Thursday 10th January, 2008
ASDA GETS TOUGH ON PARKING SPACE ABUSE
Profits from fines will go to charity
Today [10th January, 2008] ASDA announced it would be the first retailer to fine drivers for the misuse of disabled and parent and child parking bays in its car parks.
All profits generated from the fines will go back to baby charity Tommy's and Motability, the national disability charity providing the leading car scheme for disabled people.
The move which will see abusers fined £60 for parking in parent and child and disabled spaces, comes into force from Monday 14th January 2008 and follows a successful trial last year in the north of England.
When surveyed four out of five ASDA customers said they believed rolling out the scheme nationwide was the right thing to do.
The trial, which lasted three months, operated in six stores in Liverpool.
As a result of the scheme the number of free parking spaces increased by over 60% for disabled drivers and parents with young children.
“At ASDA we have decided to take a stand to keep specialised parking spaces available to those customers that need them. Most customers using these bays without good reason don't realize their actions impact on people that rely on them to do their weekly shop." said Paul Hedley, ASDA’s customer service manager.
”We are not handing out tickets to make a profit as money raised will go back to charity.
Signs in all stores will clearly state that you will get a fine if you park here unnecessarily. We would encourage anyone that manages a car park to take our lead." added Paul
Jane Brewin, Chief Executive of Tommy’s, the baby charity, said: "A routine trip to the shops can turn into a nightmare for some parents – especially when they don’t have adequate parking spaces and other much needed parent and baby services made available to them.
Tommy’s believe that organisations that claim to put the needs of parents first should seriously look at their parking policy for parents to uncover whether their schemes actually work in practice.
"ASDA is setting a great example by ensuring that supermarkets are as accessible for parents as possible, by penalizing those who exploit bays specifically reserved for parents with young children. Putting fines in place for parking misuse is a bold move by ASDA but is the right one for giving parents with young children a helping hand."
Motability’s Fundraising & Marketing Director, Hazel Gotfraind, said: “I am delighted that Motability has been chosen to benefit from this excellent initiative and our customers will be pleased to know that ASDA is taking such a lead in stamping out the misuse of disabled parking bays.
Some of our customers need extra financial help to get a vehicle adapted to suit their individual needs.
With the help of companies like ASDA we can help to keep many more people independently mobile, something many of us take for granted.”
Notes for Editors
The scheme is launched in all ASDA food stores where ASDA owns the car park.
A list of excluded stores is available on request.
All ASDA's non food stores are excluded
Store involved in the trial were Aintree, Breck Road, Sefton, St Helens, Walton and Skelmersdale The tough new approach follows exhaustive attempts by ASDA to tackle the problem constructively in the past.
This has included award-winning schemes aimed at dissuading customers from abusing these bays; schemes such as … -
Leafleting Cars – pamphlets on windscreens of cars wrongly parked in a disabled bay,
Space Hog – loudspeaker messages played automatically when a car enters a disabled bay reminding the motorist it is reserved for people with a disability,
ASDA Baywatch – an awareness building campaign to encourage people not to abuse the spaces via posters and leaflets. Awards ASDA has won for its disabled services include the following …-
Baywatch (disabled parking) Awards – Best Store, Best Colleague, Best Large Store, best overall retailer (2004).
- Winner of the Redex Cup for outstanding achievement from the disabled drivers' motorist club (2003).
-Finalist in the Retail Awards for Customer Service Innovation of the Year for Specialist Space Hosts (2003).
- Winner of the EASE (Ease of Access, Service and Employment) Award for most disabled-friendly supermarket (1999 and 2000).
· What happens to the money? ASDA Money raised will fund the running costs of the scheme any profits will be given to charity
· ASDA Customer Service - All 160,000 ASDA colleagues have been ‘disability awareness’ trained and all of its 342 stores across the UK offer a wide range of disability and family-friendly services including
Braille guns, for labeling foods, and tactile signage in stores
Easy Grip crockery and cutlery in store cafes
Eazee-Reachers to grip products displayed at a height
Hearing Loops and Minicom text service
Motorised Scooters and three kinds of wheelchairs
Five types of trolley designed with disabled customers in mind
Baby changing facilities with free nappies and feeding rooms
A wide variety of parent and baby trolleys-
Free baby food in ASDA cafes
Tommy’s, the baby charityTommy’s exists to save babies’ lives because right now in the UK, 1 in 4 women loses a baby during pregnancy or birth. We fund research into and provide information on the causes and prevention of miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth. By 2030, we want to halve the number of babies who die during pregnancy. For further information, please visit www.tommys.org Tommy’s Donation Line: 0870 777 76 76. Tommy’s Pregnancy Information Line: 0870 777 30 60
Motability – the national disability charity providing the leading car scheme for disabled peopleMotability is the national charity that directs and oversees the Motability Scheme. The Scheme provides affordable, convenient, trouble-free motoring to over 470,000 disabled customers and their families. Powered wheelchairs and scooters can also be financed using the Motability Scheme. The charity raises funds and provides financial assistance to customers, who would otherwise be unable to afford the mobility solution they need. More information about the Motability Scheme can be obtained by telephoning 0845 456 4566 or by visiting www.motability.co.uk. Donations can be made online or by calling Motability’s Fundraising team on: 0845 1668786.
