Universal parking payment app announced by Government

The UK’s largest car parking companies are uniting to create a ‘one-app-fits-all’ payment platform so that drivers no longer need to download multiple apps for different providers.

Following a series of Government-backed trials, the National Parking Platform (NPP) is now set to roll out across the UK, the Department for Transport has announced. It is operated by the British Parking Association, who will take on the costs of running the platform with no impact on the taxpayer.

However, the platform will only be available to use in car parks that choose to sign up. These include those run by RingGo, JustPark and PayByPhone, which currently all operate separate apps.

With the NPP, drivers can use any of the largest parking apps to pay in any car park signed up to the platform. So, for example, you could pay for parking using the RingGo app in a car park run by JustPark.

RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said, “Paying to park a car should be one of the simplest things any driver does, but things have got much more complicated in recent years”.

He continued: “If the arrival of a National Parking Platform removes that hassle, it’s definitely a welcome move. But the key will be ensuring as many car park operators as possible sign up to the system.”

According to the DfT, the introduction of the NPP will encourage “a more flexible parking experience” by simplifying the payment process – an increasingly important issue because more and more providers are removing the ability to pay by cash or card in their car parks.

It also claims that the Government will oversee maintenance of the app to ensure that it continues to operate under clear, sustainable terms to reduce inconsistency and customer confusion.

“Currently, drivers face inconsistent parking rules, clunky user experiences and unnecessary barriers to something that should be simple,” said the DfT in a statement. “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 trial period involved 10 local authorities in England, contributing more than half a million transactions to the development of the app, according to the Government. The app is set to roll out to even more local authorities imminently.

Read more: 'Five minute fines' scrapped in car parks

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