What is a CEA? What does ANPR stand for? What is a CPZ? There are so many terms used in the parking industry, and we can help you understand their meanings.
New to parking management and technology? No idea what all the terms, acronyms, and abbreviations mean?
Here at Unity5, we use acronyms all the time, and sometimes we take it for granted that our team know what they mean. Like some of our new team members, you may be new to the parking industry and need to understand the terminology you hear. So we’ve put together this A to Z parking glossary of commonly used parking technology terms to help you get up-to-speed.
| Acronym / Phrase | Meaning | Category | Location Usage | Description |
| Account Delegation | Delegated Access framework | Technology | Global | What is account delegation? Delegated Access is a framework that enables a user to authorise another user to perform a task on their behalf. |
| ACS | Access Control System | Technology | Global | What does ACS mean? Access control systems are electronic systems that automate the approval of authorised people or vehicles to access a site or system. |
| ANPR | Automatic Number Plate Recognition | Technology | Global | What is ANPR? An ANPR system combines cameras with other technology to identify a vehicle, its location, and other data. |
| API | Application Programming Interface | Technology | Global | What is an API? An API is a method of two or more computer programs communicating with each other and is a type of software interface. See more A terms |
| B Corp | B Corporation | Compliance | Global | What does B Corp mean? Certified B Corporations demonstrate high social and environmental performance by showing that the business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. |
| BPA | British Parking Association | Parking | UK | What is the BPA? The BPA represent the UK parking and traffic management profession. They are a not-for-profit organisation and also supports communities, improves compliance, and encourages fairness. |
| BSI | The British Standards Institution | Compliance | UK | What does BPI stand for? The British Standards Institution provides business improvement and best practice services to help organisations build competence and capability. See more B terms |
| CEA | Civil Enforcement Areas | Government | UK | What is a CEA? CEAs are designated areas of England defined for the purposes of enforcing parking contraventions, these areas do not have the same boundaries as towns, cities, or counties. |
| CEO | Civil Enforcement Officer | Government | UK | What does CEO mean in the parking industry?CEOs are employed by UK local authorities to ensure that parking and traffic rules are followed and enforced. |
| CPZ | Controlled Parking Zone | Parking | UK | What does CPZ stand for? A Controlled Parking Zone is a specific type of parking restriction that applies to a group of roads within a parking zone. See more C terms |
| DfT | Department for Transport | Government | UK | What is the DfT? A UK Government department responsible for the English transport network and non-devolved transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| DMUK | Disabled Motoring UK | Parking | UK | What does DMUK stand for? Disabled Motoring UK is a charity which supports disabled drivers, passengers and Blue Badge holders. |
| DMV | Driver and Motor Vehicle Lookup | Parking | USA | What does DMV stand for? Driver and Motor Vehicle agencies are the USA government state-run agencies that manage vehicle registrations and driver licences. A DMV is used to describe a vehicle registration check against the DMV vehicle databases. See more D terms |
| ECN | Excess Charge Notice | Parking | UK | What is an ECN? An Excess Charge Notice can be issued when a motorist has not adhered to the conditions of use of the car park, for example for not displaying a valid parking ticket. |
| EPM | Evidence Pack Manager | Technology | Global | What is an EPM? When a motorist appeals against a parking ticket the parking operator will provide an evidence pack addressing the appeal. An Evidence Pack Manager is a technology solution that collects and manages this evidence. |
| ESPO | Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation | Government | UK | What is ESPO? ESPO is a public sector-owned professional buying organisation with a large product catalogue and procurement frameworks.See more E terms |
| Fleet | Groups of vehicles owned by an organisation | Parking | UK | What does Fleet mean? Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business, government agency, or other organisation rather than by an individual or family such as rental vehicles, taxis, and public buses. |
| FCN | Fixed Charge Notice | Parking | UK | What is an FCN? A Parking Charge Notice (FPN) is a parking ticket issued by a private parking company in private car parks, also known as a Fixed Penalty Charge. |
| FCN | Final Charge Notice | Legal | UK | What does FCN mean? A final charging order (FCN) is granted by a court to a debt creditor if a parking fine is not paid within the defined periods. This means that if the debtor sells their property, they must pay the creditor back out of the proceeds. A charging order does not require the debtor to sell their property unless they receive an Order for Sale from the court. See more F terms |
| Gatekeepers | Software development team product leader | Technology | Global | What is a development gatekeeper? A development team gatekeeper ensures there is someone in the team with a clear understanding of what the piece of software is and what it is going to evolve into. |
| GCP | Google Cloud Platform | Technology | Global | What does GCP stand for? Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a Google suite of cloud computing services that runs on its own infrastructure. |
| Geolocation | Location identification | Technology | Global | What is Geolocation? Geolocation refers to the use of location technologies such as GPS or IP addresses to identify and track the whereabouts of connected electronic devices. See more G terms |
| IAS | Independent Appeals Service | Parking | UK | What does IAS stand for? The Independent Appeals Service (IAS) provides the ability for people who have received a Parking Charge Notice from an IPC parking operator to appeal against it. |
| ICN | Interim Charge Notice | Parking | UK | What does ICN stand for? An interim charging order (ICN) is usually made by a court officer without a hearing. |
| IVR | Interactive Voice Response | Technology | Global | What is IVR? A technology that allows humans to interact with a computer-operated phone system through the use of voice. See more I terms |
| LA | Local Authority | Parking | UK | What does LA stand for? Local Authorities (LAs) are regional Government organisations. |
| LEA | Law Enforcement Agency | Parking | UK | What does LEA stand for? A Government organisation that is responsible for law enforcement, such as the Police or security services. These are referred to as Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). See more L terms |
| MNPR | Mobile Number Plate Recognition | Technology | Global | What is MNPR?MNPR is a method of identifying vehicle number plates using a mobile device. |
| MMS | Merchant Management System | Technology | Global | What is an MMS? An MMS is a web-based environment used by card merchants to allow them to access transaction data from payment gateways in real time. |
| MVP | Minimum Viable Product | Technology | Global | What is an MVP?A term used by technology developers that describes the early stages of a new software system. See more M terms |
| NAC | National ANPR Capability | Government | UK | What is the NAC? The NAC is the UK Government’s network of ANPR systems. |
| NtH | Notice to Hirer | Parking | UK | What is an NtH? An NtH is a notice that provides a vehicle hirer that their vehicle has contravened a regulation with an opportunity to either pay a penalty charge or make formal representations against its issue. |
| NZTA | Waka Kotahi New Zealand Traffic Authority | Government | New Zealand | What is the NZTA?The New Zealand Traffic Authority (NZTA) responsible for vehicle registrations and licencing, equivalent to the UK DVLA. See more N terms |
| OBI | Onboarding and Implementation | Parking | UK | What does OBI mean?OBI is a process of technology providers configuring software and providing training for a new client. |
| Observations | Parked vehicle observations | Parking | Global | What are observations in parking? Observations are a function of parking enforcement where parked vehicles are observed and monitored for potential contraventions. |
| OCR | Optical Character Recognition | Technology | Global | What is OCR?OCR is a method of automatically identifying text using software. See more O terms |
| Passcode | Method of entry | Technology | Global | What is a passcode? A passcode is an ID assigned to provide access, that is used for Passcode Entry systems. |
| Payment Integration | Adding Software payment functionality | Technology | Global | What is a payment integration? A payment integration adds the ability to take payments within software. |
| PCI SSC | PCI Security Standards Council | Compliance | Global | What is PCI SSC? PCI SSC is a global forum that brings together payments industry stakeholders to develop and drive adoption of data security standards and resources for safe payments worldwide. See more P terms |
| QA | Quality Assurance | Technology | Global | What does QA mean? QA is software development process that tests and approves software changes. See more Q terms |
| READ | ANPR read | Technology | Global | What is an ANPR READ? An ANPR Read is a record of a vehicle identity taken from an ANPR camera image. |
| RFID | Radio Frequency Identification | Technology | Global | What is RFID? RFID is a method of using radio to confirm identity, used in payment cards and access control systems. See more R terms |
| SaaS | Software as a Service | Technology | Global | What is a SaaS system? SaaS is a method of delivering software via the internet and is often referred to as cloud-based services. |
| SAR | Subject Access Request | Compliance | UK, Europe | What is a SAR? A SAR is a right of individuals to request access to all of their personal information held by an individual or organisation. It is defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). |
| SEA | Special Enforcement Area | Parking | UK | What is a parking SEA? A SEA is a parking area that has specific enforcement rules.See more S terms |
| Tech Debt | Technical Debt | Technology | Global | What does Tech Debt mean? Tech Debt is a technical term that describes parts of a technology system that is old and needs updating. |
| TMA | Traffic Management Act | Government | UK | What is the TMA? The TMA is the UK Government’s legislation for traffic management. |
| TRO | Traffic Regulation Order | Government | UK | What is the TRO? The TRO is a legal agreement which allows local authorities or the police to enforce regulations including speed limits, on-street parking and one-way street. See more T terms |
| UI | User Interface | Technology | Global | What does UI mean? UI refers to the User Interface (UI) is a technical term used to describe the visual elements of software that a user interacts with. |
| UX | User Experience | Technology | Global | What does UX mean? UX refers to the way that users interact with software, so their User Experience (UX). See more U terms |
| VI | Vehicle Immobilisation | Parking | Global | What does VI mean? Vehicle Immobilisation (VI) refers to stopping a vehicle from driving away such as wheel clamping. |
| VIC | Vehicle Identity Check | Parking | UK | What is a VIC? VICs verify a vehicle’s number plate or identity number against a vehicle authority database. |
| VOI | Vehicle Of Interest | Legal | UK | What does VOI mean? A VOI is a vehicle that has been flagged by an authority for traffic infringements, contraventions or criminal activity. See more V terms |
| Widget | Software functionality | Technology | Global | What is a Widget? A widget is a small element of functionality in a software application. |
| WIP | Work in Progress | Technology | Global | What does WIP mean? WIP refers to software development tasks that are currently being worked on. |
| WO | Work Order | Technology | Global | What does WO stand for? WO is a request for work to be undertaken such as a repair or an environmental cleaning task. See more W terms |
| ZEBRA | Ticket printer manufacturer | Technology | Global | What does ZEBRA mean in parking? ZEBRA are a manufacturer of mobile printers used for printing on-street parking tickets. |
ZatPark parking management and enforcement technology is used across the traffic and parking enforcement industry by operators big and small. ZatPark helps you improve efficiency by enabling seamless integration and providing innovative tools that reduce your administration time and extend your enforcement hours without financial overheads.
We hope you found this glossary of parking technology acronyms, terms, and abbreviations helpful. You can download the full A-Z Glossary below.
References:
- UK Government. Crime, Justice, and Law. Guidance. National ANPR.
- UK Government. Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
- UK Government Legislation. Traffic Management Act 2004.
- British Parking Association (BPA).
- Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
- Independent Appeals Service (IAS).
- The European Commission. Data Protection in the EU.
- Oxford University Press. Dictionary of the Internet (Edition 2).
- British Standards Institute (BSI).
- Journal of Universal Computer Science. Methodologies and Tools For Continuous Improvement of Systems. William Schindel.
- The User Interaction Foundation. The Encylopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Edition.
- Agile Manifesto. Manifesto for Agile Software Development.
- B Corporation. B Corp Certification.
Neil is a writer focused on simplifying complex technology, operations and regulatory subjects for our public and private sector audience and highlighting how Unity5’s SaaS solutions simplify complex business processes.
