NSW govt unveils Park’nPay accessibility portal

The NSW state government has released a new Park’nPay accessibility portal that gives drivers with disabilities the power to search for accessible parking bays.

The NSW government has already integrated 383 accessible parking spots across four Sydney councils. When completed, the program will cover roughly 3600 accessible parking spots across 30 Sydney Metro councils.

Victor Dominello, minister for customer service at digital government said the Accessibility Portal is an easy-to-use web-based platform, allowing people to search for accessible parking at their desired location, and filter for the time and day the space is needed as well as by parking type.

“We are continuing our journey to improve the accessibility of services for the more than 400,000 people with mobility parking permits and want to offer them an easy way to find parking before they leave their driveways,” he said.

“It can often be time-consuming for drivers with a disability to find a suitable parking space especially if they are unfamiliar with the area they are travelling to.

“Motorists will be able to use the Accessibility Portal to find a spot which best suits their needs, the number of accessible spaces at a location, get directions and real-time availability for accessible spaces.”

Dominello said users would be able to select a spot with the recognisable wheelchair icon to indicate it is an accessibility bay with the spot being green if it is available to use or red if occupied.

“This is a great example of using technology to be more inclusive and this enhancement will make it easier than ever to plan a journey and find a parking spot,” he explained.

“Instead of spending time and wasting petrol driving around looking for an accessible park, we have an innovative solution which gets drivers where they need to go.

“The Park’nPay app will also have an accessibility mode option where customers with a mobile parking permit can customise their experience to search for accessible parking, start a parking session and receive notifications.”

Leveraging Google Cloud, parking sensor data is collected and connected with Google Maps API, putting parking information and travel time on the map in real-time.

Serena Ovens, CEO, Physical Disability Council NSW said, “The Accessibility Portal further enhances our member’s capacity to source accessible parking information easily including the ability to check the streetscape they will be parking in.

“Any information that assists people with mobility needs to better understand their parking options is welcomed. PDCN applaud Google’s involvement in the Park’nPay app as an important innovation that supports the inclusion of the disability community.” 

Real-time parking data will come online in the app as each council area is onboarded and will be completed in 2023.

The Portal is a joint initiative between the NSW government, Google and the Physical Disability Council of NSW.