It’s Time to Turn the Dial in Parking & Enforcement Technology

From a technology perspective, the parking and enforcement industry is maturing rapidly. When speaking with large authority teams operating in complex urban environments, or smaller councils aiming to effectively manage their region, we consistently encounter demand for systems that support and empower parking and enforcement teams.

I believe that technology suppliers can help to drive this transformation by delivering solutions that are sufficiently flexible to meet the requirements of all authorities – whether large or small – without compromise on quality of functionality, delivery, or support.

This is an ambitious goal, but it is certainly not an unrealistic one. I know because it is already happening.

Parking Utopia: A Solution for All Authorities

Taranto Systems’ success is to some extent built upon our record in major parking and enforcement implementations, such as those in place in Manchester, Sheffield and Edinburgh, and over ten London boroughs.

But of course, Taranto’s more than 60 clients come in all shapes and sizes. We are proud to support some of the UK’s most complex systems; but equally so we are proud to work with  the many towns and districts where our system helps relatively small teams to ‘punch above their weight’ in delivering major change through a range of off-street parking operations.

Such changes come about when talented and motivated people have access to powerful tools that truly meet their requirements. In recent years, new technology has emerged which makes it possible to deliver quality solutions for all clients:

• Platform as a Service (PaaS): As my colleague Barry Johnson recently explained in these pages, PaaS enables the delivery of solutions that can accommodate vast complexity. But PaaS also means that systems can be scaled back while retaining elements that benefit all customers: enabling them to make efficient use of the team’s time; access to powerful new functionality quickly, easily and without disruption; and far greater resilience and security.
• Customer Self-Service: Empowering motorists to manage their own parking has significantly reduced workload on authority staff. By aligning the user experience with the .GOV webpage structure, such self-service portals offer a user-friendly interface with a familiar look and feel, and consistent workflows to guide users through processes – and meet accessibility requirements (readability, voice control, Responsive Web Design and more).
• Configuration: Configuration is both vital and often underrated. A solution underpinned by comprehensive configuration can empower large teams to manage complex changes themselves – see Manchester City Council, where the team was able to implement Part 6 legislation changes through Taranto configuration without any chargeable services.
• Automation: Automation helps teams of all sizes but is perhaps especially important for councils with fewer resources. By combining effective automation with a system configured to the organisation’s specific requirements, it is possible to remove significant volumes of workload, enabling the team to focus their time on activities that really make a difference.

The Quality Mindset

But effective solution delivery is never only about the technology. Tailoring solutions to a range of requirements means understanding client needs and delivering quality every single time. And for that you need a quality mindset.

We see the Taranto system’s functionality as a dial that can be adjusted for each customer. It can be cranked up or turned down based on client requirements – but the core system, and the quality underpinning it, never changes.

This mindset focuses the entire organisation’s priorities on value for the customer. There will always be companies willing to offer superficially similar sounding solutions for a lower price, but we know that even if we refine requirements to meet a particular budget, our quality never wavers.

This is a vital consideration because authorities of all size are focused on risk and security: they need complete assurance that their supplier can support them technically with a tried and tested solution that they can manage themselves.