Big parking changes announced for the UK – what drivers should know

The Department of Transport has announced a new ‘one app fits all’ parking platform aimed at making the lives of drivers across the country easier.

The new platform, which has already undergone government-backed trials at no cost to the taxpayer and has been developed in association with the British Parking Association.

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.

The platform will enable drivers to 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.

The new agreement will see the parking sector working with councils to run the platform on a not-for-profit basis. It will operate under clear terms to ensure transparency, sustainability, and public value. The government will maintain oversight of the platform by monitoring the sector’s compliance with these terms.

So far, the platform has been rolled out in 10 local authorities and now handles over half a million transactions a month.

As part of their next steps, the new consortium will be onboarding more local authorities imminently to ensure that easier, simpler parking is rolled out to more drivers as soon as possible.

“This government is on the side of drivers and dedicated to giving everyone simpler, more flexible parking. I’m delighted that this fantastic project is being taken on by the parking sector with no extra cost to taxpayers,” said Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads.

“This is public infrastructure done right: built by government, shaped with councils and now delivered by the sector that knows it best, at a time where we’re investing a record £1.6 billion through our Plan for Change, to mend our pothole-ridden roads that damage cars and £4.8 billion to deliver new road infrastructure that will better connect people,” she said.

The government has previously announced that it is investing £4.8 billion to deliver new roads and £1.6 billion to fix potholes in a bid to improve the country’s roads.

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