The Department for Transport has launched a Discovery project to understand the need for the introduction of a National Parking Platform.
The project sets out to “explore the opportunity to improve the parking experience for customers and enable greater efficiencies and opportunities for operators and service providers through data sharing, via a National Parking Platform”.
The DfT, which is working with Information Technology company Kainos, says a key objective is to understand the need for a National Parking Platform by talking to potential users and that the project team will be looking to engage with users as its first priority. It explains that the findings will then form the basis of recommendations on the viability of moving the National Parking Platform into an Alpha phase.
The Discovery aims to focus on understanding the user need in three main areas:
- Enabling local authorities and private companies to exchange data in order to help navigate users to an available parking space, based on price and quality and deliver multi-vendor and automated transactions to improve the parking experience for vehicle users.
- Exploring the opportunity to improve data sharing through the application of the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS).
- Developing commercial and governance model options to support the operation of the National Parking Platform including interoperability with other transport (data) services.
The Discovery is working closely with the National Parking Platform proof of concept which is currently underway in Manchester and being led by Manchester City Council. The proof of concept is a publicly-owned, centralised, digitised and standardised platform for off and on-street parking.
For further information please contact giles.wane@dft.gov.uk.
(Picture – Yay Images)
