EPA President EPAs visibility has changed dramatically during the past couple of years. Our work on parking data standards has brought us to the attention of the EU Commission where we now command a certain level of respect and incorporate it as an international not-forprofit organisation under Belgian law (EPA is currently incorporated under German law). This will give us more flexibility to raise funds to carry out activities and deliver services to our members and bring us closer to the EU Commission and other entities such as ERTICO* and the MaaS Alliance**. We also want to ensure EPA is more attuned to the needs of local authorities. What are the emerging parking trends in Europe? Many of the trends are similar to those in the UK: making parking management more efficient; increasing digitalisation of payment and information systems; giving people real-time availability; and introducing more sophisticated tariffs according to emissions profiles. Interoperability among systems is now deemed essential, as is integration between parking and micro-mobility operators. There are also a number of initiatives to reduce the particulate emissions generated by last mile logistics, including introducing local consolidation hubs in under-used car parks with final deliveries on foot or cargo bikes. Lastly, electromobility growth is accelerating and with it the recognition that EV chargepoints provided by operators can play a major role in achieving CO neutrality. It is estimated that by 2025, a million public charging points will be required in parking facilities to serve the 13 million zero- and low-emission vehicles expected in the EU. However, the EV market is still very immature and operators must decide their role in the value chain to ensure financial viability. What are the biggest challenges facing the European parking community? Many of the issues our sector faces are universal: revenue generation, keeping residents happy, providing parking for businesses and customers. This context is now overlaid with increasing pressure to reduce private car use in urban areas or, at the very least, make car use less polluting as per net zero objectives. It is a politically complex conundrum, and the sector must find ways to reconcile these sometimesconflicting policy objectives. EPA has an important role to play in lobbying the EU Commission and national governments on key subjects to protect the interests of the parking community. These include: EU ITS directive; open data; EU directive on electromobility; fire regulations (particularly concerning EV chargepoints); GDPR and its application to parking; transborder enforcement of parking penalties; Blue Badge fraud; and kerbside management. How can the EPA and BPA forge closer working relationships? I was delighted to see more UK representation at the EPA Congress in Brussels the other month. Improving the flow of knowledge and sharing experiences, particularly between local authorities, across national boundaries, benefits us all. For example, the BPA did a lot of work on Blue Badge fraud a few years back that was shared with the European parking associations. We could do the same with other projects but on a bigger scale. Other national parking associations that are EPA members are recognising the benefits of closer cooperation and are taking the lead on projects on behalf of EPA. The BPA could contribute on kerbside management and digital TROs because the UK is ahead of most of Europe with this work. The BPA Safer Parking Scheme is also held in high regard by many European parking associations. We may be able to develop some aspects of the scheme on the European level. There are several issues that affect both EPA and BPA members. One example is the application of GDPR to parking, in particular, the use of automatic number plate recognition technology to capture licence plate information and when this data becomes personal data, ie, if linked to a card payment or a location. A new APDS working group is developing guidelines for the application of GDPR to parking. We are looking for input from both UK and European local authorities. Will we see the EPA Congress being held in the UK in the nottoo-distant future? I think the last time it was held in the UK was in 2003. There is a lot of work involved in hosting the event, but I wouldnt rule it out! How did you feel when you found out you had been elected as EPA President? I felt honoured but also a little nervous. We have ambitious plans to transform EPA into a wellfunded lobbying and research organisation. This is a must if we are to effectively represent the interests of the European parking sector at the EU Commission level. However, it is a big tiger to have by the tail! I hope to demonstrate to our BPA members that EPA has an important role to play. What happens in Europe affects others outside of Europe. Likewise, I hope to demonstrate to EPA that, Brexit notwithstanding, the UK parking sector can make a very positive contribution to the international parking community. To find out more about the APDS working group and how to input, please contact nige@parkingmatters.com *ertico.com **maas-alliance.eu 32 PN Nov 2022 pp30-33 Nigel Williams.indd 32 27/10/2022 13:57 1406_