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Fall in number of London parking penalties

Tuesday, 3 August 2010
in

The total number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued in London for illegal parking, driving in bus lanes and moving traffic contraventions has fallen by 11 per cent.

Figures released today by London Councils show that a total of 4,855,073 PCNs were issued by the boroughs and Transport for London between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010. This is a reduction of 611,333 from the previous year.

In the last two years the total number of PCNs has fallen by 22 per cent, from 6,176,752 in 2007/8 to 4,855,073 in 2009/10.

The number of tickets issued for illegal parking fell by 537,408 from 4,689,309 in 2008/9 to 4,151,901 in 2009/10.

Despite more boroughs enforcing bus lanes, the number of bus lane contraventions has fallen for the fifth year in a row. The total number issued for 2009/10 is 217,883, less than a third of the 697,816 penalties issued in 2004/5.

The number of penalties issued for moving traffic contraventions fell by around 11 per cent from 540,120 in 2008/9 to 482,184 in 2009/10.

Today’s figures also show that around one per cent of the penalties issued resulted in an appeal being lodged with the independent adjudicators at the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS).

The total number of appeals lodged with the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) is down by a quarter from 76,476 in 2008/9 to 56,985 in 2009/10.

PATAS heard 61,002 appeals in 2009/10, a decrease of around 14 per cent on the previous year. The number of appeals won by motorists fell from 72 per cent of all appeals heard in 2008/9 to 63 per cent of the appeals heard in 2009/10.

Chair of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee, Councillor Catherine West, said: “Parking penalties are down for the second year in a row which shows civil enforcement is having the effect people want it to have on compliance by motorists with the rules of the road.

“The recession has meant that traffic levels are down so there is less pressure on parking spaces and less illegal parking.

“I would also remind anyone who feels they should not have received a ticket that they have the right to appeal to the independent Parking and Traffic Appeals Service who have the final say in every disputed case.”