Bucks Council announces new parking strategy including cashless payments transition

Bucks Council has announced its new strategy designed to improve parking services throughout the county.

This morning (23 February), Bucks Council released its new Parking Strategy, which includes plans to transition towards cashless parking systems. Although the council says it will offer cash payments for as long as economically possible.

Bucks Council has broken its new strategy down into five categories: parking charges, technology and innovation, enforcement, parking assets, and looking to the future.

The authority says it wants use new technology to offer greater flexibility to drivers, reduce congestion, and address off-street parking arrangements. Bucks Council says the updates will improve services, it inherited when the unitary authority was formed in 2020.

At a full council meeting yesterday, the nine-page strategy was improved, which includes plans on how parking can remain fully self-funded.

Bucks Council is adopting a Government National Parking Platform (NPP) scheme, which will be trialed at council car parks in Wycombe. Motorists will be able to choose which supplier they purchase their parking time through.

Councillor Steven Broadbent said: “Since becoming a unitary authority in 2020 we have been working hard to reduce inconsistencies across the county. We have looked at how we can make improvements, listening to what people have said and analysing trends and data to come up with this vision.

“We are keen to embrace new technologies and innovation whilst also making the most of our parking assets and enforcement powers to support our corporate priorities. Our parking offer must be right for the future and our communities and must be financially sustainable. This vision sets out how we plan to do that.”

The new strategy can be read in full online here. Bucks Council says parking remains a significant source of income for services and that money from the scheme will support regeneration plans for Bucks town centre’s.

Also the authority says it will continue to lobby for more Government funding for electric vehicle charging points. Bucks Council says its will look to dispose of car parks that are not making a financial return via the scheme.