Hozah’s Autopay system revolutionises parking payments

Hozah is delighted to announce a multi-million-pound investment drive which will be used to roll out Hozah-enabled car parks in Croydon. Hozah has created an award-winning Autopay system that offers a frictionless parking experience through its automated parking technology. Its zero-effort parking technology connects drivers’ credit/debit cards to number plate recognition cameras, so drivers can benefit from being automatically billed for their length of stay.

How does it work?

Hozah enables users to park and go with a one-time sign up of their registration plate and payment details. Once set up, Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras detect drivers entering and exiting a Hozah-enabled car park. Users are then charged automatically for their length of stay, without the need to do anything else. Parking revenue is automatically sent to local authorities allowing users to reduce unnecessary worry about parking fines because their car is now their payment card. No cash, no apps, no fines, and no more waiting at the ticket machine.

Hozah has partnered with several local authorities to provide full automatic parking payments. In Coventry, for example, its popularity among drivers is clear. There were 2,000 unique Hozah accounts opened just for Cox Street Car Park and 90% of drivers wanting more Hozah car parks in Coventry.

One user said, “I use this car park regularly and this is perfect for me as I always have my toddler with me.” Hozah became the preferable parking payment method and users praised Autopay for being “easy and convenient” compared with traditional parking payment methods, like mobile apps, pay-by-phone, and eliminates the need for cash to pay for parking.

Paul Bowman, Team Manager Parking Services for Coventry Council said: “Hozah allows drivers the opportunity to experience fully automatic, frictionless parking and is another step towards making Coventry City a truly connected Smart City. We’re constantly looking at ways to improve the customer journey and in these difficult times it is vitally important truly touchless systems are available. With Hozah, drivers are offered a safe and efficient way to pay while at the same time, leading to higher revenue generation for Coventry’s local economy.”

Coming home to Croydon

On the expansion in Croydon, David Fowle, Managing Director of Hozah, commented: “We’re delighted with our growth over the past year, and are humbled by the support we’ve been given from Arron Tarry and Mark Averill from Croydon Council, Croydon’s newest investor matching service, Suss Ventures, and the investors we’ve partnered with.

“We value our long-standing partnership with Croydon Council, our home council, and look forward to allowing Croydon’s drivers to park in all Croydon car parks in the future with the support from our recent investment raise.

“We have managed to reduce unnecessary PCNs for drivers and save the council significant money; a real ‘win-win’ situation. We look forward to rolling Hozah: Autopay out to more locations within the borough and beyond so all drivers are offered a completely cashless, automated and secure parking payment experience.”

What does this mean for local drivers and Croydon Council?

in short: happier drivers, happier parking managers and improved relations between drivers and the council.

Croydon Council will benefit from:

• a fully automated system that requires no cash and no apps
• reduced overheads and administration costs, since there are no expensive machines to purchase, maintain, or upgrade
• fairer, consistent revenue which could increase parking compliance rates to 99.4%

Local drivers will benefit from:

• a fully automated system that requires no cash and no apps, simply park and go
• peace of mind with Hozah’s PCN guarantee
• an inclusive system that allows payments from those unable to use pay and display or smartphone apps
• a safer way to pay for parking with the reduction in on-foot trips to pay and display machines

Added benefits of ANPR cameras include increased safety, security, and data on how car parks are used, such as average capacity, length-of-stay, types and models of vehicles using the car park and peak periods, all of which are GDPR-compliant.

Hozah places smart parking at the heart of the smart city by reducing the congestion in busy car parks. Hozah also offers automatic payments for electric charging stations in Hozah-adapted car parks, connecting with Croydon’s smart city enterprise through emissions-based parking charges which work towards addressing poor air quality. The brilliance of this approach to parking management will not only improve air pollution on public health but also encourage residents to help reduce harmful emissions in the borough.

Watch out for Hozah-enabled car parks springing up in and around Croydon, marking another step towards revolutionising the UK’s car park infrastructure.