ADVERTORIAL
Embracing modernity through cashless parking
Austerity cuts and the need for innovative and cost-efficient solutions
In this period of austerity, the pressure applied to councils to deliver innovative and cost- efficient solutions is becoming ever more apparent. Following an overall reduction in spending power of 3.3 per cent in 2012/13, it was announced in December 2012 that councils in England will see a further cut of 1.7 per cent in the next financial year. A small number of local authorities will require larger savings to be made. To counter these cuts, local authority parking departments are setting a strong example in embracing modernity through adopting new technology to improve services, reduce costs and increase revenue. The primary innovation has been cashless parking: a cost-efficient alternative to expensive on-street and car park payment machines. The solution gives parking customers the option to make their payment by phone through IVR (instant voice recognition), call centre, text, web or via a smartphone application. However, the availability of these methods differs across cashless operators.
Using Adaptis Solutions, motorists initially register their vehicle to the Adaptis payment platform (Dash) through one of the methods above. This can be done immediately prior to making a payment or online in advance through
www.dashpark.com
Once registered, motorists can view their account either online or through the Dash app; they can then review all their parking transactions, book parking in advance, add additional vehicles and obtain VAT parking receipts. This registration also allows access to all other Dash payment platforms, such as Dash Pay, Dash Permit and Dash Taxi, and once registered it takes just 20 seconds to pay for parking.
Benefits to motorists include: ■ No need to worry about carrying coins
www.britishparking.co.uk
■ Text reminders to notify motorists when parking is going to expire
■ Ability to extend parking sessions without returning to the vehicle Most importantly, cashless parking offers consumers a fast, secure and dependable alternative to pay & display machines. The parking operator benefits from the:
■ Reduction in expensive cash handling costs ■ Removal of the need to replace pay & display machines with costly and complex ‘chip and pin’ machines
■ Ability to accept payments during pay & display machine downtimes
■ Improved customer satisfaction: reduces likelihood of issuing penalty charge notices to motorists overstaying allotted time
■ Reduction in lost revenues due to theft, fraud and counterfeit coins.
Adaptis Solutions has provided a compelling example for Gloucestershire County Council: a virtual permit system that removed the need for a physical printing element, reducing costs considerably, but without compromising the enforcement management of the solution. The Gloucestershire requirement was to have a permit management system that allowed residents in four areas (Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and The Cotswolds)
to apply for their parking permits online, against a specific set of eligibility criteria, and then allow the same residents to purchase vouchers for their visitors. The required functionality included differential pricing for first issue permits, second household permits and low CO2 emission vehicles; free issue allocation of a set number of visitor vouchers per household; and the ability for residents to register themselves for the service and manage and maintain their own accounts online. The solution was provided through the Dash permit engine that was branded in the style sheets for each of the four councils. A link inside the council website maintained that consistent approach. A virtual permit and visitor voucher scheme must be supported by a service to allow the enforcement teams to identify vehicles which are allowed to park and those that are not. Complementing the Gloucestershire permit
service is a solution that allows enforcement officers to make an enquiry on the system, in real time, to validate a parking session by a specific vehicle or across a specific zone. The scheme has proved to be a great success for Gloucestershire County Council, and is now being rolled out across the London Borough of Brent.
MARCH 2013 37
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