Aug/Sept 2008

You won't need to buy a physical ticket to park at meter slots in Westminster in future; you'll pay by mobile phone instead, using a remote payment system that is being introduced by the council. It says it is hoping to save £6 million a year through the project.

The technology behind the system is being provided by Verrus of Canada, while the communications and call processing are being dealt with by Converso, a contact centre specialist.

When a driver wants to park, he or she phones a special number, which captures theirs using call line identification. Then an interactive voice response system enables the caller to input credit card details.

The call is then automatically transferred to Converso, where a live handler asks for the car registration and gives the caller the option of future text messaging or e-mail notifications.

 

The clever part is that the parking entitlement is then posted on the system's database, where it can be accessed in real time by traffic wardens on the street, who log in using GPRS-enabled handheld terminals. So there is no need for a physical parking ticket to be displayed in the vehicle.

According to Alastair Gilchrist, the director of parking at Westminster: 'We were looking for a convenient method of payment that would not only eradicate the high level of crime, but would also give us vital statistics on the usage of particular parking areas.'

Gilchrist describes the system as a perfect example of mixing technology and human interaction, adding: 'We felt that the whole process could not be completely automated because people still want the comfort and re-assurance of speaking to a live person for their first interaction.'

Broadly similar systems have been installed in various cities around the world, including Dallas, Miami, Vancouver and Winnipeg, and the Westminster scheme was first trialled in Soho in 2006. Several UK cities such as Lincoln and Salisbury have introduced it for off-street parking.

All of Westminster's 8,500 parking bays are now enabled for pay-by-phone parking, and the council says that by March 2009 it should have removed the remaining 1,500 meters and cash-taking pay and display machines.