Making numbers count

Helen Smith says new number recognition technology could take the access hassle out of carparks

Many severely disabled people just can not use carparks. This is because they do not have the strength or dexterity to use pay-on-foot machines, take tickets out at barriers or put coins in slots. This is more of an issue as councils that once offered free parking in their carparks for blue badge holders are now scrapping this concession and this means disabled people having to use payment machines.

This issue is a problem in privately run carparks. Unlike councils, they do not have to meet the disability equality duty which is a legal duty on all public sector organisations to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. However, privately run carparks shouldn’t get away with doing nothing as they still have an obligation under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

I have spent a lot of time writing to councils, who are either considering introducing charges or have already done so, informing them of all the issues. Peterborough City Council, who are planning on charging, say they “will not introduce a charge until the carparks are fully able to be used by disabled people through the use of specially adapted ticket machines”. Unfortunately there aren’t any ticket machines I know of which meet this criteria. Great Yarmouth Borough Council who require disabled people to pay at ticket machines say they “would be sympathetic” if anyone got a ticket because they physically couldn’t pay. I personally would rather not get a ticket in the first place!

But even councils who don’t charge badge holders can still prevent people using their carparks. If the access is by taking a ticket at a barrier then some disabled people can’t get in.

The good news, though, is there is an answer to these problems. I recently paid a visit to Colchester where the council was testing out its newly installed automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) machinery. I was able to register my details online, and as I drew up at the car park the barrier lifted automatically. ANPR has already been introduced in Newbury and has recently been installed in Cambridge. These councils currently allow blue badge holders free parking, but if that were to change payment could be collected online or by phone at a later date.

So my argument is not about whether disabled people should or shouldn’t pay but whether we can or can not park. Local authorities and other carpark managers must recognise that there are disabled drivers who can not use the current parking technology. They therefore need to review and amend their payment arrangements and rules accordingly, and insure that they are meeting their disability equality duty.