APT Skidata cements NCP relationship with new four-year deal

APT Skidata, the UK’s leading parking systems business, is to embark on a four-year programme to upgrade the parking equipment hardware and software at some 150 car parks across the UK operated by National Car Parks (NCP).

The news follows an announcement by NCP of a new contract with APT Skidata that extends its existing asset-refresh programme until at least 2018. The upgrade will enable NCP to offer online booking, through a choice of identifiers including ANPR and barcode scanning across its entire estate.

Sean Dunstan, Managing Director of the APT Group, says that the latest announcement cements a relationship that goes back to 1999: “We have invested significantly in our nationwide engineering, service and maintenance teams over the last 15 years to accommodate peaks in new business,” he explains.

“With some 40 engineers in the field, and a dedicated 8-strong tech-support team at our headquarters in Harrow, we have the capacity to take on major refresh programmes whilst still accommodating the needs of our other major customers and ensuring that excellence in customer service remains at the heart of what we do.”

John Harrison, IT Director at NCP, says that the ongoing programme is already delivering significant benefits to motorists, and making the payments journey easier: “It is also increasing site profitability and reducing costs, benefiting NCP and our customers,” he adds.

The upgraded car parks will benefit from a range of new technologies developed and launched by APT Skidata in the last 12 months, including Power.Gate control columns working in conjunction with the latest Barrier.Gate access control systems.

They will also be installing Easy.Cash payment stations, which have the latest PED3 chip and pin technology to ensure an accelerated payment process for the customer whilst safeguarding revenue streams for the operator.

Sean says that a major incentive for NCP to renew its contract with APT Skidata was the latter’s ability to integrate its new systems with NCP’s existing back office administration technology: “The integration capabilities were a clear driver,” he says, “and so too our reputation and track record, not just with NCP but also other major providers in delivering ‘best in class’ solutions that deliver tangible results.”