Year in review other in a time of crisis. Im very proud of my team for this. Ive been building JustPark since 2006, when I was 23 years old. But, as the pandemic took hold, I genuinely believed the whole business was going to die. I lost sleep, my health suffered, I was very grumpy. But you persevere, you work it out, and its remarkable how you can normally get through most things when people come together. We returned to year-on-year growth in August, which is just amazing. The BPA brought its members closer; it felt like there was a common purpose, and that will hopefully stand moving forward. The BPA played a pivotal role in this, and I thank them for it. Its been uplifting seeing the community work together. John Gautrey and Ben Ziff COO and managing director, CitiPark Wherever possible, we kept our facilities running during the pandemic. Weve seen huge shifts in the way people engage with parking: what they require it for, and if they actually needed it at all, which has been worrying from one perspective. But its given us a clear focus on what we need to be doing as a business to help mitigate these risks and look at furthering other endeavours. For example, weve continued to invest in our app so we can provide a completely contactless secure parking experience for our customers and that has been really well received. The parking industry needs to realise that nothing is forever: we need to be adaptable around what products we offer customers. We have been very impressed with how people adapted to working from home. The resolve and the engagement weve had from our staff and their willingness to go the extra mile has been very warming. Weve worked closely with the BPA on the business rates mitigation work, where it appears parking as a sector has completely fallen between the gaps. Being part of the BPA community has been so beneficial because theres a sense of comfort in knowing others are in the same boat and having the same frustrations. The opportunity to listen to others experiences or get advice was invaluable. The way the BPA community has come together has been incredible, because were all competitive in one way or other. The way in which the BPA communicated with operators, and the useful information it provided, such as the risk assessment toolkits, was invaluable. We were acquired last year by Ballast Nedam. The type of work weve been doing has expanded and feeling youre part of a wider team has really helped during this tricky, and sometimes lonely, time. Were now doing a lot of work for the NHS, which we werent doing so much of before Covid. This year, we have built about 600 NHS staff parking spaces, and it has given us a great sense of achievement to provide a facility that benefits key workers. I think the profession has gained a lot of credibility for the way it reacted during the Covid-19 pandemic this year. When the BPA was asked by the government for input on reopening car parks safely, I was part of the working group that came together to facilitate this. We produced a toolkit that was sent to government but also benefited members as it was posted to the BPA website. Resources like this and also the webinars that the BPA implemented offered so much value. Its been fantastic to see the way the BPA community has come together. Derek Millard-Smith Lawyer, BPA Lawline I think this year has made us all realise how much we need our work for a variety of reasons, obviously to pay the bills, but also for our mental health. Certainly, the work with the BPA was a big part of keeping me sane. I think the webinars and communication from the BPA have been very reassuring for the members too. Its been a tough time, but we have adapted where we can. The Zoom revolution has given us opportunity to communicate in a different ways and not spend so much time travelling to meetings. What I will take away from this year is an improved work-life balance; Ive had much more time with my family. Weve made the best of a very difficult situation, which, hopefully as we come out the other side, might lead to a slightly different approach to the way that we do business and ensure more of a community feel. Weve shared our expertise, and while a lot of BPA members might be competitors, they came together to help, which I think paints the BPA community in a really positive light. I learned a lot about different aspects of the BPA this year. It has been fascinating seeing the experts that wanted to engage with the Association. That was really impressive. It shows how highly the BPA is regarded, not just in the UK, but across the world. Im proud to have been a part of it. Webinar engagement (attendees and views) 1,955 Russell Simmons Director, Stripe Consulting We saw home working initially as a disturbance, but now we see it as a significant benefit. We will never go back to having everyone working from the office, unless people really want to. Previously it was not acceptable to have a video call in lieu of a meeting, whereas now I am in regular contact with more with people via online meetings, but I also spend more time with my sons because I am not travelling so much. In a small but significant way, weve actually improved peoples jobs and therefore lives, so Im very happy about that. Eugene Tsyrklevich Founder and CEO, Parkopedia It has been a tremendously difficult year for the human community on global scale. But what has been heartwarming is how were capable of coming together when we need to. Certainly, the keyworkers on the frontline received an outpouring of appreciation. And in our tiny way, what we tried to do, in collaboration with JustPark, YourParkingSpace and the BPA, was provide a service to allow keyworkers to get to where they needed to be as easily as possible. All of this 22 britishparking.co.uk PN Dec 2020 pp18-23 Review V3.indd 22 23/11/2020 16:06