Contact:
  • Parking Services
  • Address:

    PO Box 122, Bristol, BS31 9AE

  • E-mail:
    parking@bathnes.gov.uk
  • Telephone:
    01225 477134
  • Fax:
    01225 477130
  • Minicom:
    01225 394041
  • Page Updated:
    04/10/2007
  • Author:
    Sharon Walter
A to Z Index

Parking Services Action Plan 2007

Customer Satisfaction Monitoring

Local authorities are increasingly being encouraged to view users of services as customers. By viewing users as customers we draw attention to the importance of the quality of service that we provide, value for money and the relationship between the Council and taxpayers

Every team is required to monitor satisfaction with the services that it provides. 

Voicebox was originally The Citizens Panel and made up of about 1500 residents from different parts of the area. The first surveys when to the panel in 1999, and have been including questions on satisfaction since 2003. The results have shown improving levels of satisfaction, particularly with the authority as a whole. Last year the survey was sent to a random sample of addresses in Bath and North East Somerset, the survey closed on 20th December 2006. By asking the same questions each year with some additional questions it will be possible to gauge whether public opinion considers our service is improving and which areas of our service we should focus on.

Findings;  satisfaction and areas for improvement
 Respondents were asked about a number of aspects of parking services and were asked to state how important each of them was.

The most important aspects are to do with space availability, vehicle security, personal safety and cost.

Most of the most important factors rated well, with personal safety, lighting and vehicle security all rating in the top five in terms of performance. However, cost is the area that has attracted the highest proportion of dissatisfaction. The Parking Services team has other, strategic reasons for charging for parking spaces, particularly in Bath, (notably to reduce congestion and to try to manage air quality). The results suggest that more needs to be done to persuade residents that there are good reasons to charge for parking services in order to achieve these strategic aims.

By comparing the results to the questions about importance and satisfaction we are able to see which areas are strengths and weaknesses and what factors most need improving.

According to this analysis, installing CCTV and reducing cost are the improvements that residents would most like to see, together with polite P&R drivers, courtesy and graffiti removal. 

Why do we charge for parking? The issue of cost needs to be communicated to customers so that they understand the strategic importance of charging for car parks,

Basically in order to manage and regulate a scarce resource.

Whenever the supply: demand ratio of any commodity approaches or falls below unity, human behaviour starts to ignore common sense rules and some regulation becomes necessary such as rationing. In the case of parking, traffic regulation orders and enforcement aims to control the chaos that would otherwise result.

By charging for parking in car parks and on street we can:

  • Pay for a team of Parking Attendants to enforce the regulations, patrol the streets and car parks and help to reduce crime, help citizens etc.
  • Pay for a team to manage the asset - car parks, street furniture etc.
  • Pay for traffic management to ensure road safety objectives by regulating the places where parking should be prohibited
  • Maintain the asset - resurfacing, relining, lighting etc.
  • Improve the asset - CCTV, better machines etc.

CCTV
 We have recently extended CCTV into two park and rides and two car parks in Keynsham to improve security it is hoped in the near future to gain Safer parking awards for these car park. We will, when we attain the award, publicise the event to increase public awareness and Park Mark signs which is a nationally recognised scheme will be erected on site. These installations bring the total number of sites with CCTV to 9. We have 53 car parks across the Council area which has huge cost implications if we were to extend this facility. Funding for these schemes could be better managed from funding if we produced an asset management plan to manage the maintenance of the car parks which would consider the renewal of surfacing the provision or improvements to drainage lighting payment machines and the provision of CCTV. This could then set out the costs necessary to provide these works on an annual basis which could feed into the service plan and council budget. This would improve customer perception and improve the appearance and safety of the car parks and park and ride sites.

Graffiti removal
 The thoughts on both this question and the one relating to cleanliness of car parks,one of the main car parks in Bath, Ham gardens car park, is due to be re developed in late May 2007 as part of the Southgate development. Consequentially we have reduced maintenance works at this site although we have continued daily cleaning, however we have received a large number of complaints relating to the overall condition of the multi storey. I have written to each contact who has voiced concerns to the condition to explain why the position and that any maintenance or painting would be at a cost which we would receive criticism for wasting public money.

It is possible therefore that the poor marking is attributable to that.

I have requested that when parking attendants enter car parks if they notice graffiti they must report it to the control so we can inform the graffiti removal team. I am informed that graffiti is photographed before removal so that action can be pursued by the Police to bring charges of criminal damage.

Recommendation
To ensure all staff are aware of reporting procedure and that the graffiti are requested to attend to remove or paint out within 24 hours.

Courtesy of Attendants
 The parking attendants main role is enforcing on and off street parking contraventions, they also have a street ambassadorial role, giving directions, reporting faults, noting vulnerable vehicles (where valuables are displayed) etc. The attendants are subject to verbal and physical abuse and recently undertook conflict management training to increase awareness and reduce the number of incidents. At the present time they are receiving City and Guilds training as recommended by the Traffic Management Act 2004 to improve quality of enforcement, which should improve customer service.

We are currently improving our information in relation to enforcement on the parking services website. It is planned to produce an Enforcement Policy setting out not only why we enforce, it will include our standards for enforcement, for example if two vehicles wheels are not within the marked parking bay a penalty charge notice will be issued. This will improve customer awareness of the contraventions. Making these policies publicly available will improve public perception.