Parking just got very smart and is closing in on illegal vehicles
Alerting drivers about individual empty spaces, helping authorities maximise use, an end to Blue Badge fraud, using the car as a credit card, and using machine learning to crack down on offenders – the world of car parking has become smarter for users and operators. And for the “biblical masses” who choose to ignore parking penalties, it is set to become a lot more uncomfortable as authorities join forces to close in on illegal vehicles.
The Innovation Trail at Parkex 2019 at the NEC, Birmingham on 2-4 April will highlight ten new products, services and sector leading advances.
A groundbreaking project could bring the biggest changes to vehicle management legislation reaching far beyond parking enforcement and taking in uninsured, untaxed, potentially dangerous vehicles and more.
Conduent Transportation teamed-up with Penham Excel Enforcement Agents and the British Parking Association to study whether persistent evaders of PCNs are disproportionately committing additional motorist offences. The team studied the percentage of persistent evaders who: were not registered with the DVLA; had not paid road tax; had no valid MOT; had no insurance – with the inherent risk to public safety and Council debts.
To collect the data, Penham Excel drove around three English boroughs: Brighton Residential streets, Eastbourne Town Centre, and Sandwell (West Midlands), in vehicles equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems, capable of obtaining driver history based on registration plates.
In Brighton
Of 89 cars of persistent evaders:
- 10% were not registered with the DVLA
- 11% had no road tax
- 19% had no MOT
- 36% had no insurance
In Eastbourne
Of 18 persistent evaders:
- 11% were not registered with the DVLA
- 17% had no road tax
- 22% had no MOT
- 22% had no insurance
In Sandwell
Of 248 vehicles of interest:
- 44% had no road tax
- 27% had no MOT
- 18% had no insurance
The findings point to a large percentage of persistent evaders committing other offences, and Penham Excel is in advanced discussions with the DfT, the Cabinet Office, as well as MPs and ministers, to lobby for the legal seizure of the vehicles of persistent evaders. This is alongside work going on with police gathering data and intelligence from multiple sources to deny criminals the use of the road.
Others in the Innovation Trail include:
ParkPredict Control
ParkPredict Control is an all-in-one tool for effective on-street parking enforcement powered by artificial intelligence. It uses machine learning algorithms to predict where and when the number of violations to on-street parking regulations is highest, giving traffic wardens the ideal route for parking enforcement.
Hozah
Hozah is a fully automated parking payment system that connects drivers’ credit/debit cards to number plate recognition cameras. The cameras detect when drivers enter and exit a car park and then automatically bill the drivers for their length of stay. For operators, the system offers completely automatic emissions-based charging, automatic permit application, and dynamic pricing. No cash; not an app; payments go automatically from driver to operator.
Just Park:
Just Park: The Blue Badge system lets Councils offer free parking or use of designated spaces to disabled people and/or those with difficulty walking, but as this is a manual system it offers a limited availability of spaces. It is also open to significant fraud which affects availability. The JustPark solution allows Councils to make any bay a Blue Badge bay. Councils set their own concessions, managed through the JustPark app. The Badge holder registers their unique Blue Badge number to their account. The Badge owner scans in their Badge barcode on their phone camera confirming possession of a badge, then displays it as normal in the windscreen. The Enforcement Officer is informed via their hand-held device and can verify compliance.
Smart Parking
Smart Parking’s system includes a range of vehicle detection sensors that send occupancy data from individual car park bays to the company’s SmartCloud platform.
SENSIT
SENSIT from Nedap N.V. a sensor based vehicle detection system that helps drivers find available parking spaces. On-street sensors detect in real-time a single parking bay’s occupancy and help efficient enforcement of designated spaces, such as disabled and e-charging zones.
PayByPhone
PayByPhone allows Apple Watch users to add more parking time directly from their wrist without using a smartphone or rushing back to their cars to feed a meter. The watch displays, at a glance, how much time is left on a parking session.
Dragon’s Breath
Dragon’s Breath Solar lights up open areas and car parks – without the need for mains power supply
Organised on behalf of the BPA by Transport Network, Parkex continues to thrive alongside Traffex as Europe’s largest dedicated parking exhibition, with all the leading parking companies in the UK exhibiting.
This year’s Parkex Event Partners are Phoenix and JBW.
Visiting is free to professionals but pre-registration is essential via this link.
