Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Entrepreneur Omar Salah Alkhan is determined to take the car parking misery out of driving in the kingdom with a special ParkPass passport containing a membership card and barcode sticker … shortly to be followed by a smart phone app.
Customers will be able to buy points in advance to cover the cost of his successful valet parking services at busy shopping malls and dining areas, as well as using them at standard paid car parks soon without the hassle of having to fiddle around searching for purses and wallets when they’re ready to leave.
“I’m so excited,” he said. “The barcode brings convenience – it is simply scanned and there is no cash transaction.
“The cash transaction is the most inconvenient aspect of valet parking, which normally takes place at the customer’s departure time, so we wanted to eliminate that. With ParkPass the valet attendant will deduct the points from the member’s account through scanning the barcode on the sticker or card.”
Paying with points will offer savings as customers receive discounted rates depending on their tier of free membership - Blue, Silver, or Gold.
Omar added: “The membership scheme will offer two main things, convenience and savings … and that is just for starters. ParkPass will not be limited purely to valet parking, we seek to include all paid parking locations to the scheme whether the parking is under our management or not.
“We want to revolutionise the parking industry and we also want to help change the behaviour of drivers in finding and paying for their parking.”
Omar’s company ParkPoint, established in 2008 and headquartered in Sanabis, has transformed its operations from manual to automated, integrating all its locations through a centralised system, and given attendants handheld computers to allow members signed up with ParkPass to be ‘scanned and gone’ in a flash.
The valet parking and parking management services company boasts a team of 60 and currently operates at City Centre Bahrain, Seef Mall, Adliya’s Block 338, and a number of hotels and restaurants, as well as managing various parking areas.
It’s has grown in popularity as long queues for parking spaces at these popular locations have grown causing huge frustration, wasted time and missed movie dates. Valet parking gives shoppers and diners an option for their car to be parked by an attendant and brought back to the gate of the venue at a cost of BD5 for two hours, at City Centre Bahrain, for example, with BD2 for every extra hour stayed after that.
The mobile app is set to be available for download in the New Year and its main function will be to help users to navigate parking and the growing number of valet parking locations, pay for parking and save while using the service. However, it will not be limited to paid parking only, as it will help users to find free parking spaces as well, aiming to cut down on congestion.
“So many times you see people driving round and around looking for a space near a shop they want to visit, totally unaware there are perfectly good places to park at the rear of a premises,” said Omar, who is married to lawyer, Sarah, and has a two-year-old daughter, Leah. “As a result shops can miss out because people simply look elsewhere to conduct their business.”
More notorious drivers just abandon their vehicles on pavements or leave them stuck out at an angle blocking roads. Irresponsible parkers, however, are likely to be soon targeted by the authorities following a campaign to crackdown on speeding motorists and red-light hoppers who have faced heavy fines in recent months as a result of eye-in-the-sky technology.
The fear of a similar large fine or having their car towed away may help concentrate the mind on parking properly and an app to locate a space would become an invaluable aid for all.
Similar apps in Europe are already playing a major part in helping with the control of traffic in a win-win situation for drivers and town centre planners alike.
It may only be a matter of time before banks, airlines and major companies in Bahrain consider providing ParkPass membership as an addition to the benefits offered to customers and employees.
Omar also told GulfWeekly he has other innovative parking initiatives in the pipeline … watch this space.
Readers can sign up by visiting www.park-pass.com or through any of the valet attendants at the existing locations, by emailing member@park-pass.com or by calling 38888231 to register.
Members will receive a ParkPass bar code sticker, which can be placed either on the vehicle’s windshield or inside the driver’s door panel, near the chassis number.
They will also be provided with a ParkPass membership card which can also be scanned by a valet attendant to either buy or redeem points.
