NEWS
LOCAL AUTHORITY NEWS
AGAINST THE ODDS FOR OLYMPIC BOROUGH
SEA VIEW PARKING
Cornwall Council is to place its second order within three months for Metric pay-and-display parking machines.
Located in the city fringe, Hackney enjoys a rich diversity with more than 100 languages spoken, a strong mix of cultures, affordable cuisines, celebrated art galleries, museums, and theatres. It also has a high crime rate and a number of nationalities living in a high- density, cultural melting pot. Last summer’s riots hit parts of Hackney hard. This is the landscape that the local authority service providers, including civil enforcement officers (CEOs), work in, and yet, despite the problems, the parking contract has seen an increase in compliancy, a rise in penalty charge notice (PCN) recovery rates and a higher than average win rate when it comes to appeals to Parking and Traffic Appeals Service. The parking
contractor is Apcoa and, following a successful seven-year relationship with Hackney, Apcoa has
been reappointed for another five years with the option of five one-year extensions. Hackney Council’s head of parking services, Seamus Adams, is keen to stress the importance he attaches to a close working relationship with the service providers, supporting the Council’s dedication to ongoing and further improvements.
‘This is a partnership in the truest sense of the word,’ said Adams. ‘We operate under the same roof, we share office space and use the same data source. Working together in this way will help us save money while still
10 APRIL 2012
offering a high quality service.’ Apcoa and Hackney Council list high quality PCNs as one of their main key performance indicators (KPI) for staff. A reduction in the number of contested PCNs makes a big saving for a local authority, hence this contract emphasises the quality of tickets, not the number of PCNs issued. Both parties have brought new ideas to the table, including the creation of a rapid response team that can get to hot spots quickly. Apcoa staff use bikes and mopeds as part of its fleet, as speed is vital in a place where illegally parked cars can make traffic movement difficult, which can become a major issue. Another area
where joint working is important is training. ‘We use the same training manager for the Apcoa staff and our own back office staff, said Adams. The
shared approach means there is consistency in the quality of service provided. Adams is also proud of the ambassadorial role the CEOs are being encouraged to fulfil. He explained that the role of the CEO is expanding to include reporting issues to the relevant council departments. ‘We have run a four-month trial on the current contract,’ said Adams. ‘It is an extra 33 pairs of eyes and ears on the street, and allowed us to recoup £20,000 in lost licence fees.’
It is yet another sign of the close working partnership between contractor and council.
The 10 new Metric machines will be cash- only Elites for car parks in different areas of the county, including Camborne and Lelant. In an earlier order, 17 Aura machines were purchased for St. Ives, with some of them installed in areas that overlook the sea.
CUTTING EDGE SOLUTION FOR CROYDON
The next generation of parking meters currently being installed around the London Borough of Croydon offer users greater reliability, and allow the council to make cost savings when it comes to upgrades. The machines are future-proofed for further development and, with most being solar-powered, running costs are low.
As part of a new five-year contract, the council is working with Dorset- based equipment manufacturer Parkeon to install 345 Strada payment terminals as part of the replacement programme for the council’s existing 900-plus meters, some of which, at more than 24 years old, are nearing the end of their working lives. Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for environment and highways, said: ‘These new machines offer Croydon cutting-edge technology, as well as meeting requirements in such areas as security, functionality, connectivity and compliance.’
www.britishparking.co.uk
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