Member Article

Flowbird Technology Promotes Park and Ride over ‘Park and Walk’

Gloucestershire County Council is using QR codes output by parking terminals developed by Flowbird to optimise take-up of its park and ride facility at Arle Court in Cheltenham.

The council had noticed that the location was increasingly being used for ‘park and walk’ purposes, meaning that the availability of parking spaces for park and ride customers – including Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General Hospitals’ staff and visitors - was being reduced.

The council worked with Flowbird (and other partners) to develop a system that would favour park and ride users over those who wanted to use the facility simply as a car park.

Flowbird introduced QR code technology onto two solar powered CWT-C TOUCH terminals, which issue a ticket with the motorist’s number plate embedded within a QR code. When the motorist scans their ticket on the park and ride bus, they become entitled to free parking for their vehicle. Users who opt to park and walk are unable to validate the QR code and are not entitled to free parking.

Cllr Nigel Moor, cabinet member for environment and planning at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Using Arle Court Park & Ride is an easy way to visit Cheltenham town centre and help reduce traffic congestion. These improvements will help to address concerns about parking by people working nearby as well as freeing up much needed spaces for park & ride bus users.

“Our recent bid to central government for funding to upgrade junction 10 on the M5 includes extra spaces at Arle Court to support our vision to help people travel around Cheltenham.”

The parking terminals at Arle Court are connected to the Flowbird WebOffice management system, which provides analysis of park and ride usage patterns.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Colin Bridgman .