Parking firms issue 4.4m tickets

Private parking firms issued 4.4 million tickets in 12 months despite car use plummeting during the pandemic, according to new research.

Companies handed out an average of 12,000 tickets every day during the 2020-21 financial year, analysis of government data by the RAC Foundation indicated.

This was despite coronavirus restrictions seeing the number of car journeys fall to as low as 22 per cent of normal levels. The total of 4.4 million tickets issued was down from 8.4 million the previous year.

Parking firms obtain records from the DVLA to pursue car owners for alleged infringements in private car parks such as those at shopping centres, leisure facilities and motorwayserviceareas.tickets can cost drivers up to £100.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “The much-reduced number still amounts to 12,000 per day, which seems extraordinary when most of us have been following orders to stay at home.”