MOBILE PARKING FEATURE
course, the vehicle is in a ‘no return’ zone, where that option will be refused. Most systems also come with text messages as options to confirm the parking session has begun, and also as a convenient reminder when it is about to finish.
If this all sounds ludicrously simple, the reason is because it is. Cashless parking is not only convenient for the user, but also for the client. Existing infrastructure doesn’t have to be ripped up, or removed – merely stickered with the relevant information, while the all-too-common vandalism of parking machines will have little, or no, effect. The same applies to problems such as
counterfeit coins, ticket transfers and the need for new machines. And you can argue that it also boosts city centre trade in that shoppers don’t have to return to cars to top up their allotted parking time – they can do it simply from the store where they’re standing. Then there’s the relief for the motorist of not having to hunt for that elusive five pence piece, or realising they only have paper money with them. In fact, the more you look at it, the more sense it makes.
Aside from the basic touch-tone telephone options, parking can be sourced via text, over the internet and via the rapidly-growing app market. Usage is highest among iPhone and Android phones, but phone parking companies are now catering for BlackBerry and Window users too, especially in light of the launch of the Z10 smartphone.
Enforcing made easy
More and more local authorities are adopting mobile parking as a primary method of payment. York was the first English authority to introduce mobile phone payments across all its off-street car parks as long ago as 2005, when it signed up with PayByPhone. PayByPhone is another success story, having noticeable cities such as Aberdeen and Manchester under its wing, as well as various London boroughs including Waltham Forest, Westminster, Barnet and Islington. In Westminster and Waltham Forest the system is the primary or only method of payment, and 6,000 parking machines and meters have been removed by PayByPhone clients since the start of the service. Adaptis’ Dash Park system has also proved to be popular with local authorities; notable success stories including Enfield, Staffordshire and Total Parking Solutions (TPS). In fact, the company is one of the
www.britishparking.co.uk
CASE STUDY
Mobile parking is not a new concept in Peterborough, with both the East Coast trains and NCP car parks already equipped. Last month however, saw Peterborough
City Council (PCC) adopt Cobalt Telephone Technologies’ RingGo system on 62 of its most popular machines, located mainly in car parks and on main roads near the city centre. Until 2012 PCC only had coin- operated machines, with card machines introduced that year.
Across the UK, 77 local authorities use
RingGo, with an additional 20 using its sister company ParkMobile. More than four million users are registered in the UK, and the two systems are interchangeable, with one registry covering both companies. Prior to the rollout, the tariffs and zones
fastest growing cashless operators, with the period of January-May seeing a 30 per cent increase in the number of registered users. For civil enforcement officers (CEO) dealing with cashless parking, life has also been simplified. Once the session has begun, the vehicle will appear either on a CEO’s handheld device, or on a list of cars that can be called up on their work-issue mobile phones. One glance will help the CEO identify cars in that car park that have current sessions and those that have expired.
Colour coding zones
The RingGo system uses colour coding to denote the status of each vehicle, with current-session vehicles marked in black, those that have expired by up to an hour in yellow, and those over one hour in red. The screens refresh every five minutes, keeping information up-to-date at a glance. Because car parks have different zones – long and short-stay and recognises vehicle types HGV, coaches and commercial vehicles – each zone must be registered as separate on a cashless parking system, even if they are housed within the same structure. A CEO
(see main article) were agreed with PCC, as were the signs for the Parkeon Strada and Metric machines currently in use. PCC parking manager Mick Dolan, who
supervised the rollout, told Parking News that he saw the system as breathing new life into the city’s parking arrangements, adding: ‘with five ways to now pay for parking, there can be no excuses’. The switch to cashless parking took just two days, with one day devoted to civil enforcement officer (CEO) and back office staff training, and the second to labelling the 62 machines with the RingGo stickers. PCC has decided to initially waive the 20p convenience charge attached to using the RingGo service, with an option to reconsider after a one-year period. It is also considering using the system to dispense with the current paper holographic permits issued for staff parking, which cost £5 a time to replace and are issued yearly. Dolan added: ‘Virtual permits will cut down on print wastage for paper badges each year. It makes sense.’
can call up a zone and easily spot anomalies, for example a car in a coach park. Cashless parking systems can also recognise the VRNs of ‘vehicles of interest’, vehicles stolen, queried, or sought by debt recovery companies, and can pass on the details to the relevant parties concerned. Training CEOs is often a simple procedure
too, talking them through the system in groups of around eight to 10 people in what is often a simple training session illustrated with a presentation.
Back office staff play a key role in the process, providing support to both CEOs and members of the public alike. Both they and CEOs can login to reporting suites at any time of night or day and many cashless providers offer 24-hour support, for additional reports and query resolution as well.
There’s no doubt that cashless parking is a rapidly expanding – and very lucrative – market. Continuous developments in technology mean that it’s fast becoming the preferred method for paying for parking. Quick, simple and virtually foolproof, cashless parking is here to stay, and the days of fumbling for coins are numbered.
JUNE 2013 23
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