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

  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • St Louis red light cameras changing driver behaviour
    November 5, 2012
    According to a new analysis of the City of St. Louis' violator-funded red-light safety camera program carried out by safety camera supplier American Traffic Systems (ATS), drivers are adopting safer driving habits by stopping at red lights. As drivers comply with the law, the risk of dangerous red-light running collisions is reduced, and streets become safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. The study reviewed nearly 350,000 red-light running violations issued in the city from the time the program bega
  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
  • TfL bans Uber from London following security breaches
    November 26, 2019

    Transport for London (TfL) has stripped Uber of its private hire operator's licence following security breaches which it says put passengers at risk.

    Uber slammed the decision but TfL says that a change in the ride-hailing giant’s systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload photos to other driver accounts.

    This enabled the drivers to fake their identity and pick up passengers - in at least 14,000 trips.