• Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Magazines
Writy.
  • Home
  • Park News
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • PIE Event Home
    • PIE 2026 Event
    • PIE 2025 Event
      • PIE25 Attendee Registration and Travel Details
      • PIE25 Agenda and Content Details
      • PIE25 Exhibitor & Sponsor Partnerships
      • PIE25 ParkFlix Film Festivial
      • Contact PIE25
  • Segments
    • Higher Education
    • Municipal
    • Airport
    • Valet
    • Medical
    • Events
    • Commercial
    • Retail
    • Hospitality
  • Technologies
    • Gated
    • Ungated
    • Enforcement
    • Payments
    • Permits
    • Vehicle Detection
    • Wayfinding and Occupancy
    • Curb Management
    • Valet
    • Events
    • EV Charging
    • Analytics
    • Consumables
    • Lighting
  • Suppliers
    • Private Operators
    • Consultants
    • Engineers
    • Architects
    • Financial
    • Insurance
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Industry Resources
    • Advertise with Us
    • Magazines
    • Industry Events
    • Conference Companion
    • Dealers, Installers & Suppliers – Listings
    • Industry News
    • Parking Jobs Network & RFP/RFQ’s
    • Associations
    • Podcast Network
    • Next Level – Webinar
    • Subscribe to Parking Today
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Writy.
  • Home
  • Park News
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • PIE Event Home
    • PIE 2026 Event
    • PIE 2025 Event
      • PIE25 Attendee Registration and Travel Details
      • PIE25 Agenda and Content Details
      • PIE25 Exhibitor & Sponsor Partnerships
      • PIE25 ParkFlix Film Festivial
      • Contact PIE25
  • Segments
    • Higher Education
    • Municipal
    • Airport
    • Valet
    • Medical
    • Events
    • Commercial
    • Retail
    • Hospitality
  • Technologies
    • Gated
    • Ungated
    • Enforcement
    • Payments
    • Permits
    • Vehicle Detection
    • Wayfinding and Occupancy
    • Curb Management
    • Valet
    • Events
    • EV Charging
    • Analytics
    • Consumables
    • Lighting
  • Suppliers
    • Private Operators
    • Consultants
    • Engineers
    • Architects
    • Financial
    • Insurance
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Industry Resources
    • Advertise with Us
    • Magazines
    • Industry Events
    • Conference Companion
    • Dealers, Installers & Suppliers – Listings
    • Industry News
    • Parking Jobs Network & RFP/RFQ’s
    • Associations
    • Podcast Network
    • Next Level – Webinar
    • Subscribe to Parking Today
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Writy.
No Result
View All Result

EVs, CCTV Tech, Sidewalks, and “Power to Charge”

by parkingtodaystaff
April 1, 2023
in Uncategorized

First a postscript to last month. I was fairly uncomplimentary about electric cars and my government’s disingenuous attempts to convince us that, contrary to all the evidence, they were the way forward to a net zero green, clean future. 

In that rant I referenced that several major car manufacturers shared my opinions about the feasibility and success of this scenario and that it would be much better to move us towards a change to hybrid vehicles that, although not reaching the fanciful green nirvana that EVs offer, would take us a lot of the way there and significantly reduce emissions from road traffic. 

You might also like

Parking Innovation: Beyond Just Spaces

Parking Innovation: Beyond Just Spaces

March 31, 2025
Cybersecurity Insurance: What Parking Operators Need to Know

Cybersecurity Insurance: What Parking Operators Need to Know

March 11, 2025

Well, barely was the ink dry on my quill pen when the papers seemed to be littered with stories of hybrid after hybrid vehicle falling short of its claimed electric range meaning that, in reality they are a lot more polluting than the manufacturers claim. Sigh, does anyone know where I can buy a Stanley Steamer? At least I can run that on renewable wood even if wood smoke isn’t quite ideal.

All in all, it’s not been a good month for the UK parking industry. Excel is a company that operates a lot of car parks, often using CCTV based technology to ensure that people have paid and don’t overstay in their time. Typically, they would have a car park linked to a retail development where parking is free, or charged, but with a limit on stay. 

However, it seems that, in Sheffield at least, their operation is just a bit, shall we say, slapdash. The local paper cites two cases in one of their car parks where penalties were demanded, improperly due to “administrative errors.” And now, in another car park, drivers have been getting citations even though they have properly paid. 

One driver received a demand for £100 for overstaying, but fortunately had kept the parking ticket showing that he had paid for his parking. He appealed but, he says, Excel ignored his appeal and only responded when he involved the local paper. In their response, Excel say that one of the pay machines on the site wasn’t transmitting data and so they didn’t have the payment record. 

They stated that “We have further reviewed our processes and quality checks in order to mitigate future incidents of this nature.” Poppycock. If they had any quality checks at all they would have been aware that their equipment was faulty and not have ever started the citation process once they realized that the data was corrupted. I wonder just how many of the cited drivers would have ever seen themselves vindicated if the press hadn’t got involved. 

To operate at all this company has to be able to access the government’s national Driver and Vehicle Licensing Data Base (DVLA) and the government has stated again and again that companies that misuse the data to seek payments that they are not entitled to will be locked out. It seems that, like so much else the government says, this is hot air.

I did a good deed earlier today and helped a blind lady cross a couple of roads. She lives near me and for many years, with the assistance of her guide dog, was very independent. Sadly, her dog died recently and now she struggles to move around the neighborhood. 

The only reason that I mention this is because it reminds me once again that the UK government still has failed to put into law an effective way of penalizing people who park their cars on sidewalks. The law is clear, drive on the footway and it’s a £500 fine, but the only way this can be enforced is in a magistrate’s court. The police can’t be bothered and municipalities seemed to be scared to use the powers they have to prosecute this offence, so my neighbor, and all those adults in wheelchairs and mothers with kids in buggies have to suffer and put their lives at risk by walking in traffic.

The devolved Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly seems to have had enough of this nonsense and both bodies are now progressing their own legislation. Scotland already has powers on the books, but for some reason has yet to implement their scheme. Wales is planning to introduce a £70 penalty following a trial in Cardiff in 2021. 

Unfortunately, because of the way that powers are split between Westminster, Cardiff and Edinburgh it will require municipalities to make local ordinances for their area rather than having a Wales-wide one. The expectation is that it will be in force by the end of the year, which for Britain is lighting fast.

Talking of fines and money, Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Parliament seems to have decided that, if you don’t like the law, why not simply ignore it? A long time ago in a galaxy far away the courts ruled definitively that the power to charge for parking, and by extension the level of penalty charge or citation as you would call it, must be set for traffic purposes only. 

So, if you want to ration parking or pay the cost of providing the service, that’s ok. What a council absolutely definitely cannot do is use parking charges as a local tax. So the Edinburgh Parliament has just given the Edinburgh City Council permission to increase the parking penalty charge from £60 to £100, an eyewatering 67 percent rise. 

It looks like this will produce an extra £2.4m a year revenue which will be used to subsidize the underfunded city road maintenance budget. Yes, it will probably deter a few illegal parkers, but that’s not why its being done. Coincidentally, the council is planning to cut the road maintenance budget by £1.5 m a year.

parkingtodaystaff

Related Stories

Parking Innovation: Beyond Just Spaces

Parking Innovation: Beyond Just Spaces

by jaylanders
March 31, 2025

Parking operators have new opportunities to boost revenue with services like protection plans, parcel lockers, car washes, and peer-to-peer car...

Cybersecurity Insurance: What Parking Operators Need to Know

Cybersecurity Insurance: What Parking Operators Need to Know

by parkingtodaystaff
March 11, 2025

By Katherine Beaty  The parking industry is increasingly digital, from license plate recognition systems to mobile payment apps. Although these...

Overcoming Obstacles On and Off the Lot

Overcoming Obstacles On and Off the Lot

by parkingtodaystaff
March 1, 2025

In his new memoir, Russell Harms shares his journey through mental health challenges, resilience, and redemption in the high-pressure world...

In Memoriam

In Memoriam

by parkingtodaystaff
March 1, 2025

Parking Today notes the passing of Roy Carter, of Toledo Ticket Technologies, and Donald Shoup, of the University of California at...

Load More

Recommended

On-Site vs. Off-Site Airport Parking: The Pros and Cons

On-Site vs. Off-Site Airport Parking: The Pros and Cons

April 2, 2024

Industry News

July 1, 2023

Related Articles

Leadership, Innovation, and the Future of Parking Today Media
Private Operators

Why Parking Became Our Life’s Work

May 1, 2025
Spring Cleaning for the Mind: Letting Go of Stress
Main

Mental Health Awareness Month: Breaking the Stigma in the Workplace

May 1, 2025
Making Parking Smarter with Seamless Data Standards
Airport

Making Parking Smarter with Seamless Data Standards

May 1, 2025
We Need to Talk: AI is Writing Your Content, and It Shows
Airport

We Need to Talk: AI is Writing Your Content, and It Shows

May 1, 2025
PCI 500 Fitness Challenge Boosts Workplace Wellness
Commercial

PCI 500 Fitness Challenge Boosts Workplace Wellness

May 1, 2025
Guest Experience Doesn’t Start in the Lot: It Starts in Their Inbox
Airport

Guest Experience Doesn’t Start in the Lot: It Starts in Their Inbox

May 1, 2025
No Result
View All Result
Parking Today

Navigate Site

  • Advertise with Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Industry News
  • Magazines
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • PIE25 Event Home
    • PIE25 Event Home
    • Attendee Registration and Travel Details
    • Content Details
    • Exhibitor & Sponsor Partnerships
    • ParkFlix Film Festival
    • Speaker Applications
  • Segments
    • Higher Education
    • Municipal
    • Airport
    • Events
    • Valet
    • Medical
    • Commercial
    • Retail
    • Hospitality
  • Technologies
    • Gated
    • Ungated
    • Enforcement
    • Payments
    • Permits
    • Vehicle Detection
    • Wayfinding and Occupancy
    • Curb Management
    • Valet
    • Events
    • EV Charging
    • Analytics
    • Consumables
    • Lighting
  • Suppliers
    • Private Operators
    • Consultants
    • Engineers
    • Architects
    • Financial
    • Insurance
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • About Us
    • Industry Events
    • Parking Jobs Network & RFP/RFQ’s
    • Podcast Network
    • Next Level – Webinar
    • Contact
    • Advertise with Us
    • Subscribe to Parking Today

Skip to content
Open toolbar Accessibility Tools

Accessibility Tools

  • Increase TextIncrease Text
  • Decrease TextDecrease Text
  • GrayscaleGrayscale
  • High ContrastHigh Contrast
  • Negative ContrastNegative Contrast
  • Light BackgroundLight Background
  • Links UnderlineLinks Underline
  • Readable FontReadable Font
  • Reset Reset