Motoring experts have issued a stark warning after the number of people with blue badge parking permits rocketed. New figures show there were 2.84 million valid blue badges at the end of March 2024 – up from 2.57 million – or 10.5% – in a year.
The Department for Transport (DfT) data was analysed by the PA news agency and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation. Researchers found the percentage of the population with a blue badge rose from 4.6% to 4.9% in the year to the end of March 2024.
The regions with the highest percentage was the North East at 5.8%. The lowest was London with 3.3% holding one of the permits.
In 2019 the eligibility criteria for blue badges was extended to include people with non-visible disabilities such as Parkinson’s, dementia and epilepsy. Around 4.0% of badges were held by people with non-visible disabilities at the end of March last year.
The badges make it easier for people to park close to their destination with special bays outside stores and in the street. They are also often allowed to park on double yellow lines where other motorists are prevented from doing so.
However many with the badges can find it difficult to get into one of the parking bays wither because other blue badge holders are already using the space – or motorists without a badge use them for convenience.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “With parking spaces often at a premium in places like retail parks and supermarkets it might be tempting to occupy a disabled bay – maybe just for a few minutes – but we should remind ourselves that one day we could be the ones reliant on the easier access that blue badges are there to provide.”
Blue badges, are issued by the local authority and renewed every three years. They help people with disabilities or health conditions access shops and services by enabling them to park closer to their destination.
Depending on the location, they often enable holders to park free of charge in pay-and-display bays and for up to three hours on single and double yellow lines. In London, they exempt holders from having to pay the Congestion Charge.
Latest figures show 38% of people automatically entitled to a blue badge hold one. However some thieves find them lucrative to sell on or use with 1,600 blue badges were reported as being stolen in the year to the end of March 2024.