Parking is ripe for change; the UK leads the world in some respects given we have an unusually high density of cars per square mile
crisis of recent times. While technology can deliver benefits in terms of efficiency and increased convenience, every pound invested will need to work as hard as possible. And there’s no escaping that, at present, many parking consumers like paying with coins – a form of currency whose origins can be traced back to pre-Roman times!
Making money work hard
Speaking about the financial situation facing councils, a spokeswoman from the Local Government Association (LGA) said: ‘When faced with a particularly tight spending environment, everybody realises there will be some restrictions. ‘In those circumstances, it is important to make best use
of what money there is.’ Te LGA wants authorities to be able to make more
locally-based decisions, including those affecting the local infrastructure and economy. It also wants a simplification of the funding stream process, making it easier for councils to identify potential national government resources. It stresses, too, that the local transport services –
including parking provision – should be accessible to all, so authorities ‘need to make the right decisions according to the needs of the local economy’.
Relentless march of technology
Meanwhile, the roll-out of new parking payment technology continues across the UK. One innovator, Parkeon, is soon going live with the
world’s first contactless credit and debit card payment solution in its solar-powered Strada P&D terminals. Te company is upgrading machines for a number of
operators in the south east of England by retro-fitting them with contactless card readers. With a card-reading time of less than a second, they are far quicker than cash or mobile phone transactions. Contactless cards are designed to pay for goods and
services of £15 or under in value, simply and securely, without the cardholder having to confirm every transaction with a PIN. Cardholders simply touch their card to the reader and the payment is made. In order to protect customers – if a card is lost or
stolen – the cards incorporate a ‘spot-check’ security function. Te UK banking and card industries require cardholders to confirm their IDs with a chip & PIN transaction on an ad-hoc basis when using an ‘unattended terminal’, such as a pay and display machine. Suppliers of payment terminals to UK parking operators have been developing their machines, and Parkeon fits an
www.britishparking.co.uk
MAY 2010
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