Partnership aims to boost consumer confidence and convenience

The International Parking Community is taking decisive and far-reaching steps to ensure the safety and priorities of consumers are at the heart of new initiatives to improve standards within the parking industry.  The progressive trade association has now formalised its partnership with the People's Parking accreditation scheme for car parks.  As a result of this significant move, the accreditation scheme is now being adopted as an IPC standard, and the scheme's founder, Helen Dolphin MBE will be representing the evolving interests of consumers for the IPC Steering Committee. 

“Helen's painstaking and inspirational efforts to create and implement a versatile and effective accreditation scheme for car parks has received universal praise and admiration from consumer groups, service providers and the motoring public right across the country,” says IPC Chief Operating Officer, Charles Clowes. “We're delighted that Helen and her colleagues will now be working alongside us as we look to put the interests of consumers at the heart of service standards within the industry. Moreover, we will be confirming a number of ground-breaking initiatives in the coming months as we take steps to capitalise on this exciting new partnership.”

The People's Parking accreditation scheme offers all users of car parks with unprecedented reassurance and convenience and provides a major step-change for improving the parking experience of motorists. With distinctive and intuitive ‘badge' signage, it demonstrates clearly and effectively the safety, ease of access and on-site facilities for any consumer with a specific requirement.  

To secure accreditation, car park operators must demonstrate that their parking facilities, comply with all set parking standards. These include having clear signage, good pedestrian access and providing a clean, bright and safe environment for service users. Significantly, People's Parking accreditation not only provides real support for motorists with a disability and parents with children, it also promotes charging points for electric vehicles, cycle parking, accessibility to shopping centres and transport hubs  and highlights pre-booking and payment options. 

“With more cars on the road than ever before and with congestion and demand for parking spaces at popular venues and locations continuing to increase, decisive actions are needed to ensure motorists, their passengers and cyclists can easily identify the right car park for their needs. An independent scheme that only awards accreditations if key criteria have been
met raises standards within the industry and makes the life of car park users much easier,” says Helen Dolphin. 

“The IPC's proactive and emphatic approach for raising standards within the parking industry has been a huge source of encouragement for everyone who cares about the rights of consumers and the importance of fairness and equality.  Such an approach closely matches our own goals and aspirations, and I'm really looking forward to developing new initiatives with the IPC that will put the voice of the consumer at the heart of service standards within the sector.” 

“Helping motorists find a car park that meets their precise needs, removes a lot of the headache and uncertainty when it comes to parking a car,” adds Charles Clowes.  “People's Parking accreditation does just that.  Far and away the country's most comprehensive form of accreditation for car parks, the scheme is also a clear endorsement for service excellence -
offering much-needed reassurance and clear competitive advantage for service providers. Significantly and as many well-informed car park operators have recognised, People's Parking accreditation is also entirely consistent with the
Government's Accessibility Action Plan, and submitting an application for accreditation really couldn't be easier.” 

A widely-respected campaigner for the rights of disabled people and a member of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), Helen Dolphin was awarded an MBE in recognition for her services to disabled motorists.
Her development of the People's Parking accreditation scheme followed many years of tireless research and campaigning. 

Posted on 26 Sep 2017 at 15:53:28