FEATURE THE BIG INTERVIEW
Today, not only does the company issue tickets on
behalf of parking clients, both local authority and private operators, but it also offers a lines and signs service, the personalisation of tickets and subsidiary objects such as blue badge secure holders. In addition, a separate branch of the business – Car
Park Partnership – runs car parks for landowners. So why has Liberty Services been so successful?
Reddin puts it down to the scale of the operations it runs and the level of expertise it offers. ‘If you are a local authority that is issuing tickets,
then to achieve a high quality service you will be spending a lot of money for a relatively small operation, and staff will not be specialists in that field. ‘We can afford to run a high quality operation
because we will be issuing thousands of tickets on behalf of multiple clients. Tis allows us to get bulk discounts on postage and materials so we can keep costs down. And because this is our core business we do it well.’ He added: ‘We spend as long on the checking of the
tickets as we do on the printing of them, because we are very aware that one small mistake can cost a local authority thousands of pounds, not to mention the associated bad publicity that may engender.’
Outsourcing document management is the single most efficient thing a council can do to cut costs
Just recently the Liberty Services team has joined
forces with Documetric Limited and can now offer a mail-in service as well as mail out, thus taking even more pressure off local authorities.
Filling in the gaps Of the lines and signs service, Reddin said: ‘Te TMA 2004 set out some specific requirements for clear signs. We offer a snagging service. Signage firms will fight over a big contract to put lines and signs on to a major new housing estate for example, but what we
A major development in LIberty’s history came when it switched from working with police forces to local authorities
offer is the ability to clear up little problems – a sign here, a new line there.’ Another gap in the market that Liberty Services is filling is car park management for small facilities. Hospitals, universities, shopping malls and hotels may have a car park that they want managed, but revenue from the facility is not their main concern. Liberty Services, using a range of suppliers, now
runs 76 car parks throughout the UK. Under the Car Park Partnership brand they provide the entire package, from signage, payment, and enforcement through to the back office team and ticket issue. ‘We are aware of the reputation that some clampers
have imposed on us so we are adamant that all our operators sign up to, and comply with, the BPA’s Approved Operators Scheme (AOS). Most operators we work with are not in it for money but just to run their own businesses effectively.’
Cost-cutting measures provide opportunities Local authority cuts have opened new doors for Liberty Services. Teir ability to provide an outsourced service to deal with the paperwork behind a large-scale, on-street parking operation has made this area the fastest growing in the company portfolio. Liberty Services currently works with more than 250 local authority clients. Reddin said: ‘Outsourcing document management
is the single most efficient thing a council can do to cut costs.’ Liberty Services has been very involved with the
BPA in the development of the AOS Code of Practice, but Reddin is wary of the BPA being the body that polices its own members. ‘I think the BPA as a trade federation is making
the right moves but it is hard for an association to legislate its own members. I sometimes think an independent body would be a better idea.’ Reddin is also frustrated by the bad publicity that
38 JULY 2010
www.britishparking.co.uk
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