Custom and TransPark Systems Inc. - a story of success

A story of success

Temperatures below zero for most of the year, 8 employees who have to manage several car parks in an extremely large area (3 Canadian provinces covering almost 2.7 million km²), the need to save time and resources: the Custom solution is clearly the answer for TransPark’s challenging needs.

Durable hardware, reliability, security and the possibility of remote management and maintenance have made the PP54 EVO a highly appreciated and loyalty-inducing device for the customer, laying the foundations for a relationship of trust and collaboration with interesting future prospects, also in regard to digital solutions.

Overview

The parking industry in the United States recorded an overall turnover of more than 131 billion dollars in 2019, with over 580,000 professionals involved. Shifting the focus to “Smart Parking”, but extending the analysis to the whole of North America, the value of this emerging market was already estimated at 1,337.8 million dollars in 2018. For some years already, there has been talk of “Mobility Transition” and “Traffic Technology”: urban areas are being transformed into genuine smart cities, with increasingly up-to-date and advanced parking systems.

The entire sector has had to evolve, discovering new ticketing management technologies and applications. In this context, TransPark Systems Inc., a Canadian company based in Mississauga (west of the Toronto metropolitan area), is a local but very enterprising business. Despite its small workforce, it boasts significant results: around forty access control columns in more than 10 car parks. The territory covered is truly remarkable, with installations in the three provinces of Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick: a region covering an area 9 times that of Italy.

The challenge

The huge distances are not the only challenge for a parking company operating in Canada, the world’s second-largest State in terms of surface area, covering almost ten million km². The other essential factor to consider concerns the extreme weather conditions and temperature range. In the east of the country, where TransPark is based, it can snow from November until June, with minimum temperatures reaching as low as -40°.

In this kind of situation, remote monitoring of the devices is a necessity, especially for those who have to manage huge areas of operation while still relying on a limited structure. The COVID-19 health emergency has increased the interest in self-service solutions. Social distancing and maximum attention to hygiene are now two essential aspects.

Thus, the challenge for Custom is to develop simple solutions to make the ticketing management process faster, safer and more comfortable, and to facilitate access, payment and monitoring in car parks. Interest in these systems is growing continuously and they will be one of the main innovations in the coming future.

The Solution

At Custom, we have always studied the market carefully and listened to it closely. With 12 technology companies and 720 professionals, the Group can rely on diverse but synergistic expertise, combining know-how and skills that meet the needs of numerous vertical markets. For the parking sector, we have various solutions that can satisfy the most demanding standards in terms of innovation, duration and service. An increasingly satisfied customer base acquires loyalty through reliable and durable hardware, ideal for important work tasks in both outdoor and indoor environments, combined with remote monitoring tools developed by us.

These solutions are already predisposed to integrate digital systems and apps that can further innovate the sector, such as augmented reality made to measure by Netrising, our specialised company. A web agency focussed on the development of mobile applications, integrated web projects and comprehensive communication strategies, it is one of the leading companies in Italy in terms of the number of apps published in the iOS and Android^TM stores.

To meet the needs of TransPark, the natural choice was PP54 EVO, a complete and innovative system for managing parking tickets and public transport. It is the simplest and fastest device available, capable of managing up to three tickets at one time and printing and issuing ISO7811 tickets at 300Dpi in less than a second. The tickets can be read from four directions and it also supports RFID tickets. In addition, individual tickets can be re-used for several purposes.
The remote monitoring of the printer and resistance to extreme outdoor conditions are also essential requirements for this context.

Maintenance is performed in a complete and easy manner, thanks to a special self-diagnosis function that also operates remotely. At the software level, the package is completed by a tool compatible with all operating systems, from Windows to Linux and from Android to iOS, which simplifies and enhances each process: a customised and independent program that ensures complete autonomy. For customer loyalty based on three pillars: simplification, customisation and innovation.

Custom is present in more than 70 countries worldwide with made-to-measure solutions and cutting-edge products: discover them on our site!

Download the attached PDF document of the case study!