Companies news Fleet EVs take-up report AppyWay has released a new report on how UK cities can collaboratively drive a shift towards widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). It features contributions from Uber, Zipcar, Enterprise, SSE, Connected Kerb, London First, Transport for West Midlands, Coventry City Council, DG:Cities and Foot Anstey. The report, entitled Leading the charge are cities ready for a fleet-led EV revolution?, notes that commercial fleets account for close to 60 per cent of new vehicles registered in the UK. However, serious concerns over the availability of charging points are deterring wider, large-scale adoption, which would have such a transformative impact on the country. To ensure uptake of EVs becomes a widespread reality, the report concludes that UK cities need to focus more on commercial vehicle fleets and the better location of on-street charging points, as well as enhanced data sharing between fleets and local authorities. It recommends a new ABCD approach, involving appropriate infrastructure, better incentives, concerted collaboration and deeper data sharing. You can access the report at bit.ly/PNDec20CN1 Hotel EV charging rollout Electric vehicle (EV) owners can now pre-book charging after an agreement between online parking portal YourParkingSpace.co.uk and Atlas Hotels. It is one of the first times prebookable chargepoints have been made available in the UK, and is being piloted at Holiday Inn Express Bicester. Five chargepoints have been installed as part of the pilot. YourParkingSpace.co.uk plans to install a further 250 chargepoints at properties operated by Atlas Hotels. Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: We have ambitious plans to become a leader in the EV charging market. During the next 12 months, we plan to open up a multitude of UK locations, with Atlas Hotels at the forefront of the rollout. Latest developments from organisations across the profession Lambeth signs APCOA for four more years APCOA Parking has said it is delighted that the London Borough of Lambeth has extended its parking services contract for a further four-year period. APCOA has worked with Lambeth for the past four years, providing parking enforcement. In 2019, it expanded the service to introduce environmental enforcement and has partnered with the authority on initiatives such as tackling idling vehicles and Blue Badge misuse. This year has been exceptional, with the pandemic presenting so many unforeseen challenges. APCOA said it is proud of the response from all its colleagues working for Lambeth, who helped deliver a wide range of services outside their normal roles. This included delivering PPE to care homes, businesses and clinics; working at cemeteries, recycling centres and Covid testing sites; aiding food banks; and working with the councils parks team, advising the public on social-distancing requirements. Neil Fenton, assistant director, parking, street management and commercial neighbourhoods, at London Borough of Lambeth, said: The support provided by APCOA, this year in particular, has been phenomenal, but it has also helped to make a significant improvement to the performance of parking and environmental services as a whole over the past four years. We look forward to working in partnership with APCOA for another four years. Sajini Agrawal has been appointed as a statutory director of APCOA Parking in the UK and Ireland. Agrawal joined APCOA as finance director in March 2019, having held senior leadership positions in various industries, including the parking sector. Kim Challis, regional managing director, said: Sajini is an invaluable member of my executive team. Her appointment is further evidence of our progress in recent years in building a more diverse leadership group, with five of the top positions on the UK&I board now held by women. Quercus comes to hospitals aid Quercus Technologies has installed its camerabased parking-guidance system at Beacon Hospital in Dublin. Beacon Hospital has an underground car parking area, with 300 spaces available for patient and visitor use, which is operated by Blue Wall Technologies. Quercus Technologies incorporated the requirements of both Beacon Hospital and Blue Wall Technologies when installing the new system. These included facilitating agility of movement throughout the space, as well as providing complete surveillance. Quercus Technologies installed 135 spot control units, which are single-space, all-in-one sensors offering vehicle detection and guidance, video surveillance and licence plate recognition of the parked vehicle. It also installed 65 sensors that control two spaces each and 74 sensors that control four spaces each. Drivers can check their vehicle location at a kiosk, also provided by Quercus Technologies. LED displays guide drivers into the premises and display real-time information about available parking on each aisle. This information is generated by the BirdWatch Parking Suite, which then gives details of the parking situation at any given time. This new system can help to alleviate parking-related stresses by allowing patients to quickly find a space. It facilitates easy identification of disabled spaces, as well as those close to doors and lifts a vital function in premises that have many elderly, disabled and unwell people entering on a daily basis. 10 britishparking.co.uk PN Dec 2020 pp10-11 Companies News.indd 10 23/11/2020 12:55