Helping a city rebuild by making parking payment easier

Christchurch is a city of change. Since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the CBD in particular has seen a decade of continuous repairs, rebuilding and innovation, including over $40 billion in investment. Out of the devastation has come opportunities to build a new and better Christchurch, and that's what the Christchurch City Council (CCC) had in mind when they began thinking of ways to enhance the parking experience for the city's drivers. Encouraging drivers back into the rebuilt city centre has been a particular priority, and the parking experience is key to that.

Christchurch is a city of change. Since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the CBD in particular has seen a decade of continuous repairs, rebuilding and innovation, including over $40 billion in investment. Out of the devastation has come opportunities to build a new and better Christchurch, and that's what the Christchurch City Council (CCC) had in mind when they began thinking of ways to enhance the parking experience for the city's drivers. Encouraging drivers back into the rebuilt city centre has been a particular priority, and the parking experience is key to that.

Parking is one of those thorny issues that can cause friction between drivers and the Council. Finding a park is often difficult, and then drivers are faced with running out of time and being ticketed. Going to the doctor is a good example - how often do people turn up for their appointment on time, only to find that the doctor is running late? Nine times out of ten this is the case, and as their metered parking time ticks away while they sit in the waiting room, they have to make the decision to run back to the meter and feed it, or run the risk of a parking ticket.

Metered parking is also a somewhat old-fashioned parking solution, and the CCC made the decision to upgrade to a pay-by-plate solution that harnessed technology and would make the parking experience easier and more user-friendly.

Arthur D. Riley has had a relationship with the CCC for a number of years, and during that time, we've made a number of recommendations around the benefits of moving to a modern parking management solution that included a parking app. After a selection process, ADR’s PayMyPark solution was chosen.

Used for over 3 years in 10 councils nationwide, from Hamilton down to Dunedin, it met the CCC’s requirements, including:

• ADR is a New Zealand company with an office in Christchurch
• ADR is a dominant player in the payment app market
• PayMyPark is being used successfully by 65,000 users nationwide
• The solution and its technology is ‘New Zealand made’
• PayMyPark was a pay-by-plate solution that included an app for smartphones
• Parking can be extended remotely, with users only paying for what they use
• No need for coins

Pay and walk away solution PayMyPark is designed to make parking easier for drivers to pay for, and for councils and their parking authorities to manage. The reason it's so popular is that it simplifies parking for both the Council and drivers, and it saves time. Once drivers have downloaded the app and entered their details, they can choose to:

• Use the Start-Stop option - this simply means the timer begins when they leave the car and stops when they return. There's no need to worry about a meter running out.
• Choose to be notified when there is a certain amount of time left.
• Top up their payment if they need to be parked for longer than anticipated.

What they don't have to do is worry about running out of time and getting a ticket. It's also a technological advance that enhances the customer experience with the use of a free smartphone app. It's a true 'pay and walk away' solution that simplifies the parking experience and provides the user with options.

For councils and other parking authorities, PayMyPark is flexible and easily configured to their specific needs. It has a Back Office interface and a Parking Officer interface to make enforcement and auditing easy and efficient.

It can also facilitate fleet management; any company can setup an account and manage all their vehicle fleet’s parking. Full account reconciliation and management is supplied.

PayMyPark went live for the CCC in January 2020. It will enable the CCC to move away from coin-controlled meters which need to be checked, emptied and are subject to theft and vandalism. According to Stuff, since July 2018 almost 600 parking meters had been vandalised at a cost of $85,000 to repair. During that time, more than $90,000 in cash was stolen.

PayMyPark means 'smart notifications' - users are warned when their parking is about to expire and if there's a top-up option available in that particular park, they can use it.

They don't have to worry about time running out, and they can park for as long as they need to, while only paying for what they use.

PayMyPark is still in the early stages for the CCC. Looking ahead, they can decide to add features they're not currently using, to provide an even better experience for their customers and CCC staff.

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If you’d like to learn more about PayMyPark and how our parking solutions can benefit your organisation, drop us a line and we’ll get a discussion started.