the public-facing commercial apps of the different parking companies and will help manage the market under terms 'to ensure transparency, sustainability, and public value' the DfT said.
This means drivers can pay for parking in all participating car parks on their preferred app, 'ending the scramble to download multiple apps, and encouraging a more flexible parking experience'.
Long-term it is set to shift the parking sector from a model where companies compete for individual local authority parking management contracts to one where parking companies compete for individual customers from the nation's millions of drivers.
The Government had initially supported the development of the platform with seed funding and expertise but it will now be delivered by a consortium of industry leaders including Ringo, JustPark, and PayByPhone, all under the oversight of the BPA.
In a press statement, the DfT argued that currently, drivers face 'inconsistent parking rules, clunky user experiences, and unnecessary barriers to something that should be simple'.
'The National Parking Platform fixes this, connecting participating car parks to a shared platform, through which drivers can pay using any approved app — cutting confusion, reducing the chance of fines, and opening up the parking market to fairer competition,' DfT officials said.
Minister for the future of roads, Lilian Greenwood, commented: 'I'm delighted that this fantastic project is being taken on by the parking sector with no extra cost to taxpayers.
'This is public infrastructure done right: built by government, shaped with councils, and now delivered by the sector that knows it best.'
Highways understands the parking industry will set up a not-for-profit vehicle to run the platform. Although the exact funding model has not been clarified to the press yet, Highways has been told a number of options have been considered through the planning stages including a transaction fee system.
The DfT said it will maintain oversight of the platform by monitoring the sector's compliance with established terms.
The platform has been rolled out in 10 local authorities and already handles over half a million transactions a month.
Andrew Pester, BPA chief executive, said: 'This announcement marks the result of six years of dedicated work by our parking sector to make paying for parking easier. We've strongly supported the National Parking Platform from the start, so we're thrilled with this outcome and excited to collaborate with the Department for Transport and the new NPP Company to create a better parking experience for all drivers.'
The new consortium will start bringing in more local authorities imminently, to ensure that easier, simpler parking is rolled out to more drivers as soon as possible.
