Welcome to the Open Market
The creation of the National Parking Platform, announced recently by the Government, will establish an Open Market in parking, enabling motorists to choose to pay for parking with their preferred app, in any town or city, wherever they are.
It will be a big shift for mobility, supporting increased consumer usage, encouraging competition between providers, and driving exciting innovation. Imagine motorists able to find and pay for parking, EV charging, micro-mobility and green transport options… all with their favourite app.
It will bring significant benefits to councils as well, including the end of costly and time-consuming tenders, and richer parking data to support local policy-making.
That’s the Open Market.
The future of parking is an Open Market
An Open Market benefits everyone
Local authorities
– Reduced cost, resource, and complexity in procurement
– Happier motorists, fewer complaints
– Enhanced data to support informed policies
Motorists
– Simpler, easier parking via a single app, wherever they are
– Innovation in tech leading to improved user experiences
– Better connected mobility services
Suppliers
– Greater focus on value for motorists
– A market led by innovation and healthy competition
– A simpler, more sustainable business model
Find out more about the benefits of the Open Market in our latest video
The County Councils Network and Open Market Parking
RingGo and the Open Market featured at the County Councils Annual Network Conference in December, highlighting the many benefits for Councils and motorists of Open Market parking. You can read about the event and what was said here.
Councils can join the Open Market Now
The Open Market is live and operational now; through a technology hub called the National Parking Platform (NPP).
Funded by the Department for Transport, it’s a data-sharing framework enabling multiple mobile parking providers to offer their services in a single area, turning on its head the resource and time-heavy procurement model that restricts local authorities to using a single supplier.
The NPP launched across Manchester City Council in 2021 and the technology has been available and rolling out to other local authorities since then. The latest implementation as of 1 February 2023, is across Cheshire West and Chester Council.
As more and more local authorities tap into the data-sharing potential of the NPP, parking providers are incentivised to develop improved features and integrate services which attract motorists.
The Open Market gives motorists true freedom of choice to make parking decisions based on the factors most important to them; such as price, app functionality, space availability, directions, and EV charging. Integrated services, including onward mobility and in-car solutions will also feature in time.
Results already show more people than ever choosing to pay for parking and mobility solutions without using cash.
We’re here to help you
If your town or city supports greater consumer choice and innovation, and you’re keen to increase uptake of mobile phone payments, then Open Market parking is for you. Get in touch and we’ll help you do the rest.
RingGo is here to support and advise both local authorities and private operators. To discover what it means for you and parking within your area, email us at Open-Market@RingGo.co.uk or speak to your RingGo Account Manager. We’re happy to help.