The Department for Transport (DfT) has got behind the development of a set of national parking data standards to support the creation of new apps and intelligent parking systems.
It has provide £1 million to support research on standards created by the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) – which brings together a group of organisations to work on the issue – following the Government’s publication of the Future of Mobility strategy, which identified a need for more efficient parking in UK towns and cities.
The DfT said that data can be used to identify available parking spaces, show permitted times and prices and support new payment methods.
It could help to free up space, ease congestion in urban areas and provide a boost for high streets.
Future of Mobility Minister, Michael Ellis, said: “We are on the brink of a revolution for the future of transport, with ground breaking technologies creating huge opportunities for cleaner, cheaper, safer and more reliable journeys.
“We now need to ensure the infrastructure surrounding these technologies is in place and can accommodate these innovations. The new parking data standards will bring government, private organisations and technologies together to ensure a smoother parking experience for drivers.”
Four research and development projects have been launched to support the introduction of the standards, led by Manchester City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and a consortium of Essex councils. They will receive shared of £1 million to put the APDS standards into practice.
A further seven projects will be commissioned.
Image by Colin, CC BY 2.0 through flickr
