Skip to main content

Videalert stops airport parking getaways

Cameras target Stansted drivers attempting to leave drop-off zones without paying
By Ben Spencer January 21, 2022 Read time: 2 mins
Videalert says the cameras have been installed at the exits of the drop-off zones and short-term parking (image credit: Stansted Airport)

Videalert's cameras are helping to eliminate tailgating at London Stansted Airport as drivers attempt to leave the drop-off zones and short-term car parks without paying. 

The CCTV enforcement cameras were supplied as part of an ongoing contract with NSL, a provider of parking enforcement services. 

Steve Mills, surface access manager – landside operations at London Stansted Airport, says: “NSL has provided us with a cost effective enforcement solution that will enable us to rapidly achieve high levels of compliance, particularly in respect of the repeat offenders that try to avoid paying their parking charges. 

“This has been a particular issue in short-term car parks where people have routinely stayed two weeks without paying,” Mills continues. 

“The cameras will help us to eliminate lost parking revenues and improve safety for all passengers around the airport.”

The cameras have been installed at the exists of the drop-off zones and short-term parking. 

Videalert says each camera monitors two lanes simultaneously capturing the number plates of every vehicle that passes through the barriers. 

They transmit data to Videalert’s hosted digital video platform where evidence packs are automatically compiled for review by operators at NSL’s Oldham Shared Service Centre. Penalty charge notices are then sent to the owners of all vehicles committing an offence.

As part of the deal, NSL has provided the airport with a Videalert mobile enforcement vehicle (MEV) to reduce the incidence of drivers stopping or parking on access road verges – which are designated as no stopping areas. 

According to Videalert, the MEV will act as a deterrent to the many taxis, private hire vehicles, friends and relatives that cause traffic congestion and safety issues in these areas by waiting to drop off or pick up passengers. 

The vehicle comes with front and rear cameras and automatically captures the number plates of stopped vehicles in unattended mode and transmits footage to the Videalert platform, the company adds. 

Videalert operations director Mark Jones says: “This is one of the first such installations of Videalert cameras on private land and demonstrates the breadth of our range of integrated transport and enforcement solutions.” 
 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Parking - does it cause or cure congestion?
    January 25, 2012
    Does parking cause congestion, or can it help alleviate the problem? By John Van Horn
  • EU rules extend the ‘long arm of the law’
    November 27, 2013
    New EU legislation allows authorities to collect fines from errant foreign motorists even after they have returned to their own country. New European Union legislation means drivers in many Member States can be prosecuted for breaking traffic laws when driving outside their home country. While not all the Member States will not be signing up to Directive 2011/82/EU facilitating the cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences, for those that do the deadline date to impleme
  • Lisbon council to invest in CCTV
    November 21, 2012
    Lisbon city council in Portugal is to set up a new CCTV system in order to monitor the road traffic on the streets of the capital. The system will help the council to enforce traffic penalties on drivers of old pollutant vehicles who are banned from certain central areas, the Reduced Emissions Zones (ZER). ZERs were implemented in 2011 for vehicles with registrations prior to 1992; this was later extended to include cars registered before 1996. However, the city council’s lack of resources means that to da
  • Commuting habits come under scrutiny
    March 28, 2017
    Cities have a moral responsibility to encourage the smart use of transportation and Andrew Bardin Williams hears a few suggestions. Given the choice of getting a root canal, doing household chores, filing taxes, eating anchovies or commuting to work, nearly two-thirds of Americans said that they wouldn’t mind commuting into work—at least according to a poll conducted by Xerox (now Conduent) over its social media channels at the end of 2016.