Issue - meetings

Report ES20001

The Committee received a report on the performance of the Parking Services Contract held by APCOA Parking. The contract covered the enforcement of all civil parking restrictions within the Borough, the maintenance of car parks, all pay and display machine maintenance, cashless parking services and back office functions, excluding appeals against penalty charge notices. The report included a Sustainability report from Kim Challis, Regional Managing Director for APCOA Parking. 

The report highlighted the efforts of officers to ensure that there was adequate deployment of Civil Enforcement Officers in accordance with the contract and that the contractor was achieving compliance. It also included information on car park usage to show whether additional enhancements could be made to encourage usage or whether there was a general trend of reduction in car park usage.

The Interim Head of Parking Services clarified that due to a formal enforcement policy change of a reduction in enforcement in seven roads in Bromley Town Centre, the PCN issue rate quoted at the time of the tender needed to be revised to reflect this. Currently the revised issue rate had not been agreed but would be for the start of the new financial year.

The Regional Managing Director for APCOA Parking explained that there had been a large amount of pay and display machine break-ins.  All the break-ins had been reported to the police and APCOA were undertaking a review to identify any patterns of behaviour, consider what more could be done to secure the machines and ensure that cash in the machines was kept to a minimum.

In relation to pay and display machines breaking down, the Regional Managing Director for APCOA Parking explained that the 34 pay and display machines that were being removed from various locations across the Borough would be given a full health check.  Any that were in good working order could be used to replace machines that had reached the end of their life or had been stolen. The 34 machines could also be used to provide spare parts.

The Committee discussed the issue of cashless payments replacing pay and display machines, noting that LB Southwark was now 99% cashless.  The Regional Managing Director for APCOA Parking explained that a proposal had been made that a cashless parking pilot take place at a car park in Bromley.  As part of the pilot there would be a focus on promoting cashless parking and marketing the parking app.  It was hoped that the pilot would take place before April and the outcome of the pilot would be presented to Members.

Turing to the issue of reducing the carbon footprint, Members heard that APCOA were now carbon neutral in terms of paper and there was now a focus on vehicle emissions.  The Committee noted that in approximately 12 months’ time APCOA would roll out electric vehicles across the Bromley estate.  Staff across APCOA were also being incentivised to car share and use public transport in an effort to ensure that APCOA was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50