What is the British Parking Association Code of Practice?

Published: 26/07/2023

The British Parking Association (BPA) is an association which represents the parking and traffic management industry in the UK. The purpose of the BPA is to lay the groundwork for fair, transparent and consistent traffic enforcement across the country through a code of practice.

As a proud member of the BPA, Total Parking Solutions is dedicated to embodying the values of fair and transparent parking solutions in every situation. Although following the BPA’s code of practice is not mandatory, we believe it’s one of the best ways to make sure our customers are receiving high-quality services and fair treatment.

The British Parking Association’s code of practice covers a wide range of topics, but understanding some of its key provisions is vital to understanding the work we do here at Total Parking Solutions.

Right to Appeal

One of the most important aspects of the British Parking Association’s code of practice is the right for any motorist to appeal a charge or penalty they receive. That also means that any appeals process needs to be fair, impartial, and easily accessible for any road user.

Everybody makes mistakes, including parking attendants or enforcers, and the right to appeal allows genuinely innocent motorists a way out. As the appeals process must be impartial, there’s also no chance for bias against the motorist to interfere in any way.

Our investment in new technology is just one of the things we do at Total Parking Solutions which compliments the right to appeal provision. Automated parking systems, such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) software, take steps to limit mistaken charges by relying on camera evidence and license plate recognition. Despite this, we continue to champion the right to appeal, since everybody deserves a chance to a fair and reasonable appeal process.

Accessibility for Disabled Motorists

A provision from the British Parking Association’s code of practice, which every motorist will have encountered, is the right to accessible parking spaces. Parking providers need to ensure that disabled motorists have reasonable access to parking, usually by providing dedicated spaces close to the entrance of the business. This provision continues the BPA’s focus on fairness by allowing every motorist the same right to access and preventing discrimination in parking.

Total Parking Solutions develops parking management systems that accommodate disabled parking access, and many of the tools we use allow car park operators to monitor disabled spaces to make sure they are being used genuinely. For example, cashless payment systems can be combined with surveillance cameras to make sure that disabled customers receive the best experience, and the payment process as safe and accessible as possible.

Clear Signage

Another aspect of the BPA’s code of practice is clear and prominent signage to accompany any parking system. We all know the frustration of trying to find a parking space without knowing the rules, because signs aren’t present or aren’t in convenient places. By emphasising this in its code of practices, the BPA brings its fair and transparent philosophy to the forefront, aiming to make sure everybody understands the rules of a car park and the penalties they will receive if those rules are breached.

Throughout our history of offering consultancy services, we’ve had countless experiences in advising car park managers on how to clearly display the terms and conditions of a parking system. It’s not hard to understand why this is so important: not only does it offer the motorist the fairest experience when using the car park, but signage also reduces the number of complaints or questions directed toward the business and its parking attendants.

We’ve barely scratched the surface of the BPA’s code of practice in this article, but if you’d like to read more, we’d recommend visiting the BPA website, where you can find tonnes of resources and information on their code of practice. Here at Total Parking Solutions, we’re proud to uphold the BPA’s best practices. For more information, contact us here – we’re always happy to help!