BPA to lead expansion of one app fits all National Parking Platform
The government has confirmed the British Parking Association is to lead a consortium of industry partners including Ring Go, JustPark and PayByPhone to develop and run the National Parking Platform (NPP), which aims to provide drivers with a simpler “one app fits all” nationwide parking experience.
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 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.
Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, said, “This government is 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.
“This is public infrastructure done right: built by government, shaped with councils and now delivered by the sector that knows it best.”
So far, the platform has been trialled in ten local authorities and now handles over half a million transactions a month. The new announcement means drivers nationwide will benefit from a simpler, more seamless experience.
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.
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.