Three-quarters of UK drivers (73%) who have used a mobile app to pay for parking in the last 12 months experienced difficulties doing so, with most preferring the reliability that comes from using bank cards or cash, new RAC research has found. Of those that ran into problems, top of the list of frustrations by a considerable margin is a lack of reliable … [Read more...]
Which? want new Private Parking Code
Which? is calling on the government to use the new Private Parking Code of Practice to raise standards and stop unfair fines. The government’s proposed Code, covering rules around signage, debt recovery caps and appeals processes, will replace the industry’s self-set code of practice in a bid to create a fairer and more transparent system. A proposed Code … [Read more...]
Clean Air Zones & what they mean for you
Electric vehicles will have to pay to enter Greater London for the first time from the end of this year. The air of change over London is slowly but surely sweeping across Britain and motorists need to understand and be ready to pay to drive on our busiest roads over coming years. The capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone was the country’s first 24/ 7 Clean … [Read more...]
RAC wants clarity over private parking fine appeals
In a bid to ensure drivers are treated fairly by private parking companies, the RAC is calling on the industry to publish ‘full and transparent’ complaints data to back up its claims that drivers who challenge tickets do often succeed. As it stands, the industry’s two trade associations – the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking … [Read more...]
Yellow perils are money boxes for councils, says RAC
Drivers in 10 local authority areas newly enforcing yellow box junctions paid fines worth a combined £998,640 last year after apparently falling foul of the rules governing them, new RAC data analysis shows. Up until May 2022, only councils in London and Cardiff could enforce yellow box junctions and other moving traffic contraventions, such as driving the … [Read more...]
Private parking fines soaring says the RAC
Private parking firms are on course to issue a record 14.5m tickets to drivers this year with just five companies responsible for almost half, RAC analysis of latest government data shows. In the first half of the 2024/25 financial year, requests to the DVLA from car park management companies for vehicle keeper details hit 7.2m – the equivalent of 41,000 a … [Read more...]
Review into 5-min rule when parking & paying
The newly established Panel is set to oversee the UK’s private parking Sector Single Code of Practice. A key priority will be to urgently review the recent media case where a motorist was being taken to court after taking longer than 5 minutes to pay for parking, this has been dubbed the five minute payment rule. The Private Parking Scrutiny and Advice … [Read more...]
EV challenges remain, with opportunities
There are some very promising signs for the year ahead in the electric-vehicle sector but also a number of challenges. More than a third of people are now considering buying an EV, compared to just over a quarter in 2023, and more competitive prices for second cars mean sales are staring to soar - up 52%, this year. In 2020, just 6.6% of all new … [Read more...]
SUVs and new homes hit in Cardiff parking shakeup
Cardiff Council has declared war on SUVs and commuters' cars as it pushes use of public transport. Under the new proposed scheme all on-street parking bounded within the areas south of the A48, west of River Rhymney, north of Cardiff Bay and east of the River Ely and the outer wards would be split into four distinct parking management areas with different … [Read more...]
Wish list to put the wheels under UK economy
Following last week's General Election, the automotive sector has written its wish-list for the new Labour Government and what it sees as priorities to boost sales and the economy on wheels. The RAC is calling for the new Labour Government to urgently tackle the most pressing concerns of the UK’s 40m motorists in its new transport policy. The poor state … [Read more...]