THE age of the payment parking machine could be coming to an end as new national parking data standards have been revealed.

The government’s ambition is for all parking data released by local councils and companies across the country to use the same language, supporting the development of apps to make parking easier for drivers.

Created by the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) and funded by the Department for Transport, the standardised data could lead to smoother and easier payment methods across the country.

The data could identify available parking spaces, permitted times and price through an app. 

The announcement follows the publication of the government’s Future of Mobility strategy.

Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak said: "Hunting for a parking space and then checking if you have the right change to pay for it isn’t the best start to any shopping experience, but it can be the reality more often than not.

"An intelligent parking system will not only make life easier for commuters, but could also improve footfall to our town centres – meaning both people and local businesses benefit."

To support the introduction of the standards, four research and development projects in Manchester, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire and across a consortium of South Essex councils will receive a share of £1 million to start putting the APDS standards into practice, with a further seven projects being commissioned.