As several countries across Europe will soon be ending their total lockdown, Park Now Group is launching the Parking Barometer. The barometer is a report based on parking data from its "touch free" parking apps in The Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The parking data from those countries serve as an indicator for mobility recovery and confirm that digital mobility services are first in being able to identify signs of a business rebound after the COVID-19 crisis.

Where social distancing is the norm, digital and touch-free payment data are strong indicators for the recovery of mobility. Parking transactions show that people across Europe are starting to move and pay for parking again.

Over the last ten years, touch-free payment apps have become more and more commonplace, especially in the U.K. and The Netherlands. In other markets like France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium the use of parking apps are still in their early stages but growing rapidly.

Across Europe there is still a large opportunity to increase their use for the benefit of all. These apps are the safe option for consumers and businesses, and together with parking operators and cities, we acknowledge the obligation to promote their use as the new norm, helping people to stay healthy by using apps instead of parking machines.

The trends in Park Now Group’s data have been measured from week 11 (9 March – 15 March) onwards, comparing the data with Q1 2020 (week two-10) as a baseline.

Besides national percentages of parking transactions, the barometer also shows three highlights: the overall growth in Europe, the country with the fastest growth, and the most challenging market.