Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report

2008 - 2009
 City of London
Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report 2008 - 2009

Contents

Executive Summary:
Foreword 3
Overview 3
Performance:
Finance 4
Enforcement 5
Administration 6
Future Plans 7
Links 7

Appendix 1. Full Financial Report for last two financial years
Appendix 2. Full Statistical Report for last two financial years
Appendix 3. City of London Policy Report
Appendix 4. City of London Enforcement and Appeal Protocols
Appendix 5. City of London Civil Enforcement Officer Operational
Guidelines

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 City of London
Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report 2008 - 2009

Executive Summary

Foreword:

The City of London has been responsible for parking enforcement in the Square Mile since
1994 when we took over the powers from the City of London Police.

The aim of this summary report is to give an overview of the aims and values of the City
of London in relation to parking enforcement, to show our performance last year and our
future plans.

Overview:

The City of London has a published Parking Enforcement Plan which sets out its key aims
for parking enforcement. These include, amongst others, reducing congestion, improving
road safety, providing for business activity, encouraging sustainable transport use,
reducing journey times and improving access for all users. A robust parking and traffic
enforcement regime is crucial to supporting these aims and improving traffic flow.

The City of London’s parking enforcement contract formed the basis for the model
contract developed by the British Parking Association which is recommended best
practice. Our Civil Enforcement Officers are not paid commission and work to a range
of performance indicators including those on attendance and quality of work. Similarly
the back office team work to indicators which ensure timely responses to challenges and
prompt refunds of any overpayments we receive.

The City of London is proactive in meeting with trade associations and organisations
which service the many businesses in the City to resolve local issues as they arise.
Juggling the needs of all City Users is a delicate balance but one which we seem closer to
resolving as the levels of parking compliance in the City have improved hugely since the
outset.

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City of London
Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report 2008 - 2009

Performance

Finance:

As you can see from the table below the City of London’s parking and traffic enforcement
operation is not about making money and the outturn reports show that the service runs at
an annual loss. Where income is made from parking enforcement it can only be used for
traffic and highways improvements.

Year 2007-08 2008-09

ON-STREET £ £
Income    
PCN income 2,872,942 2,668,911
Clamping / Removals income 362,678 89,375
Total income 3,235,620 2,758,286
Expenditure    
City of London Employees 542,832 535,655
Vinci Park Employees 2,570,346 2,729,086
Other costs (IT, stationery, etc) 435,775 484,964
Total Expenditure 3,548,953 3,749,705
Deficit -313,333 -991,419

A full breakdown of the expenditure and income is detailed in Appendix 1.

The small surplus arising from the income

from PCNs and pay and display is used for
street and road improvements which are of
benefit to all City Users.

An example of a project which has some

funding from the surplus is Old Bailey,
pictured here.

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 City of London
Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report 2008 - 2009

Enforcement:

The table below shows that the City issues circa 50,000 PCNs each year. The City only
clamps vehicles which are persistent evaders or nuisance vehicles and removal is only
normally used where the vehicle is parked causing an obstruction or has not moved for
several hours and could pose a security or health and safety risk.

Year 2007-08 2008-09

PCNs - On-Street    
PCNs 41,682 36,909
Clamps 18 20
Removals 487 437
PCNs - CCTV    
Stationery Contraventions 4,624 5,184
Moving Contraventions 4,366 4,600
Bus Lane Contraventions 73 40
PCNs -Other Postal    
Vehicle Driven Away n/a 289
Prevented from Serving n/a 9
Total PCNs 51,250 47,488

The challenge for the City of London is to change the way people view Civil Enforcement
Officers. They are dedicated officers who carry out important work under difficult
circumstances. A Greater London Authority survey said that 67% of Londoners thought
that action against illegal parking should remain at the same level or get stronger.

Differential charges were introduced in 2007 which mean that motorists committing more
serious contraventions (parking on pedestrian crossings, double yellow lines, etc) receive
a higher penalty than motorists who commit less serious contraventions (overstaying at a
pay and display bay, parking outside the bay markings, etc).

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City of London
Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report 2008 - 2009

Administration:

The City of London aims to deal with all challenges within 15 working days of receipt. This
is a stretching target as annual correspondence and appeal levels have risen year on year
whilst staff resources have remained static. We met our letter response target overall last
year and have never failed to meet our refund indicator since it was introduced.

Year 2007-08 2008-09

PCNs - On-Street    
PCNs 41,682 36,909
Clamps 18 20
Removals 487 437
PCNs - CCTV    
Stationery Contraventions 4,624 5,184
Moving Contraventions 4,366 4,600
Bus Lane Contraventions 73 40
PCNs -Other Postal    
Vehicle Driven Away n/a 289
Prevented from Serving n/a 9
Total PCNs 51,250 47,488

The City of London carried out its first survey last year of its customers and the response
was broadly positive. We will carry out another survey this year to see whether the
service improvements we have made have made a difference.

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 City of London
Parking and Traffic Enforcement Report 2008 - 2009

Future Plans

We have already implemented major changes this year to the restrictions in the City of
London which have simplified the signs on street, increased loading times for vehicles
from 20 minutes to 40 minutes and cut pay and display costs on weekends.

The City of London is replacing its back office processing system which should improve
the efficiency and effectiveness of the Parking Ticket Office and improve customer
service.

What can you do?

This report has been produced in consultation with numerous customers and
organisations but we are always striving for improvement. If you have any comments or
suggestions for improvement of our services please contact Stuart McGregor, Parking
Ticket Office Manager on 020 7332 1035.

Links:
Parking Enforcement Plan - http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/parkingenforcementplan
CPZ Changes – http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/parkingchanges

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