London Councils has attributed an 11% drop in parking tickets in the capital last year to a new, two-tier penalty system.
Figures released by the organisation show a total of 4.68M penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued for parking offences between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009.
A two-tier system was launched throughout the capital in July 2007, to represent the seriousness of offences. The new figures show that three-quarters of PCNs issued were for contraventions in the ‘higher seriousness band’.
In total, 5.466M PCNs were issued across the capital for a range of motoring offences. The number of penalties issued for illegally driving in bus lanes was down by 20% from last year to 233,927. This figure has halved over the course of the past two years. The number of PCNs issued for moving traffic contraventions stood at 540,000.
Cllr Mike Fisher, chairman of London Council’s transport and environment committee, said the figures showed the two-tier parking system was successfully targeting motorists who caused the most disruption on the capital’s streets.
‘It appears that people are beginning to heed the warnings that if they break the rules, they will get a ticket. At the same time, councils are successfully making more efforts to focus their activities on parking contraventions that matter most, while spending less time penalising minor cases, such as overstaying on a meter for a few minutes.’
Commenting on the figures, Paul Watters, head of public affairs at the AA, said: ‘Concentrating on persistent offenders and more serious offences will show those who make simple parking mistakes that the system is not just about making revenue, but there is still some way to go. ‘It is still disappointing that three-quarters of parking tickets are at the higher penalty level.’
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