Municipality of Groningen
Rein Mebius, policy officer at Groningen municipality
IP Parking recently won a tender from the municipality of Groningen. What did this one entail?
Rein: "In four parking garages in the municipality of Groningen, IP Parking's system is currently being implemented. At one parking garage under construction, the system is currently being installed and at three existing garages in the municipality, the equipment was recently replaced. In addition, another garage is scheduled to be equipped with IP Parking's system in early 2020.
"IP Parking is not a trend follower
but a trendsetter."
What did the municipality of Groningen need?
We were looking for a robust, future-proof and flexible parking management system. By robust, we mean: reliable and future-proof hardware that does what it needs to do. New technologies are still being developed that provide access to parking garages. Therefore, the system must be flexible so that it can be expanded to include these future technologies. What we also consider very important is that the system provides us with management information with which we can manage our operations.
Why did IP Parking win this tender?
As a municipality, we are spending community money and there are strict rules attached to that. The Municipality of Groningen issued a European tender. In it, we detailed what the new system would have to meet. To prevent the price-fighters from winning, we agreed on a certain ratio in terms of quality and price. In doing so, our focus was more on quality than on price. IP scored the highest and therefore won the tender.
What does Groningen municipality think is important when it comes to parking?
We aim to unburden the users of our parking facilities at a reasonable rate, thereby achieving a balanced operation of our facilities. IP Parking fits that bill. The equipment and system we have purchased from IP are an important factor in achieving this objective.
How is your experience with IP Parking so far?
We are very satisfied with IP Parking. It's the first time we've worked together. They said in the tender that they can do a lot. In practice, it turns out that they not only say what they do but also do what they say. Where they haven't quite done that yet, they are working hard behind the scenes to fully meet the expectations they raised.
Are there any areas for improvement for IP Parking?
What could be improved is about connecting the dots. IP is working behind the scenes to finalize the last 5 percent to make the system fully compliant with our wishes. You can tell that IP Parking is incredibly "booming" as a party right now, winning a lot of tenders. This means that the deployment of expert people has to be divided between different projects. The growth spurt they are making may be taking its toll on the organization. On the other hand, we listen carefully and think in terms of possibilities. We do not hide our hearts, and can be very open in the dialogue with IP Parking. That is something that really appeals to us." Thus Rein Mebius.