Islefield entrepreneur aims to solve Britain's parking problems
AN ENTREPRENEUR from Isfield has come up with an idea he hopes will solve Britain's parking problems.
Adrian Bone, 52, has invented sensors that sit in the ground and tell drivers where vacant car parking spaces are. He claims a solution to parking woes is desperately overdue, with 30 million cars in the UK but only 13 million spaces.
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convenient: Adrian Bone, from Isfield, is marketing a device that tells drivers where free parking bays are – and also tells enforcers how long cars have been there
His Dynamic Parking system also benefits councils by cutting congestion and helping traffic wardens, he says.
Mr Bone, who lives in Rose Hill, said: "The sensor can detect whether a space is free, when a car arrives, how long it's been there and when it leaves. That's valuable information.
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"If you're going to Tunbridge Wells it would be great to be able to look at your phone and see where the available spaces are. You could also see how much the space costs so you don't spend ages driving around looking for a space you want.
"And when you get there, if you overstay your time the council's traffic wardens would know. So instead of driving around checking every car looking for those parked illegally, they can drive straight to you.
"That would make their job a lot easier."
Mr Bone, who is not afraid of being labelled a 21st-century traffic warden, added: "Everyone parks illegally if they can get away with it. If they realise they can't then people won't."
And that would mean spaces are freed up for the next frustrated shopper looking for a spot in town.
Mr Bone said he came up with the idea while working in IT for Essex Police. The force had 1,000 cars and wanted a means of tracking where they were and how often they were being used.
"Those cars cost £50,000 each," he said. "If you can take just one or two off the road because they're not being used that's a big saving."
But as managing director of Brighton-based form Deteq, he has since enhanced the technology, with help from Finance South East. Today (Friday) he is showing off his idea at a technology exhibition at Brighton and Hove Albion's American Express Community Stadium and is hopeful a council will sign it up for a big-money contract.
He added: "I love new technology and consider this part of a growing 'internet of things'. It won't be long before everything – your fridge and your car – is hooked up to the internet."
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