Self-service permits
Staff and students apply, pay, and renew online. Permits live on the plate — nothing printed, nothing to display, nothing to lend.
Universities
One plate, every campus lot, fair every time.
Paper permits, hang tags, and patrols don't scale to a modern campus. Parka replaces them with virtual permits tied to the number plate — self-service for staff and students, enforced automatically by ANPR across every car park, with live data for the estates and travel-plan teams.
Permits live
9,420
Visitor spaces
120
Mode
Event day
One campus, every lot
What we help you solve
Virtual permits, fair enforcement, and campus-wide data.
Every car park, one system
ANPR enforces the same rules across all campus sites automatically, with photographic evidence behind every action.
Data for the travel plan
Occupancy, permit utilisation, and modal-shift evidence by site and hour — real numbers for sustainability reporting.
The campus guide
Virtual permits and ANPR on a university estate.
Permits without the permit office
A virtual permit is simply a right to park recorded against a number plate. Staff and students apply through a self-service portal, pay online, and are covered the moment the application is approved — no printing, posting, or September queue outside the estates office.
Semester and annual renewal cycles, salary-sacrifice deductions, multi-vehicle households, and departmental allocations are all handled in the platform, and every rule is enforced automatically at the camera.
Fair enforcement that protects permit holders
The point of enforcement on campus is simple: people who paid for a permit should always find the parking they paid for. ANPR checks every plate on entry, flags non-permit vehicles and overstays with time-stamped photo evidence, and applies grace periods and visitor rules exactly as written.
Blue badge holders, contractors, open-day visitors, and VIP lists are managed as exemptions — proportionate policy, applied evenly, with an audit trail the university can stand behind.
Weekend and event revenue from the same estate
Campus car parks sit largely empty on evenings, weekends, and vacations. Pay-by-plate turns that capacity into revenue from conferences, sports fixtures, graduations, and the general public — with per-event pricing and pre-booking where demand justifies it.
Because payments, permits, and enforcement share one ledger, commercial use never collides with term-time permit holders.
Evidence for the sustainability agenda
Travel plans need data, not surveys. Parka shows exactly how many vehicles arrive, when, where, and how often — permit utilisation, single-occupancy patterns, and the real effect of parking policy changes on demand.
Parka is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR-first, appropriate for an estate that answers to students, unions, and regulators alike. UK and Irish campuses run on the same platform.
Common questions
What is a virtual parking permit?
A permit recorded against a vehicle's number plate instead of a paper hang tag. ANPR cameras verify it automatically on entry, so there is nothing to display, lose, or share — and enforcement no longer depends on windscreen patrols.
How do students and staff get permits?
Through a self-service portal: apply, upload eligibility if required, pay, done. Renewals roll with the academic year, and changes — a new car, a leaver — take effect immediately.
Can we run different rules per car park?
Yes. Staff-only sites, mixed sites, visitor areas, and event overflow each carry their own rules, tariffs, and exemptions, all enforced by the same cameras and reported on one dashboard.
How is enforcement kept fair?
Every action is backed by time-stamped photographic evidence, grace periods are automatic, and exemption lists cover blue badges, contractors, and events. Policy is applied identically for everyone, every day.
Can the estate earn revenue outside term time?
Yes — pay-by-plate opens car parks to the public on evenings, weekends, and vacations, with pricing per event or season. Many campuses fund the whole system from this previously-unused capacity.
Talk to Parka
See what your campus could do.
Tell us what you are looking for and we will get in touch about how we can help.
Data, revenue, and compliance on one platform
Proven since 2016, no limit on site size
ISO 27001 certified, GDPR first