COMPANY NEWS
Newsdesk: 01223 273526
editor@britishparking.co.uk
Promoting partnership
T e development of out-of-town retail parks has off ered shoppers a more relaxed and convenient shopping experience compared to high street shopping. So how can councils and parking operators work with businesses to ensure motorists
have a better experience when they park their cars in town centres? T e pressure is on them to come up with promotional ideas to attract shoppers back to the high street. One approach
organisations are starting to take is to
develop partnerships with retailers and transport operators. T ese partnerships can provide off ers on retail items, transport ticketing and parking, combined into an attractive package to lure shoppers back to the high street. However, with
diff erent ways to pay for parking and transportation, and the complexity of discounts, advertising and loyalty schemes, how do organisations create and sustain these activities? Corethree has
EVERY LITTLE HELPS
Transport planner JMP has been appointed by Sainsbury’s to conduct phase one of a research project into the eff ect of store extensions on trip generation, duration of stay and parking demand. T e project is to
be undertaken in two stages. Phase one will consist of transport surveys at a selection of Sainsbury’s stores across the country this autumn, where store extensions are planned. T is will be accompanied by a
38 OCTOBER 2011
baseline analysis of foodstores, using the TRICS system of trip generation analysis. Phase two of the
study will take place once the extensions at the selected stores have been completed, and will be a repeat of the original surveys. T is will be followed by a more complete report, which will analyse the results and present fi ndings in an area that is of great interest to the transport planning and development control industry.
developed Core Engine, a patent-pending integration solution for solving problems like these. Core Engine connects content, services and business data to smartphone users’ mobile devices, delivering simple and
fl exible solutions that can grow with clients’ businesses. Corethree can
provide mobile e-ticketing (via credit and debit cards) and navigation for parking, highlighting Park Mark facilities located nearby. T e service allows retailers, councils and parking operators to cross-promote to each others’ customers, with Core Engine as a facilitator. T is means that retail stores can off er promotions or loyalty points on parking and vice versa. Geo-location functionality can provide up-to-date retail off ers available in the local area – direct to the customers’ smartphones. T e solution
integrates into traditional parking equipment, including
barrier entry systems. T e Corethree mobile
platform can also help staff access electronic information from elsewhere in their IT systems. For example,
Corethree’s solutions team can integrate existing parking validation systems with the new Blue Badge Improvement Service (BBIS) being deployed in January 2012, and provide councils and parking operators with the opportunity to access key pieces of data from their hand-held devices. T is provides
the opportunity to lower fraud, cash- handling costs and administration, while operating entirely using smartphone devices, which many organisations may already have in place.
NOT A CHARITY CASE
A study carried out by an anti- cuts website, False Economy, has estimated that local authority cuts to charity will total more than £110m this year. Charities related to children and young people are expected to be the most affected. However, recent research
undertaken by JBW Group, the debt management and enforcement company, shows that (through information taken under the Freedom of Information Act) councils are owed in excess of £1bn in unpaid council tax and parking fi nes. Jamie Waller, CEO of JBW Group, said: ‘I fi nd it quite staggering that there are councils across the UK that are not making the effort to collect their debts. It has become apparent that many areas supported
by local authorities are going to suffer – charities in particular. We run a number of schemes with local authorities to help boost collection incomes, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss with them our processes that aid fi nancial recovery.’ An example of one such scheme is weekly face-to-face bailiff surgeries to help encourage the more vulnerable customers to work with JBW and the council to fi nd suitable methods of re-payment. The bailiff surgery provides customers with an option that moves conversations from the door-step to a more neutral environment. The surgery is a tri-partite arrangement enabling individual counselling between the customer, an appropriate council offi cial and a JBW employee.
www.britishparking.co.uk
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