Another Day, a


Different Dollar from Page 42


a step back and looked at the bigger pic- ture.The situation is the inevitable conse- quence, and disappointingly, the Borough seems in no hurry to sort out the unfortu- nate but very lucrative, to them,mess.Tell me again why we don’t need a parking regulator in the UK?


One for You, JVH Carmarthenshire County Council


in Wales is planning to introduce charges for disabled drivers in their car parks. Currently, there are free dis- abled parking spaces in the Council’s car parks, where the maximum charge for a day’s parking is about $2. But faced with the government’s 25% cut in its funding, the Council has decided to remove the free disabled concession and expects to raise an extra $100,000 as a result. There are two minor problems


they may not have considered. One, disabled drivers have the right to park on the street outside the car park for


free, which might simply move the “blue badge” holder from a free and unobstructive parker in the car park to a free and potentially obstructive park- er on the street outside. Two, if the meters cannot be used by all disabled drivers, the Council is in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act, which could cost them $100,000! Still, I am sure the Council has thought of these issues.You think?


Peter Guest is Parking Today’s correspondent for all things British and European. He can be reached at peterguestparking@hotmail.co.uk.


PT


Ampco System Acquires Parking Assets from L and R


ABMIndustries Incorporated announced that its wholly-owned Ampco Sys-


tem Parking subsidiary has acquired select parking assets from the L&R Group of Companies.The cash transaction closed on September 30, 2010. Ampco acquired substantially all of the assets of three parking companies - Five


Star Parking, Network Parking Company Ltd., and System Parking, Inc. - with signifi- cant parking operations throughout the United States. The acquired assets generate annual revenues of more than $160 million, employ approximately 2,500 people and servicemore than 450 key client accounts across the U.S. The acquisition extendsAmpco's service inmajor urban areas, including Chicago,


Philadelphia, Boston and San Diego,while complementing its already strong presence in cities such as Los Angeles, Cleveland and Cincinnati. The transaction also expands Ampco's presence at airports.As a leader in airport parkingmanagement,Ampco pro- vides a wide range of parking services at a number of the nation's largest airports.The combined business will manage parking operations at more than 2,000 offices, air- port, hospital, retail, entertainment and multi-use locations in 232 cities and 40 states throughout the U.S. "This acquisition enhances our Parking business' national footprint and U.S. lead-


ership through the addition of valued clients, new cities and a talented group of serv- ice-oriented employees," said Steven Zaccagnini, ExecutiveVice President,ABM Industries. "We look forward to extending our parking management services across a broader geography and to building on our base of client business in the key areas we currently serve.’ Said ABM Industries President and CEO Henrik Slipsager: "We continue to


seek strategic acquisitions that expand and complement our core businesses. Our recent investment in system infrastructure will yield cost-saving synergies and result in a seamless transition of these key assets into our existing parking operation."


Parking Today 44 NOVEMBER 2010 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


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