Westminster commences trials of first 15 Strada Rapide

WCC has also been conducting an on-street trial of 22 solar-powered Parkeon Stelio®
P&D terminals for a number of months. It is understood to be considering the installation of both Strada Rapides and Stelios. As the two models share many major components – such as the coin selector mechanism and printer - this would ensure ease-of-maintenance and optimise stocks of spare parts and consumables.

"We have been very happy with the performance of the Stelios. Our maintenance contractor has found them extremely reliable and easy to work on", notes Alec Mather,
a Technical Officer in WCC’s Parking Infrastructure Team. "There haven’t been any
jams in the coin selector, which can be a continual problem with some P&D terminals."

While the machines on-test only accept coins, they would be upgraded – if requested - to handle credit card transactions and be centrally-monitored, following Westminster’s assessment, after the trial period.

Special materials have been incorporated in the Strada Rapide to provide enhanced resistance against attacks. It is also fitted with a highly secure electronic locking mechanism that is fully-shielded inside the vault. The lock can be re-programmed, along with the key, in the event of key loss. This saves time and money in the aftermath of such an occurrence and minimises machine downtime. Once opened, the collection door provides no internal access to the machine’s secure areas.
Such security features are designed to protect parking revenues and ensure that drivers will always find operational machines – which also helps to maintain revenue streams and reduce parking disputes, respectively.

The Strada Rapide features an ergonomically-designed, exchangeable coin box to ensure that cash collections are as fast and uncomplicated as possible. It also helps to make them risk-free procedures - from the Health & Safety perspective - for collection staff. When full, the coin box weighs a comfortably managed 25kg and is presented in such a way that its weight is supported before being lifted from the machine.