The Enterprise Shopping Centre in Eastbourne has worked with Flowbird to upgrade its car park, offering automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology with the aim of improving pay-on-exit options.
The centre worked to upgrade to ANPR technology to support two payment options to suit drivers, both using Flowbird’s technology.
The auto bill payment method is designed to enable users to register their vehicle, and payments are taken automatically from a bank account once a month. This means that regular customers at the centre do not have to queue at pay stations.
Drivers also have the option of using the Flowbird app. Once registered, the app allows users to select the chosen car park. The app is linked to the ANPR system, so once selected, the entry and exit time will be calculated and invoiced to users’ accounts.
The Enterprise Shopping Centre offers customers over 100 parking spaces and expects the ANPR system to make a return on investment, thanks to expected savings against maintenance associated with the previous parking system.
According to the partnership, the solution has already proved useful as part of the car park space has been given up for a Christmas market with ice rink, and the new ANPR system needs less management input from the centre’s team, so they can concentrate resources on managing the festive market.
Tony James, finance director at Enterprise Shopping Centre, said: “We are delighted with the new system which offers so much more ease of use to our customers and the ability to future proof today’s technology.
“We are hugely grateful to Flowbird for their expertise and ability to work to our timescales, especially having had a delay to the system’s installation during Covid-19.”
Flowbird added ANPR technology is a highly accurate system that’s capable of reading number plates through the use of high-speed image capture. It’s increasingly being used as an efficient car park management solution.
Danny Hassett, Flowbird’s managing director smart city UK, commented: “Flowbird’s solutions are designed to offer reliability and a solid return on investment. Our technology gives customers peace of mind that they have invested in solutions that have a good shelf-life and won’t be subject to unnecessary future upgrades or maintenance.”
