FREE TIME-LIMITED PARKING BAYS – How many with or without Ticket
Request ID: FOI-0352-2425 Date published: 28 May 2024
You asked
FREE TIME-LIMITED PARKING BAYS – How many with or without Ticket
Dear Transport for London,
This enquiry relates to parking bays available to cars and small vans generally.
It is not related to bays reserved for particular vehicles, eg buses, cycles, motor bikes, residents, disabled, loading, doctor etc.
How many time-limited parking bays are there on TFL roads where there is no charge to park?
How many of these bays require no ticket or other proof of time of arrival, and how many do require some method?
Please state any method of control, eg free ticket from machine, phone registration.
Please provide a list by number of bays and location, including any proof method.
Please reply by group where there is a group of bays along a section of road.
Please include the length of time allowed, and the hours of restriction for each location, including any No Return period.
How does TFL enforce the restriction, for example by recording licence plate numbers and date and time?
Does TFL use a system of ANPR for enforcement, for example by fixed camera or hand-held enforcement officer camera?
Should a vehicle be detected as being parked for too long or having parked again too soon, what contraventions may be used to impose a penalty?
Does TFL have any plans to change the system?
If so, in what way and why?
We answered
TfL Ref: 0352-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 28 April 2024 asking for information about our (red route) parking bays.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require.
You specifically asked: This enquiry relates to parking bays available to cars and small vans generally. It is not related to bays reserved for particular vehicles, eg buses, cycles, motor bikes, residents, disabled, loading, doctor etc.
How many time-limited parking bays are there on TFL roads where there is no charge to park? The network of major roads TfL manage (red routes) make up 5% of the total road length, although they carry more than 30% of London's traffic. Our priority is to keep London moving safely and reduce delays and Red Routes help reduce congestion and ensure crucial deliveries and journeys can be made safely to keep the city moving.
According to our records, as at 14 May 2024 there are 1,676 parking bays that TfL currently enforce as the Traffic Authority on our network.
How many of these bays require no ticket or other proof of time of arrival, and how many do require some method? None of the bays require a ticket or other proof of time of arrival. Each bay is clearly signed with the relevant restrictions and if those restriction are not adhered to a penalty may be issued.
Please state any method of control, eg free ticket from machine, phone registration. None – see above.
Please provide a list by number of bays and location, including any proof method. Please reply by group where there is a group of bays along a section of road. Please include the length of time allowed, and the hours of restriction for each location, including any No Return period.
Please see attached for numbers of bays broken down by borough. Please note that the data does not include disabled bays.
However, to provide the information you have requested broken down by individual locations and groupings would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would significantly exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’. This is because there is no quick or efficient way of sourcing and compiling all of the material that falls within the scope of your questions due to the number of bays on our red routes, and the variances between the restrictions for each bay or group of bays.
How does TFL enforce the restriction, for example by recording licence plate numbers and date and time? Each bay is clearly signed with the relevant restrictions and if those restriction are not adhered to a penalty may be issued.
Does TFL use a system of ANPR for enforcement, for example by fixed camera or hand-held enforcement officer camera? Bays are monitored by CCTV and On Street officer enforcement depending on location.
Should a vehicle be detected as being parked for too long or having parked again too soon, what contraventions may be used to impose a penalty? Each bay is clearly signed with the relevant restrictions and if those restriction are not adhered to a penalty may be issued. If the recipient believes the penalty to have been wrongly issued they can make a representation to us in challenge of the PCN.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
