WESTFIELD STRATFORD CITY CAR PARK TICKETLESS LAUNCH
MONDAY 10 JANAURY
Ticketless Launch Q&A
What’s happening and when?
All three of our Car Park’s will become ticketless from 0700 on Monday 10 January.
From this date, when a guest drives up to the entry of one of our car parks, the ANPR camera will read their number plate, record the time of their arrival and the barrier will raise without issuing a ticket. Then, when the guest is ready to leave, they will need to go to make a payment in the same way as they would now.
If they make their way to a Payment Machine in one of the car park lobbies, instead of entering a ticket they will simply enter their registration plate details onto the screen in front of them and the price for their parking session will be show on the screen. The guest will then be able to make their payment and when they approach the exit barrier, the ANPR cameras will recognise a payment has been made and the barrier will raise automatically.
If the guest makes their way directly to the exit barrier, the ANPR camera will read their number plate and the screen at the exit will display the appropriate tariff and the guest can make the payment in the normal way.
Why are we doing this?
Ticketless parking is recognised within the industry to be an innovative way of operating and will speed up queues at both the Payment Machines and exit barriers during peak trade.
This change will bring us in line with Westfield London and furthermore, Ticketless will support some of the goals set out within Better Places 2030 and help us significantly reduce the amount of paper we use each year.
What happens if the technology fails?
Working with our partner Hub, we have undertaken a robust testing regime that gives us full confidence that Ticketless will be a success. Indeed, our testing has shown that over 98% of transactions will be seamless, however, there are three ways in which the technology could in theory disrupt the process.
Firstly, the ANPR camera at the entry will fail to read the guests number plate. This is the least likely of any failure, but should this happen, the entry barrier will dispense a ticket, so the customer has a record of when they arrived. This ticket should then be used to make the payment when they are ready to leave.
Secondly, the Payment Machine may not recognise their number plate when entered on the screen. In this scenario, the guest should use the Help button and speak to one of the team in the Car Park Office who will be able to help.
Thirdly, for customers wanting to pay at the exit barrier, the ANPR camera may not recognise their number plate. Again, in this scenario, the guest should use the Help button provided and speak to one of the team.
How does ticketless parking affect people registered on Smart Parking?
Good news - it doesn’t. Smart Parking will continue to operate normally for registered users. Smart Parking is already a frictionless service and as guests have registered a payment card in advance, this is most efficient way to use our Car Parks.
Whilst Ticketless parking is an enhancement of our current process, we would always recommend that anyone who parks in our Car Parks registers for Smart Parking. Smart Parking guests do not need to interact with any of our payment equipment and they save time by using Smart Parking.
What are you doing on the launch date to ensure everything goes smoothly?
Our launch will only be successful if our customers fully understand the new processes. Therefore, from Monday morning, we will be increasing the number of staff on site for a 14-day period, and they will be based in key locations such as the Car Park entries, exits and lobbies.
All the staff will have a full briefing to ensure that they can answer any customer queries, pro-actively explain the new processes and keep queues to a minimum.
In addition, we will have a full management team on site, operating in a Covid secure way, to monitor and support the launch. Key personnel from Hub will also be available.
Lastly, we are increasing the number of intercoms that are in operation within the Car Park Office and this will ensure that any calls made from the Help buttons can answered as quickly as possible.
I have a guest who would like to speak to someone about the changes, who can they contact?
We would always encourage guests to use the Help button, which is on all Payment Machines, so that their enquiry can be answered whilst they are still at the Centre. Failing that, they are also welcome to email us - e20customerservice@urw.com
In addition, if any of our teams on the ground have any further questions, they can either contact the Car Park Office directly, or one of the Car Park & Estate management team:
Car Park Office - 020 8221 7355
Chris Mitchell, Car Park & Estate Manager - 07825 932067
Indre Kazlauskiene, Car Park & Estate Executive - 07825 043038
