Benefits to pre-booked parking

New research has suggested motorists can reduce air pollution by pre-booking parking rather than circling the block.

A study by YourParkingSpace.co.uk found that its customers saved a combined total of 132 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent amount that would be made burning 53 tonnes of coal, by driving straight to their reserved parking space over the last year.

Carbon dioxide is considered the main greenhouse gas contributing towards climate change, widely considered to be the cause of rising sea levels and the increased prevalence of extreme weather conditions.

Additionally, more than 46,000 grams of particularly harmful nitrogen oxides, largely responsible for air pollution and smog, was also saved by motorists driving straight to a pre-booked parking space rather than driving around searching for one.

Air pollution can cause both short- and long-term damaging effects on health and has been linked to heart disease, asthma, strokes and lung disease and is estimated to cause forty thousand premature deaths each year in the UK alone.

Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said, ‘Changing attitudes towards how motorists drive and park can help put an end to the environmentally damaging practice of circling the block in the hope of finding an available parking space.

‘Our research is a stark reminder of how much air pollution can be avoided simply by driving straight to a pre-booked parking space.’

Meanwhile, YourParkingSpace.co.uk also recently announced a new partnership with Zap-Map.com, the UK’s leading platform for finding electric vehicle charge points. For the first time ever, it will allow customers to make bookings for YourParkingSpace.co.uk spaces where electric vehicle charging is available directly through Zap-Map.com.

Harrison added, ‘As well as having an environmental advantage, parking in a pre-booked space also has a positive financial impact for local homeowners who provide many of these spaces, while providing cheaper parking for needy motorists.’

In 2018 alone, businesses and households with empty parking spaces made more than £15m with YourParkingSpace.co.uk by renting them out.