Businesses in the capital could save millions of pounds thanks to an initiative spearheaded by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) to reduce the number of parking fines or Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) given to commercial vehicles.
The leading trade body has revealed that members have so far benefited from a 30 per cent reduction in PCNs in the City of Westminster, with similar results seen in other London boroughs, following extensive work by FTA. The potential savings to business could amount to tens of millions of pounds.
Gordon Telling, FTA's Head of Policy for London, said:
"Some of our members were paying more than a million pounds every year in fines. Added to this was the cost of appeals of administration, placing a huge burden on companies just trying to do business in the capital.
"FTA has achieved a significant reduction in parking fines with a multi-faceted strategy and by encouraging local authorities and companies to work together."
The issuing of PCNs and their subsequent cancellation as they are appealed by the delivery company is costly to both business and local authority alike. This activity costs the City of Westminster alone around £3m a year.
FTA's ongoing scheme, which has seen some companies slash their bills by as much as 65 per cent, owes a lot of its success to the doubling of loading times from 20 to 40 minutes. To date, Richmond is the only London borough not to have adopted this change.
Telling concluded:
"By doubling the time available we have removed some of the pressure from drivers by giving them a more realistic time frame. Further measures include training drivers, transport managers and traffic wardens themselves to understand the rules of where a delivery driver can and cannot stop to unload.
"We have already saved businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds in parking fines, with more to come as this best practice procedure gets rolled out."
FTA continues to work with a number of London boroughs where deliveries are problematic for operators, providing dual training for civil enforcement officers, drivers and transport managers.