The City of Hobart Council is based in Tasmania, and covers the central metropolitan area of the state capital, Hobart. The city has a population of 50,439, and all parking on public streets is managed by the Council’s parking department.
The parking system the Council was using had been in place for over 18 years. Officers were using old, outdated handheld devices that required them to spend a lot of time entering information while standing on the footpaths. The parking meters all needed to be replaced, and the time was right to consider a fully integrated parking solution.
Upgrading to the latest technology has meant improvements not only in the working lives of the parking officers, but in the quality and accuracy of the data generated by the ADR’s parking solution. It’s adaptable and fits in with the other components of the overall solution.
Hobart is the capital and largest city of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The City of Hobart Council serves the community with a broad range of services, including managing public parking.
For over 18 years, the city’s parking system was comprised of parking meters and outdated, clunky handheld devices. “We just had parking meters - that's all we had. They accepted coins, and that was it,” recalls Matthew Tyrell, Group Manager Parking Operations. “We needed to upgrade and move with the times. Customers wanted different payment options, and our staff needed a better way of managing and enforcing parking. We wanted a system that would use smartphones, one that had a lot more intelligence.”
With a tender out to replace the parking meters, Matt took the process a step further and began researching fully integrated parking systems. “Essentially what we were looking for was an integrated system - new parking meters, in-ground sensors, payment options, and enforcement,” Matt explains. “And so the tender was upgraded to represent a solution that integrated all those components - it was an open tender.”
In 2017, the tender generated 10 responses, five of which were offering the fully integrated system the Council wanted. Matt and his team began the process of evaluation.
“ADR were providing the enforcement solution as part of the overall package, that was TicketOr2,” says Matt. “It fitted in with the in-ground sensors we eventually went with. We went and saw it in action. We tested it, and we liked it. That's why it was part of the winning tender.”
TicketOr2 is a SaaS (Software as a Service) parking enforcement solution that allows organisations to remotely store and access data such as ticket data, pictures and diagrams. Data is centrally stored on the ADR servers, so the organisation doesn't need to allow for any data storage or maintenance. It works on multiple platforms, including smartphones - an essential feature for the City of Hobart Council.
The contract was awarded at the end of 2017, and TicketOr2 went into action mid-2018. It was one of the first components of the integrated system that went live, because it could be used without the other systems. “That was one of the advantages it came with - it was part of an overall parking solution, but it can stand alone,” Matt says. “So we started using it with our old parking meters - it's a very adaptable system.”
The TicketOr2 solution immediately benefitted the parking officers of the City of Hobart Council, because of its ease-of-use, the amount of time it saves, its intuitiveness, intelligence and accuracy.
“Bearing in mind that we'd been using the previous system for around 18 years, there was going to be a period of adjustment,” says Matt. “But it didn’t take nearly as long as we thought. Previously, all the information had to be entered into the system manually, which was really time-consuming. But it's all pre-programmed now, which is a huge time-saver. The officer doesn't have to stand there typing in streets and locations - that information is already there. It also reduces human error, so our data is a lot more accurate. Issuing an infringement notice is a much easier, step-by-step process backed up by a really robust system.”
Staff reaction has been very positive. Officers enjoy using an Android smartphone, as it’s easier to carry around. The screen is clearer, and everything moves swiftly. “They can take photos, and the system guides them on that process as well,” Matt explains. “It's just more intuitive. Staff are always keen to go with the latest technology, especially after using the same old system for so long.”
Matt has also been impressed with the level of support provided by ADR. “They’re very responsive. They're in New Zealand so there's a time difference, but that hasn't impacted on the quality of their support,” he says. “They've been available to us seven days a week, which is something we really appreciate.”
The City of Hobart Council is currently using TicketOr2 to capacity; there aren’t any aspects of the solution they’ve dispensed with or decided not to use. “We're currently using everything they have on offer with TicketOr2, and we're really pleased with what it delivers. There isn't a part of it where we've said no, we don't want that or, we'll do that later,” Matt says. “We’re keen to evaluate and take advantage of any enhancements ADR come up with. If there are improvements or new developments, we'll definitely be interested.”
“ADR have obviously listened to enforcement agencies when they designed TicketOr2,” Matt explains. “The system is robust and really user-friendly. It's obvious to me that they've done a lot of research when developing the solution, so that it's a really usable system that doesn't have components that are just there for show.”
Matthew Tyrell
Group Manager Parking Operations
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