Let’s create safer spaces

The winners

Barbour Logic

Voice Master

The Judges’ Award: Small business/start-up winner

People’s Choice Award: Small business/start-up winner

Voice Master is an AI PCN helpline that is available 24/7 with no wait time. Motorists who have received a penalty charge notice simply call Voice Master, a digital agent who knows parking and the council’s policies inside out. For the caller, it is like talking to a helpful human expert who provides tailored PCN advice that enables the member of the public to decide what to do next. Voice Master can even write the caller’s query if they prefer, texting it to their mobile phone.

AppyWay Parking Platform

The Judges’ Award: Medium/large business winner

The Parking Platform is a nationwide kerbside and car park management solution that supports the UK government’s digital parking ambitions, known as the National Parking Platform (NPP). AppyWay’s end-to-end API empowers UK motorists with digital kerbside maps covering more than 500 towns and cities. It already pulls and pushes more real-time and predictive parking data than any other technology provider in the UK.

AES Global e-Loop

People’s Choice Award: Medium/large business winner

The e-Loop range replaces traditional wired inductive loops, saving time and money, all while increasing reliability. Simple surface-mount installation is available, with accessories to improve automated access control. The e-Loop is faster to fit and requires no digging. It is also easier to maintain and can be moved between sites or relocated easily.

Creating safer spaces for the public and people working in parking was a focus of much debate at Parkex 2023.

Anjna Patel MBE, chair of the British Parking Association (BPA), said that civil enforcement officers and agents all go above and beyond their role, so should be supported by their employers. “We owe it to them to make sure they can do their job safely,” she told delegates.

Jade Neville, British Parking Association president, opened the Women in Parking debate by drawing attention to how personal safety has become an issue to which the sector is now paying serious attention. The co-founder of Women in Parking said: “Last year we explored the issues of violence against women and girls, seeking a way to start a conversation about this from a sector perspective. A lot has happened in the past 12 months and it has surpassed all our expectations, gaining a lot of interest from the UK and further afield.”

Women in Parking co-founder Hannah Fuller, head of strategic relationships at Unity5, picked up the narrative. “We can use technology to keep our workforce safe from abuse,” she said. “A lot of parking apps will soon show car parks with Safer Parking Scheme Park Mark logos, so people know these are safe spaces. We want car park operators to make their facilities as safe as possible. A lot of providers are now offering ANPR that allows a civil enforcement officer to scan a number plate without drawing attention to themselves in the process. CCTV provides evidence, but we need explore how we can make it more proactive so, if someone is in trouble, there can be an instant reaction. We want to work with organisations that support our safety, and it should be the responsibility of employers. Let’s keep talking about it. It is a heavy subject, but if we don’t talk about it nothing will change.”

Thames Valley Police assistant chief constable Katy BarrowGrint said that work has begun between the police and the parking sector on creating a safer environment. The Police National Business Crime Centre has let the BPA know that it is keen for all incidents of violence against parking officers to be reported.

The panel and delegates agreed that it would be useful to have a national reporting day akin to the annual Blue Badge Day of Action to raise both public and sector awareness of the issue.