Key points:
- Grid Smarter Cities has launched a new version of its Kerb platform for booking loading bays in advance.
- Fleet operators can make bulk bookings and use a DVLA lookup to add vehicle details.
- Drivers get reminders, favourite bays and vehicles, and can move a booking if an unauthorised vehicle blocks the bay.
- On Walworth Road in Southwark, the scheme led to the equivalent of a 40% reduction in Penalty Charge Notices in 2024.
- Kerb is currently live in Lambeth, Richmond, Southwark and Westminster.
What’s new in the Kerb platform
According to Grid Smarter Cities, the new Kerb platform offers an updated experience on mobile and desktop for finding, booking and managing loading space. Drivers can plan ahead and know where they will park before they arrive.
The main changes are:
- bulk booking – teams coordinating several vehicles can make multiple bookings at once,
- DVLA lookup – a faster way to add vehicle details,
- favourites – drivers can save bays and vehicles they use regularly,
- reminders – notifications about when and where a booking takes place,
- blocked bay reporting – if an unauthorised vehicle occupies a booked bay, the driver can report it and move the booking to a pre-agreed alternative location,
- dashboards and reports – fleet operators and local authorities get data on booking activity, vehicle movements and usage trends.
Existing users keep their login details, and their bookings move to the new system automatically. On iOS, the app updates automatically or via the App Store. Android users need to delete the old app and install the latest version from Google Play.
“Built for today, designed for tomorrow, it lays the foundations for something much bigger,” said Toby Hiles, Sales and Partnerships Director at Grid Smarter Cities. The company’s long-term aim is to move from booking single bays to managing kerbside access across entire cities.
Fewer fines on Walworth Road
The new platform builds on a scheme on Walworth Road in Southwark, which combines digital booking with dynamic on-street signage. According to Grid Smarter Cities, an analysis by consultancy Stantec of operator activity in 2024 showed:
- the equivalent of a 40% reduction in Penalty Charge Notices for operators using the bays,
- an estimated first-year benefit-cost ratio of 3.8,
- enforcement officers freed up to focus on other problem areas in the borough.
Where drivers can book
Kerb is currently live in four London boroughs: Lambeth, Richmond, Southwark and Westminster.
In Westminster, the system was first used for London’s first bookable loading bays for electric vehicles, on Abbey Orchard Street near Victoria and Russell Street in Covent Garden. Under that scheme, pre-registered operators could book the bays 24 hours a day for 30, 60 or 90 minutes, paying local parking rates through the platform, and each bay had an e-ink sign showing whether it was booked.
Why it matters for delivery drivers
In busy city centres, drivers often lose time circling for a place to stop, or park where they can and risk a fine. Bookable bays give them certainty before they set off, which helps with route planning and delivery windows. For operators, fewer fines and shorter search times mean lower costs.
Other European cities are tackling the same problem in different ways. Madrid, for example, decided to fine unregistered loading and unloading activities. In the UK, delivery operators face other enforcement risks too: as trans.info has reported, van overloading dominates UK prosecutions.
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