Car Parking in the UK: Battling cooped up spaces & skyrocketing costs
If you’re living in the UK, driving around for 20-30 minutes trying to look for a parking space is not uncommon but the increasing costs accompanying it definitely are.
There are over 4,700 parking facilities across the UK, of which 48% are run by local authorities; this extrapolates upwards to an estimation of 17,000* facilities across the UK. It is estimated that there are likely to be between 8 million and 11.3 million spaces in total.
Car parking problems in the UK are on the rise despite the government’s policy to move vehicular traffic out of the centre of cities and towns and encourage people to use sustainable forms of transport.
- Why is Britain currently battling car parking issues?
It all comes down to simple economics. In the case of parking, the demand for secure parking spots are much higher than the actual spaces available, particularly in large cities and at major trip generators like hospitals and universities. This ultimately leads to illegal parking, higher parking charges and parking fines. Increasing household car ownership in the UK is also to blamed for this surge in demand for parking availability.
- How TPC can solve car parking problems
Parking managers aim to maximise parking revenue, while keeping costs low but unbalanced utilisation causes a loss in revenue, frustrated, users, and contributes to traffic and pollution.
Here’s how TPC and their industry experts have helped hospitals, universities, local authorities and private sector organisations solve their space availability problems:
Advising clients on cutting-edge real-time car parking occupancy and guidance systems;
Implementing demand management measures such as permit eligibility schemes, reserving space for those with the greatest needs;
Undertaking parking charge benchmarking exercises to ensure clients are maximising their potential income from their parking assets and managing demand;
Analysing car parks to understand how space can be maximised and revenue increased;
Appraising single decking and other innovative additional capacity car parking solutions; and
Recommending pre-booking and real time space availability app-based car parking technology.
So why not contact the experts at TPC who have extensive market experience and in-depth technological knowledge to execute integrated parking solutions. Having a professional like us by your side, can yield much better productivity in terms of parking space management and revenue.
* Spaced Out: Perspectives on Parking Policy; Bates & Leibling, RAC Foundation, July 2012, p 13)