Pay By Phone Parking

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• Up to 20 years old

• Poor and unsightly condition

• Maintenance costs are increasing

• Only one payment option - coins

• Susceptible to cash box theft and vandalism

• Strategy = reduce the operating cost and provide better customer experience and choice

Westminster on-street equipment

Options

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• Do nothing…

• Only replace equipment as it breaks down

• Replace all equipment with new coin-only Pay & Display machines

• Replace all equipment with new credit card Pay & Display machines

• Roll-out ‘Pay by Phone’ across the city…

… the most likely scenario is a mix and match solution - but we needed to run a trial to know what works best.

Reasons for running a trial

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• Technology still new to the parking forum.

• Other pilots and implementations are not comparable:

• Dublin, Edinburgh – still linked to machines

• Off street

• Existing London pilots very small

• Questions outstanding regarding:

• Connectivity

• Enforcement

• Customer uptake

Why phone parking makes sense for Westminster

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• Convenient payment option - over 100% penetration in UK.

• Customer feedback - motorists want to use this method.

• Unique benefits - safety, security, convenience, reminders.

• Reduces cost of parking operation•Less parking equipment and related costs.

•Less cash to collect and process.

• Helps reduce street furniture

• Eliminates theft and fraud

• Helps meet e-government targets

• September 2005: survey into cashless payment methods in the West End and St James’s.

• Base sample: 456 customers • Very likely to use mobile phone: 226 (49%)

What did our customers think of the idea?

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Looking only at those ‘very likely’ to pay by phone:

•70% park more than once a week

•35% park more than 5 times a day

•54% for business/work + 26% for shopping

This showed a strong base of repeat business users, who were the most dissatisfied with current payment options and who park more times than any other group.

Phone Parking Customer Profile

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Clear favourites are the top up facility without returning to car and the reminder text function, neither of which can be delivered by any other payment method.

Total percentages

Reminder text to let me knowwhen my parking time is up

Do not need to return to myvehicle to top-up my parking,can do this over the phone

Don’t have to carry coins

If I leave early, I can call to getmoney back for unused parkingtime

Quicker

Base: All (456) and all very likely to use phone parking (226)

17%

67%

49%

47%

40%

37%

26%

23%

82%

58%

56%

53%

45%

35%

To keep track of payments -download receipts on-line foreasy book-keeping

A more secure payment method

Very likely to use phone parking

Important factors for customers

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• Pilot of the ‘Pay by Phone’ solution is now live in 2 areas:

•Parking zone G1 – Soho and the West End (1000 spaces £4 per hour)

•Parking zone C2 – Harrow Road and Queens Park (500 spaces £1 per hour)

Current 6-month pilot

• Phase 1 = Offered as alternative payment method at all Pay & Display machines + meters.

• Phase 2 = Removed meters to create Phone Only Bays in zone G1 + replaced P&D with card only.

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How it works: The Motorist – finding it…In several ways:

• Signage

• Labels on equipment

• Website

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And publicity…

• Flyers

• Marketing

• Press articles

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How it works: The Motorist – registering…

• Pre-registration is not required

• First-time can register in one of three ways:

•Phone - touch-tone or agent

•Text

•Website City of Westminster

• Registration is FREE

• Welcome email / text sent following registration

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How it works: The Motorist – using it…Pay by – Phone:

• Call 0870 428 4009 and enter: Location number + Number of minutes

Or… Pay by – Text:

• Text 0795 008 0201 with

•Location number + Number of minutes + 3-digit card security no.

Text message sent back to confirm the parking session has started.

Can call back any time to check how much time is left or extend the parking session

Fees billed to your credit or debit card

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How it works: The Motorist – account…

Managing your account:

• Online account set-up automatically

• Accessed via Westminster website

www.westminster.gov.uk/parking

•Allows you to:

•Update your profile – add new cars

•Print receipts

•View your transactions

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How it works: Enforcement – process…

• Parking Attendants use existing handheld computer units.

• Existing parking protocols being followed.

• Parking Attendants enter the location number and display all licence plates parked in that location …

• Before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice they check whether the vehicle is parked anywhere in Westminster …

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How it works: Enforcement – training + support

• All Parking Attendants trained across the two zones.

• Control room staff trained to support Parking Attendants on street.

• Call Centre staff trained to answer any customer enquiries + to complete registrations over the phone if requested.

Service Service Charge

Each new parking session < £2 10p

Each new parking session > £2 20p

Text services 10p

What does it cost?• Currently the motorist pays for the service by way of a small Service Charge

which is added to the parking fee:

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• Provides a better parking customer experience

• Helps to ensure safety + security by reducing cash levels on-street

• Reduces street furniture

• Reduces costs of collecting + processing cash from machines

• Helps to eliminate theft, fraud + vandalism of on-street equipment

• Fewer capital costs for replacing + maintaining parking equipment

• More effective means for our Parking Attendants to enforce vehicles in contravention

• Fewer Penalty Charge Notices issued due to faulty machines or incorrectly displayed Pay and Display ticket

Benefits - Westminster

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• Convenience - no need to leave the comfort of your car (e.g. when it’s raining or late at night) or you can pay whilst on the move.

• No more hunting for change + carrying large amounts of change.

• Optional expiry reminders before your parking runs out.

• Easy top up payments from wherever you are without the need to return to your vehicle (excellent for trades people).

• No more lost money in broken equipment.

• More efficient expense accounting.

• Ability to manage any number of vehicles on one account

• You can pay in a number of different UK locations once you have set up an account

Benefits - Motorists

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• 1000th customer after 9 days!

• 60% revenue in zone G1 = £160k a month

• 5% revenue in zone C2 = £2k a month• Little effect on enforcement levels

• Initial general enquiries levelled

• Good customer feedback

• During month 2 we conducted a survey• Text sent to 2000 users asked to visit a web page to give

feedback

Results so far: After 4 months

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• Average Customer Demographic

Male, late thirties, likely to be parking on a regular basis for work/business reasons and hasn’t received a parking ticket in the last 12 months. He pays by touchtone rather than text.

• Most effective marketing stream:

Stickers on P&D machines and meters

• Pay by Phone Preferences:

Not having to carry coins is perceived as the biggest benefit (58% of users rated it as the most important factor) with the top-up facility coming in at a high second place.

Customer survey data…• Account Set-Up Method

Touchtone system is favoured method (65%) followed by speaking to a customer service advisor; the website comes third and signing up by text is the least popular

• Ease of Use – paying for parking

Nearly all users find the Pay by Phone system easy to use and over half say that it’s very easy.

• Customer Satisfaction & Retention

Just under 90% of customers are either satisfied or very satisfied with the Pay by Phone service.

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• Some users either do not have a credit / debit card or do not have access to a phone when they park

= social exclusion.

• Potential method to solve the issue:

• PayPoint – payment at shops using existing PayPoint system either direct by cash or via a pre-paid top-up cards.

Issue = Social exclusion

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• During the pilot Westminster will be continuing to survey customer opinion:

• If the pilot is a success we will look at rolling ‘Pay by Phone’ into other areas.

• If it is not a success then we will find out why and if possible improve the solution, or in areas where it is completely unsuitable new Chip & PIN Pay & Display machines will be installed

• Strategy = reduce the operating cost and provide better customer experience and choice.

What happens after the 6-month pilot?

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• Partnerships In Parking

• London Councils (ALG)

Possibilities:• Single number

• Consistent signage

• Consistent policies

• One solution?

What next?

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Thank you!

Please feel free to ask questions.