Is it the end of parking payment machines?

The age of the payment parking machine could be coming to an end, as new national parking data standards were revealed. By introducing the new standards, the government’s ambition is for all parking data released by local councils and companies across the country to use the same language, supporting the development of apps to make parking easier for drivers.

Created by the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) and funded by the Department for Transport, the standardised data could lead to smoother and easier payment methods right across the country and could transform the way people park as the Oyster card transformed the way people travel in London.

The announcement follows the publication of the government’s Future of mobility: urban strategy, and is a world-first for parking. By helping to streamline the parking experience and making it easier for drivers to find a suitable parking place, the standards could ultimately free up crucial space, easing congested cities and boosting British high streets.

To support the introduction of the standards, four research and development projects in Manchester City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and across a consortium of South Essex Councils will receive a share of £1 million to start putting the APDS standards into practice, with a further seven projects being commissioned to identify ways to open up local authority data.

The development of the parking language will make it easier for local authorities and private companies to exchange data, ensuring that cars of the future navigate both driver and passengers to an available space based on the price, quality of the space, safety of the space and availability of on-site services, including being near electric charge points.

(Published by the Department for Transport: 31 May 2019)