The government has announced a “one app fits all” approach to paying for parking, to end what it calls the “scramble” to download multiple payment platforms that motorists currently face.
Drivers will be able to use any of the large parking apps to pay, rather than having to download new ones for each new car park, the Department for Transport says.
The National Parking Platform (NPP) has been in a trial phase, but will now be handed over an industry body to be expanded across the UK – though only to car parks and app providers which opt to sign up.
Motorists’ association the RAC welcomed the move but said it needed to be taken on much more widely before it made a real difference to drivers.
“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”, RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said.
“If the arrival of a National Parking Platform removes that hassle, it’s definitely a welcome move,” he added.
“But the key will be ensuring as many car park operators as possible sign up to the system.”
Under the NPP, drivers can use any of the main parking apps in any car park which is signed up to the scheme.
This means, for example, a car park which uses the Ringo app would also accept payments from the JustPark app.
The government said this would end the “scramble to download multiple apps and encouraging a more flexible parking experience”.
The trial period included 10 local authorities in England, and more than half a million transactions were made during it, according to the government.
It says the NPP “will be onboarding more local authorities imminently”.
NPP literature also says it is open to local authorities and private parking providers across the UK.
The running of the scheme has now been passed from the government to the British Parking Association, (BPA) which represents the parking sector.
“Today’s announcement marks the result of six years of dedicated work by our parking sector to make paying for parking easier,” said its boss, Andrew Pester.
“We’ve strongly supported the National Parking Platform from the start, so we’re thrilled with this outcome.”
Despite the BPA taking on the costs of running the platform from the government, it said this would not lead to higher prices for drivers.
“If anything we think this will drive increased competition between providers. We do not anticipate any increase in parking fees,” a spokesman told BBC News.
