The Victorian State Labor Govt, elected with a one seat majority in 2014 came in with a promise to get rid of all the level crossings in Melbourne, yes it caused disruption as each was being replaced by either tunnels or bridges, but each one could be fixed within a couple of years so people got to see the benefits and they did a few dozen in that term and Dan Andrew’s won a crushing reelection in the 2018 DanSlide, then they fixed a few dozen more in the next term which saw him even after the world’s strictest lockdowns get reelected again in another Danslide in 22
The people will reward a government that does the small infrastructure things that make their lives better, even if they face real disruption while it’s being built.
This in an area in which the Chinese ecosystem has a major advantage. Customers and merchants all have WeChat Pay... In fact, every seller -- even roadside farmers selling vegetables -- have a merchant QR code. Each purchase is then as simple as scanning a QR code and pressing a single button.
So you don't have any of this nonsense with multiple apps, text messages, etc.
Furthermore, every car park I've seen in China (even small ones) has ANPR. So when you leave, you simply scan a QR-code via WeChat and pay -- 5s and you're out!
You can add the normalisation of litter on streets and roadsides to the National User Experience. A-roads and motorway junction roundabouts seem to be the worst of all
I’ve never understood why politicians don’t promise to sort out car park companies. It’d be such an easy vote winner and yes, an oyster-style solution would be excellent. I’ve no objection to paying for parking but the private companies all feel like crooks.
This is so true. I have 7 parking apps on my phone, and the only reason I don’t have 8 is that I deleted the Apcoa one in a fit of anger after an especially frustrating experience at Taunton station. And I have my fair share of awful experiences with unaccountable, uncontactable, crappy parking companies. A change in the law to bring these bastards into line would be more popular than halving the council tax.
You are onto something with the National User Experience + unnecessary friction. Until recently I lived abroad and found it easier to do many daily tasks in so-called developing countries than in the UK. More ironically: many of those frictionless experiences were originally supported by DFID/FCDO funding.
There is a small difference which made things a little bit better in Scotland - Legislation a number of years ago made the fines of private parking companies all but unenforceable - So now you can pay for your parking in good faith but if you make a mistake or fall foul of the complexity of the system you can safely ignore the enforcement notices.
Something I think is non-obvious to most is that there are a large number of different companies involved. It's quite possible for
- the nominal car park owner
- the commercial car park operator
- the company that does the ANPR cameras
- the company that operates the barriers
- the company that operates the payment app (usually the company with their branding all over the car park)
... to all be completely separate organisations.
You can imagine that this leads to technical integration challenges, which I think explains a lot (e.g. the payment app company, the one with all their branding on the car park? Probably not in charge of fining you).
That's a really good point, and in terms of user experience I think it's a like a more complicated version of online retailers outsourcing delivery and logistics - you have all these provider companies who have basically no relationship with the end user and no real incentives to care beyond fulfilling a contract as cheaply as possible.
I think this raises the wider point - relevant to the point of "National User Experience" (a concept I love, by the way). Why is it this way? To whose benefit is it?
Put another way, I understand the academic argument for privatising products/services - generally more efficient and easier for infrastructure investments to take place if there isn't competition from the NHS. But, how efficient can car parks get, and what infrastructure investment is needed?
Basically, at some point, someone in the LA decided that it's better to sell a revenue stream to private operators. Does anyone know to what end?
Short version is that most are operating a revenue sharing model, i.e. the LA still gets most of the revenue; the provider companies take a cut and in exchange the LA doesn't have to employee specialist staff who would be more expensive. It is a high volume, low margin business for the provider companies.
Oh, sure, you can do that. You only need specialist staff if you want to continue operating the automated systems that have been brought in over the last twenty years.
But if your aim is to improve the user experience in a high volume urban multistorey then I'm not sure switching to your guy with a bucket is going to help.
Maybe, but that still doesn't answer the question on specialist staff. I was in a council-run multi-storey on Sunday - I drove in, bought a ticket from a machine with cash (I could have used a card) and put a paper ticket in the window. 1) how much "better" can the experience get? 2) in terms of staffing what do you really need? A traffic warden, a man to empty the machine and a general handyman?
I know I am exaggerating a little, but what is the "specialism" here?
Martin, I completely agree with the points you are making, but I don’t understand how replacing your trousers with pyjama bottoms has the effect of preventing the operation of the ANPR system.
Try it at your local car park and you’ll find out!
(Boring answer - I had to change to wade into the car park but I had to do it up the road so I didn’t get charged for parking for my own car while retrieving my partner’s)
Currently awaiting a fine for a car park where the app didn't work, the website didn't work, text to pay didn't work, and the phone payment didn't work. And by the time I had tried all that, and tried in vain to speak to someone, I was late for my meeting.
Their response, days later? Wait for the fine and then appeal it.
Yes, the asymmetry is infuriating: the whole thing is optimised to fine you as quickly and efficiently as possible while any sort of comeback is blocked and delayed.
The Victorian State Labor Govt, elected with a one seat majority in 2014 came in with a promise to get rid of all the level crossings in Melbourne, yes it caused disruption as each was being replaced by either tunnels or bridges, but each one could be fixed within a couple of years so people got to see the benefits and they did a few dozen in that term and Dan Andrew’s won a crushing reelection in the 2018 DanSlide, then they fixed a few dozen more in the next term which saw him even after the world’s strictest lockdowns get reelected again in another Danslide in 22
The people will reward a government that does the small infrastructure things that make their lives better, even if they face real disruption while it’s being built.
This in an area in which the Chinese ecosystem has a major advantage. Customers and merchants all have WeChat Pay... In fact, every seller -- even roadside farmers selling vegetables -- have a merchant QR code. Each purchase is then as simple as scanning a QR code and pressing a single button.
So you don't have any of this nonsense with multiple apps, text messages, etc.
Furthermore, every car park I've seen in China (even small ones) has ANPR. So when you leave, you simply scan a QR-code via WeChat and pay -- 5s and you're out!
You can add the normalisation of litter on streets and roadsides to the National User Experience. A-roads and motorway junction roundabouts seem to be the worst of all
I think Richard III would wholeheartedly agree
I’ve never understood why politicians don’t promise to sort out car park companies. It’d be such an easy vote winner and yes, an oyster-style solution would be excellent. I’ve no objection to paying for parking but the private companies all feel like crooks.
enshittification….. yep that’s it.
This is so true. I have 7 parking apps on my phone, and the only reason I don’t have 8 is that I deleted the Apcoa one in a fit of anger after an especially frustrating experience at Taunton station. And I have my fair share of awful experiences with unaccountable, uncontactable, crappy parking companies. A change in the law to bring these bastards into line would be more popular than halving the council tax.
You are onto something with the National User Experience + unnecessary friction. Until recently I lived abroad and found it easier to do many daily tasks in so-called developing countries than in the UK. More ironically: many of those frictionless experiences were originally supported by DFID/FCDO funding.
There is a small difference which made things a little bit better in Scotland - Legislation a number of years ago made the fines of private parking companies all but unenforceable - So now you can pay for your parking in good faith but if you make a mistake or fall foul of the complexity of the system you can safely ignore the enforcement notices.
Maybe the Chinese have quietly bought up all UK parking-related companies and are using them to demoralise us and add to the cost of doing business!
Something I think is non-obvious to most is that there are a large number of different companies involved. It's quite possible for
- the nominal car park owner
- the commercial car park operator
- the company that does the ANPR cameras
- the company that operates the barriers
- the company that operates the payment app (usually the company with their branding all over the car park)
... to all be completely separate organisations.
You can imagine that this leads to technical integration challenges, which I think explains a lot (e.g. the payment app company, the one with all their branding on the car park? Probably not in charge of fining you).
That's a really good point, and in terms of user experience I think it's a like a more complicated version of online retailers outsourcing delivery and logistics - you have all these provider companies who have basically no relationship with the end user and no real incentives to care beyond fulfilling a contract as cheaply as possible.
I think this raises the wider point - relevant to the point of "National User Experience" (a concept I love, by the way). Why is it this way? To whose benefit is it?
Put another way, I understand the academic argument for privatising products/services - generally more efficient and easier for infrastructure investments to take place if there isn't competition from the NHS. But, how efficient can car parks get, and what infrastructure investment is needed?
Basically, at some point, someone in the LA decided that it's better to sell a revenue stream to private operators. Does anyone know to what end?
Short version is that most are operating a revenue sharing model, i.e. the LA still gets most of the revenue; the provider companies take a cut and in exchange the LA doesn't have to employee specialist staff who would be more expensive. It is a high volume, low margin business for the provider companies.
What specialist staff? (genuine question). You can run a car park with a man, a bucket and a barrier. What specialist staff are being employed?
Oh, sure, you can do that. You only need specialist staff if you want to continue operating the automated systems that have been brought in over the last twenty years.
But if your aim is to improve the user experience in a high volume urban multistorey then I'm not sure switching to your guy with a bucket is going to help.
Maybe, but that still doesn't answer the question on specialist staff. I was in a council-run multi-storey on Sunday - I drove in, bought a ticket from a machine with cash (I could have used a card) and put a paper ticket in the window. 1) how much "better" can the experience get? 2) in terms of staffing what do you really need? A traffic warden, a man to empty the machine and a general handyman?
I know I am exaggerating a little, but what is the "specialism" here?
Martin, I completely agree with the points you are making, but I don’t understand how replacing your trousers with pyjama bottoms has the effect of preventing the operation of the ANPR system.
Try it at your local car park and you’ll find out!
(Boring answer - I had to change to wade into the car park but I had to do it up the road so I didn’t get charged for parking for my own car while retrieving my partner’s)
Currently awaiting a fine for a car park where the app didn't work, the website didn't work, text to pay didn't work, and the phone payment didn't work. And by the time I had tried all that, and tried in vain to speak to someone, I was late for my meeting.
Their response, days later? Wait for the fine and then appeal it.
Yes, the asymmetry is infuriating: the whole thing is optimised to fine you as quickly and efficiently as possible while any sort of comeback is blocked and delayed.