The European Parking Association (EPA) - A short history
Originally established in Germany in 1994, the EPA is administered by the German Parking Association, Bundesverband PARKEN e.V. In addition to the German Parking Association, EPA’s members comprise other very significant Parking Associations, like the French Federation des Metiers de Stationnement (FNMS), and of course BPA, the largest member, but also some very small and diverse associations, sometimes comprising just one national representative acting as lead coordinator. 34 commercial, often multi-national, businesses have been associate members for many years too.
Since its foundation, the EPA has had seven Presidents; one each from Finland, Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy and two from the UK: Nick Lester-Davies, and Nigel Williams, the current President and was re-elected to the EPA Board and confirmed as President for a full two-year term at the EPA AGM held in Brussels on 15th September. Manny Rasores is a member of the EPA's Policy and Strategy Committee, having been re-elected this year. Both have served the BPA well in recent years as members of these two influential EPA bodies.
The BPA has been a full member of the EPA for over 25 years, it is an association of associations with the national parking associations of 23 nations across Europe working together, through the EPA, to share knowledge and develop common standards.
One recent and significant development has been the formation of the Alliance Parking Data Standards (APDS) which is jointly owned by BPA, EPA, and the International Parking and Mobility Institute in the USA. APDS underpins the UK’s National Parking Platform.
A plan for the future
Recently, the EPA has recognised that it needs to evolve and become more agile and proactive. In 2022, the EPA developed a proposal to transform itself into a well-funded lobbying and research organisation able to represent even better, the interests of the European parking sector.
At its 2022 AGM, its members unanimously agreed to give the EPA board the mandate to implement this transformation. A Governance working group was established to guide the transformation and the EPA will move to have a base in Brussels so it can be closer to the EU Commission and other important entities like the Mobility as a Service Alliance (MaaS), and incorporated as an international not-for-profit organisation under Belgian law. This will enable it to be more commercially minded in its activities and fundraising than is presently allowed under German law.
This is an ambitious and significant development in the history of the EPA which will allow it to be more active in the field of EU-funded projects and more visible and adept at attracting funding, which in turn could benefit all of its member associations, including the EPA
For information on EPA’s activities and initiatives in 2023 please read the following:
EPA Newsletter Spotlight on Parking Data September 2023
EPA Press Release AGM Brussels September 2023