News

As a leading parking operator in Europe, we have over 14,000 facilities in our portfolio and manage 18 million parking spaces. Our technologically advanced parking solutions support owners of shopping centers, retail parks, office buildings and other facilities in maximizing the efficiency of parking management.

During the SCF, we will talk about our innovative technologies that are already changing the way we use parking lots. One of our key solutions is the APCOA Flow mobile application, which works on hundreds of facilities in Poland and Europe. In turn, thanks to ANPR technology (automatic license plate recognition), parking throughout Europe has become more convenient than ever - without the need to collect parking tickets, with the possibility of mobile payments and in devices installed in the parking lot.
The APCOA Flow application is already used by over 600,000 users in Poland, and it generates around 1,000,000 transactions per month. Thanks to APCOA Flow, drivers can quickly pay for parking using a BLIK code or payment cards, as well as use flexible subscriptions. Our application not only saves time, but also improves the comfort and fluidity of parking, supporting the sustainable development of cities. We cannot forget about the ecological element either - thanks to the built-in navigation, APCOA Flow guides the driver directly to the parking lot, which reduces the traffic generated by vehicles looking for a free parking space, and thus also air pollution with exhaust fumes. The application also eliminates the use of paper tickets, because transactions take place online.

We believe that parking technology plays a key role in creating future mobility solutions, and our solutions are the answer to the challenges related to parking space management.

Let's meet at our stand no. 120 during the Shopping Center Forum, where we will be happy to talk about how we can jointly develop modern solutions for the retail industry and beyond.

APCOA is now managing the car park at the Wysockiego Park Handlowy centre. The shopping centre offers its customers more than 30 shops and service establishments. The facility's car park can accommodate more than 500 cars and is open seven days a week.

APCOA Polska provided the facility with eight modern pay and display machines. With the innovative solutions in place, drivers no longer need to display their parking receipts in the windscreen and can just enter their car registration number. All visitors at the facility can enjoy 180 minutes of free parking (two 90-minute sessions a day with a 3-hour break between them), if they register their cars using the P&D machines or our APCOA FLOW mobile application.

 - Wysockiego Park Handlowy is another retail facility that has become part of our portfolio. Previously, the centre did not have a parking operator, which meant that its car park was often occupied and customers could not find a space to park in. The change will improve the situation and make parking easier. The solutions we have implemented will ensure the availability of parking spaces and are convenient for customers: once they entered registered their car registration number, they will no longer need to place their parking receipt in the windscreen. In addition, motorists at the car park can use our APCOA Flow app to register their stay and pay for it instantly with no need to use pay & display machines", comments Maciej Zawadzki, Apcoa Poland's CEO.

Those interested can also purchase a 30-day season ticket at the facility.

As the popularity of electric vehicles continues to grow, so does the need for their underlying charging infrastructure. It is in response to this very need that Apcoa Polska, Poland's leading car park operator, is expanding its network of EV charging points, introducing new facilities for electric vehicle users. In its latest step, the company installed new EV chargers at the Rondo Kaponiera car park in Poznań, offering its users even greater convenience and easier access to energy for their vehicles.

Strategically located, the stations are easily accessible by users and represent an important step towards raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainable mobility.

“The new EV charging stations represent another step forward towards a more sustainable future, providing our clients with the benefit of green transport solutions. In addition to providing parking services that are convenient and technologically advanced, our goal is also to protect our environment by supporting a drive towards electromobility”, comments Maciej Zawadzki, APCOA Poland's CEO.

The EV charging points at the Rondo Kaponiera car park feature the latest technologies and offer 22 kW AC charging. The stations allow up to four cars to charge simultaneously.

Electromobility is one of the key pillars of Apcoa Urban Hubs, the company's ecosystem of urban solutions comprising four areas: Mobility, Electromobility, Logistics and Proximity Services. APCOA Urban Hubs provide an innovative solution that enables a range of other services to be offered in parking facilities, such as EV chargers (AC or DC), last-mile logistics (delivery support within restricted traffic zones in city centres), micromobility solutions for small electric vehicles (scooters, bikes, mopeds, etc.), including charging, servicing or sharing points, parcel locker hubs, and car park access facilitation for car sharing.

As the popularity of electric vehicles grows, so does the need for their charging infrastructure. It is in response to this very need that Apcoa Polska, Poland's leading car park operator, is expanding its network of EV charging points, introducing new facilities for electric vehicle users. In its latest step, the company opened new EV chargers at the Galeria Opolanin car park in Opole, offering local residents and clients even greater convenience and easier access to energy for their vehicles.

The new EV charging points at the Galeria Opolanin car park are a significant contribution to the region's charging infrastructure. Strategically located, they are easily accessible by users and represent an important step towards raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainable mobility.

"We are happy with the new EV charging points at the Galeria Opolanin car park. They are a step forward towards a more sustainable future, providing our clients with the benefit of green transport solutions. With the growing demand for electric cars, our goal is to provide parking services that are not just convenient but also environmentally friendly", comments Maciej Zawadzki, Apcoa Poland's CEO.

The EV charging points at the Galeria Opolanin car park feature the latest technologies and offer 11 kW AC charging.

A step towards a more sustainable future, the new EV charging stations at Galeria Opolanin also demonstrate Apcoa Polska's continued commitment to developing EV charging infrastructure countrywide. Electromobility is a key pillar of Apcoa Urban Hubs, the company's ecosystem of urban solutions comprising four areas: Mobility, Electromobility, Logistics and Proximity Services.

Apcoa Urban Hubs provide an innovative solution that enables a range of other services to be offered in parking facilities. These include EV chargers (AC or DC), last-mile logistics (delivery support within restricted traffic zones in city centres), micro-mobility solutions for small electric vehicles (scooters, bikes, mopeds, etc.), including charging, servicing or sharing points, parcel locker hubs, and car park access facilitation for car sharing.

The false charge notices state a bank account number that is not APCOA's but is used to defraud the public.

Please note that parking charge notices from APCOA's enforcement officers feature a QR code redirecting to our website for details of each notice. There, you can check the notice number and the photos our officers have taken, learn about the reasons for extra charge and either appeal or pay your notice. With this solution, you can quickly and conveniently check if the notice you've been issued is genuine.

Please also remember that our enforcement officers do not collect any charges: payments can only be made electronically.

Should you have any questions or doubts, please feel free to call us at 22 300 12 31 or send us an e-mail to reklamacje(at)apcoa.pl.

The facility features 20+ interior design exhibitors, a grocery shop and a leisure and entertainment area. The facility's car park can accommodate up to 650 cars and is open seven days a week. We have installed 13 state-of-the-art pay and display machines at the facility and two tablets for motorists to record their sessions. All visitors can enjoy three hours of free parking if they register their cars, whether using the P&D machines or our APCOA FLOW mobile application. Parkers at Galeria Nowa Praga can also buy season tickets using our online system.

APCOA Parking Polska Sp. z o.o. 
  
to: 

APCOA Polska Sp. z o.o. 
  
We would like to inform you that the change concerns only the name of the company, all other data, including NIP, KRS, bank account numbers, telephone numbers, address of the registered office, remain unchanged. 
  
At the same time, we would like to mention that in accordance with the applicable provisions of law, a change of the company's name does not result in a change of the entity, which was and still is a party to contracts concluded and obligations incurred so far. The change of the company's name does not result in any modification of the company's obligations or mutual rights and duties under contracts concluded by our company and does not require their annexation.

Katowice-based Silesia City Center, offering motorists a choice of 3,500 parking spots. The facility uses state-of-the-art pay and display machines for motorists to enter their vehicle registration number and record their parking session. This means that drivers no longer need to display their parking permit in the windscreen. Shoppers may use APCOA FLOW mobile app to pay for parking while the centre's tenants and suppliers can rely on our Fleet Management system to manage their assigned parking spaces for the authorised staff by entering vehicle registration numbers.

"We are always striving to expand the services we offer so as to make parking at our sites an even easier process. With the new functionality, drivers no longer need to collect a receipt from a parking meter. They can just use their smartphone to scan the QR code, which is placed across the car park, and type in their vehicle registration number. Once the code is scanned, the customer is connected via the cloud to the APCOA Flow [QR] app and can pay for parking or enjoy their free parking time", says Maciej Zawadzki, CEO at APCOA Parking Polska.

The available payment options include BLIK, Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit card and quick bank account transfers. Once the transaction is completed, drivers receive a confirmation e-mail to their chosen address. 

The APCOA Flow [QR] system makes the parking process easier: drivers no longer need to use parking meters or place their parking receipt in the car window. Effecting a payment only involves a cloud application and a smartphone, so there is no need to install any additional software on the phone.  

APCOA Flow [QR] is APCOA's proprietary product and it is available across thousands of APCOA car parks in Europe, including Poland.  

APCOA Parking will be operating car parks in Maków Podhalański, Czarny Dunajec, Jabłonka, Nowy Targ and Rabka-Zdrój. There are parking meters at each site and some locations offer in-store tablets to register parking stay. Drivers at all car parks can also use the APCOA Flow app as a parking solution. 

- “I am glad we can expand our presence in Podhale and provide the highest-quality parking service to the region's residents and guests”, says Maciej Zawadzki, CEO at APCOA Parking Polska. “What sets us apart are innovations that make parking easier and more convenient. Thanks to our proprietary solutions, there is no longer any need for drivers to display their parking permit in the windscreen when parked. All they need to do is use the parking meters, tablets or our APCOA Flow app", he adds.

The sites in question are as follows:
•    Maków Podhalański, ul. Rynek 9
•    Czarny Dunajec, ul. Rynek 15
•    Nowy Targ, Plac Evry 2
•    Rabka-Zdrój, ul. Chopina 16
•    Jabłonka, ul. Kamieniec 6 and Plac Dworcowy 4

Depending on the location, drivers can enjoy free parking from 60 to as many as 180 minutes. The only condition is that they register their stay.

SVP has been APCOA's minority shareholder since 2014. The new owner intends to continue APCOA Group's current growth strategy and operations, with a particular focus on innovative technologies, increasing automation, construction of more EV charging stations and development of Urban Hubs.

A special Kiss&Fly zone is also available, allowing travellers a 10-minute stopover free of charge. From now on, all travellers can also use the APCOA Flow app and our car park pre-booking system.

While in Munich, we will be showcasing our latest parking solutions and services, including various car park operating models, Europe's most advanced parking application – APCOA Flow, EV charging systems, and computerised solutions to facilitate parking, such as online season ticket sales, pre-booked parking, and Scan & Pay service.

Indispensably, the event involved trade fairs, conferences and business networking opportunities. The SCF’s leading themes this year were ESG, evolving customer attitudes, and how this affects the shopping mall market.

The online booking panel is integrated with the APCOA FLOW mobile application. The same credentials are used to log in to the site as with your mobile application account. Online season tickets can be purchased using one of the following payment methods: BLIK, Quick Transfer or Payment Card.

https://abonamenty.apcoa.pl

Similar solutions will appear shortly at other APCOA Parking-operated car parks in Warsaw and Poznań.

In 2021 we launched our initiative ‘APCOA Sustainability in Action’, putting a framework around our multiple ESG initiatives. This has now become a real part of our business:towards our employees, towards the drivers that park at our facilities, towards our clients and to all the organisations to which we provide our services.
We work in close proximity to 70% of the population in the 13 countries where we are located and are very aware that the way we operate can impact directly on local communities.
APCOA’s 2021 Sustainability Report outlined our ESG strategy and detailed some of the investments we had made since 2016 to enable us to really make a difference. Sometimes the changes that we make may have a small impact on wider society but make a big difference to local life, and so our ESG plan reflects a combination of large and small-scale initiatives.
Our business is at the centre of mobility and can therefore play an important role in improving our environment.

In this report you will find various examples of initiatives across the group covering each of our ESG components

https://apcoa-de.sharefile.eu/d-sda146301baa84928b5cf1568d105cdf6

The programme’s primary objective is to promote sustainability while increasing efficiency of order deliveries to customers.
More under this link.
https://wolt.com/pl/pol/warsaw/article/woltxportapp-partnership

The Polish competition watchdog launched its proceeding in October 2021, conducting a probe into several aspects of our operations. UOKiK decided against bringing any allegations regarding the way APCOA car parks are organised and how they operate, including with regard to any extra charges, signage or how individual consumer concerns are resolved. Importantly, UOKiK’s President admitted in the reasons for the decision that the practices it impugns were not deliberate. We also believe that those practices have not led to consumer harm.

In our business, we are committed to integrity in our relationships with clients and we strive to improve the high standards of our operations.

Traditionally, the SCF 2022 Fall Edition was hosted in Warsaw’s EXPO XXI conference and exhibition centre at Prądzyńskiego Street.

Also featuring area-specific and general discussion panels, the autumn event is more than just two days or trading and networking. The retail market and the challenges it faces were discussed among experts.

Two days of fairs and conferences

In addition to its credentials as a business event and trade show, SCF CEE is also a venue for exchange of experiences and expertise on industry-wide trends.

[INTERVIEW] M. Zawadzki, Apcoa: In Poland, we have almost 800 car parks. This is both a commitment and an opportunity to set trends.

Katarzyna Łabuz, 23 August 2021, 12:39 pm

Apcoa Group manages 14,000 car park locations across Europe and before the pandemic it generated nearly one billion euros in income annually. For all practical purposes, we are the largest parking operator in each of the 13 European countries we do business in. In Poland, we have almost 800 car parks. This is both a commitment and an opportunity to set trends, says Maciej Zawadzki, Apcoa Parking Managing Director, in an interview with SCF Magazine.  

Apcoa Parking will be exhibiting at the Shopping Center Forum 2021 CEE. Its representatives will be available for contact at stand 120.

How has the pandemic affected your operations?

Similar to shopping mall operators and tenants, who have seen their revenues disappear practically overnight, we, too, have suffered losses because of the pandemic. We were hit hardest in those of our projects where we leased car parks as tenants. We lost all revenues while continuing to pay high rents because we were not caught by the regulatory rent exemptions available to some tenants. It turned out we could not count on any support because we were not a standard commercial tenant.

How, then, did you manage to survive and operate in this difficult time? 

We started talking with mall owners about possible rent reductions or suspensions. These talks were not always easy for us, and they mostly concerned the locations were we leased space as tenants. At the same time, in those projects where we acted as car park managers – meaning that we did not pay rent and received regular income – we reduced our fees to accommodate the needs of our clients, the shopping mall owners. We decided we would partially reduce our services and operating costs and drop our margins to help those clients survive and maintain sound partnerships with them, knowing that business would return once the pandemic is over.

In other words, while expecting support, you were also offering it?

We wanted the relationships with our clients to continue going forward after the pandemic was over, and we wanted those relationships to become stronger based on our partnership attitude. Sadly, a significant part of our income suffered in the process; we just lost it. We operate car parks at dozens of shopping malls across Poland and a significant drop in revenues meant that, for a time, our liquidity was in a precarious position. And what helped us survive were the relationships we had with our partners.

What did this support and relationships involve?

Most clients helped us by reducing or deferring rent payments. These were shopping mall operators but also public entities which agreed to defer our rents to later in the year, until everything went back to normal. That saved our liquidity. The largest retail networks, such as Lidl, Netto, Kaufland, Aldi or Polo Market, were very accommodating as well, paying our fees on time despite the pandemic and lockdowns. Fortunately, their businesses were stable during the pandemic. With such friendly partners on our side, we managed to come out of the lockdown unscathed.

Shopping centres and their car parks operated on a limited basis, but retail networks, including especially discount and convenience shops which you also serve, were doing rather well at the time. 

Netto, Lidl, Kaufland, Polo Market and Aldi – all of these retailers engaged us for new projects on the back of their dynamic expansion. Kaufland and Aldi even terminated their contracts with other operators and gave us exclusivity for all of their car parks, handing over several dozen new locations to us. This was because they were very satisfied with our services and our partnership approach to business.

What makes your services stand out?

That would be, for instance, the quality of our parking equipment or additional charge notices issued at those car parks in commercial locations where there are parking metres. Unfortunately, a lot of operators in Poland which have contracts with retailers offer their services for token amounts and then compensate their low fees by issuing penalty charge notices to shop patrons, or provide old or used parking equipment. This “hunting” for clients to charge them penalties ruins the image of our sector as a whole and draws interests from watchdogs, such as the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection or the Consumer Ombudsman. We do things differently. Our car parks feature the latest-generation pay-and-display machines which accept card payments. Payments there can also be made using our mobile application, APCOA Flow. We are also aware that a penalty charge notice issued to a shop client will scare them away from the establishment. For this reason, our Complaints Units will try to cancel penalty notices issued to customers who have shopped at a store but for some reason did not take their parking ticket. If a client who went shopping to, say, a Lidl or Biedronka store, is issued a penalty notice because they did not take their ticket or did not pay, their notice will always be cancelled if they report this to us afterwards.

In terms of car park arrangements, what’s the biggest challenge to shopping malls and retail networks?

I believe it’s the parking charges. Usually, a client can park for free while shopping at a given mall or store. The problem occurs when parkers contravene that rule. Increasingly, a client at a shopping mall is unable to park because the car park is full, occupied by staff from nearby business offices, people coming to local government offices, hospital patients or residents of nearby housing estates. What will a client who comes to a store for shopping do when they cannot park? They will drive half a kilometre further to a competitor’s store. The retailers have noticed that this is bad for their business and started to adopt their own parking rules. For example, a Lidl store will allow a 90-minute free parking, which is more than enough to do the shopping, but will charge for each additional hour parked. Once adopted, such rules will usually resolve parking problems at large establishments.

You said you offer two business models, one lease-based and the other as a parking manager. What is the difference?

In a management contract, we act as a facility manager and are paid a fee for it by our client. Naturally, some of that fee will go towards paying for labour costs, equipment depreciation, equipment repairs that we usually make ourselves, parking tickets or technical maintenance. Under a lease arrangement, we pay a rent to our client, collecting and recording all income from the car park. Shopping mall car parks generally use the management contract model.

Why do the malls choose the management model?

Generally, shopping mall car parks offer long free-parking times. The mall owners do not want their customers to cut the time spent on premises and want them to stay there as long as possible. As such, a shopping mall will not generate enough income from the car park for us to operate it under lease, paying our own costs in addition to rent. The management model is more practical here.

And what does it involve, specifically?

To put it simply, we install and set up a parking management system – barriers, licence plate recognition cameras and automated pay-and-display machines. Our staff operates the system; we provide consumables, such as parking tickets; we analyse market trends across the car park area and optimise parking tariffs; we  handle cash management processes, including cash transports; we provide in-house equipment maintenance; and we sell season tickets.

Which model is more profitable for Apcoa?

There is no rule here. During the pandemic, management contracts were surely a much better choice for us.  With those contracts, our margins are lower than in leases, but this is compensated by the fact that we are not exposed to market risk – the client pays us a regular monthly fee.  

Apcoa is a multinational firm. What are the current management trends, in Poland and worldwide?

Apcoa Group manages 14,000 car park locations across Europe and before the pandemic it generated nearly one billion euros in income annually. For all practical purposes, we are the largest parking operator in each of the 13 European countries we do business in. In Poland, we have almost 800 car parks. This is both a commitment and an opportunity to set trends. In 2019, the Group launched its own mobile application, called Apcoa Flow. It is available at all our car parks across Europe and at many car parks we are in partnerships with. Indeed, more often than not, car park owners who have not contracted us as managers only want our application. It also works in paid parking zones.

Can you characterise it?

With our mobile application, you can pay at car parks with barriers or pay-and-display machines. In the latter case, a parker inputs their expected parking time within the app (e.g. a free hour at a shopping mall) and does not have to go to the parking machine for a ticket. The solution worked extremely well during the pandemic. Monthly, we would register thousands of new Apcoa Flow users every month.

With a barrier system, once a vehicle is at a barrier arm, the camera there reads its licence plate and automatically raises the bar, starting a parking session. The application notifies the client that their parking has just begun. On exit, the system will again read the licence plate, raise the barrier and terminate the parking session, transferring whatever amount is due from the driver’s credit card and sending the session receipt to the client’s e-mail address. We also use our mobile application to sell season tickets. Moreover, our application can be integrated with our clients’ external IT systems.

How does your application work for shopping malls?

Sadly, the system is not yet as popular in Poland as in other countries. Some shopping malls express an interest, others plan to roll out their own solutions. What can be said, though, is that the pandemic accelerated the rollout decisions for such arrangements.

Each year, Apcoa is present at SCF. What is your offer to shopping malls this year and what partners will you be looking for at SFC?

For us, the Shopping Center Forum is a very important platform to meet our current and prospective clients. Nowadays, seeing as we all never have enough time for meetings, talks or reviews, the events of this kind facilitate business contacts. SCF provides an attractive, interesting format, one in which our existing business relationships can be maintained and in which we can present our new solutions and technologies to a wide audience. Let me recall that a lot of shopping centres that even recently have had no parking problems now see the need for changes in that area. We are seeing a surge in development projects, a lot of new properties are being built, and there are changes in land development following which commercial premises suddenly find themselves surrounded by  office buildings or housing estates. Many shopping malls are looking for solutions to their parking problems, and such solutions can be found here. Our stand this year will exhibit new and interesting parking systems, the best global brands, and mobile solutions to support car park management.

By Katarzyna Łabuz

Anna Klaman, 21 March

Drivers to enjoy free parking in Tuchola’s Wolności square in April but May to see paid parking nearly everywhere

The City Hall in Tuchola selected Apcoa Parking Polska as its contractor to operate the city’s extended paid parking area. The city’s mayor, Tadeusz Kowalski, hopes that the new zone will become operational from May.

Importantly, the city’s collection service will be scrapped as of 31 March, meaning the citizens will have a month or more to park their cars for free in the Wolności Square and along part of Chojnicka Street. The change comes after the city has resolved to stop collecting the fees from April.

- Nothing bad will happen if people can park for free in the Wolności Square for a month or longer, says the city’s mayor, Tadeusz Kowalski. That said, I’d like the larger paid-parking area to go live after the extended May weekend. I am sure everything will work fine, given the successful contractor’s experience as operator.

Where will we pay for parking in Tuchola

Apcoa Parking Polska, the company that came out as a winner, will be managing a paid parking zone covering the following areas:

•             Plac Wolności

•             Sępoleńska

•             Ks. Kreffta, Szkolna

•             Plac Zamkowy

•             Zamkowa

•             Gabrychów

•             Staromiejska

•             Starofarna

•             Rzeźnicka

•             Chojnicka

•             Okrężna

•             Spichlerzna

•             Górna

•             Ks. Wryczy

•             Murowa

•             Tylna

•             Krótka

•             Rycerska

•             Rynkowa

•             Studzienna

•             Podgórna

•             Nowodworskiego

•             Garbary

•             St. Saganowskiego

•             Świecka (until junction with Pocztowa)

•             Dworcowa

•             Pocztowa

Parking rates

Fees will be charged Monday to Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. There will be no zone differentiation, with uniform rates to apply across the paid parking area. What rates exactly? We will pay PLN 1 for up to a stay of up to 30 minutes, PLN 2 for the first hour, PL 2.40 for the second hour, and PLN 2.80 for the third hour. The draft resolution also provides for differentiated season ticket rates, with individuals registered as the city’s permanent or temporary residents paying PLN 30 per month, PLN 150 per six months, or PLN 270 per year.

Parking fees will be waived for municipal and technical service vehicles, disability cars, supply vans while unloading their cargo, and taxi drivers while waiting for passengers or collecting fares.

The only free parking spots in Tuchola will remain outside the city’s centre. Finding an unoccupied space in Tuchola is very difficult now, with some leaving their cars parked for an entire day even. Now that money will have to be paid, they will certainly think twice before parking.

The local authority’s plan was to earmark PLN 2,931,000 for the zone until 2025. The winner, Apcoa Parking Polska, offered PLN 2.164.000. Apcoa’s competitor, Grudziądz-based Parking Group¸ offered PLN 3.293.000.

Clients no longer need to be issued a ticket – they can select parking duration in the application and start their session. APCOA Flow will factor in any free parking time available (e.g. one hour) and charge the relevant fee if the stay is longer.

Mobile payments address hygienic concerns, which is particularly important now at the time of pandemic.

Another plus is that customers can extend their parking stay without having to go back to their cars.

APCOA Flow can now be used at more than 700 APCOA car parks in Poland and in 8,000 parking facilities across Europe.

https://www.motocaina.pl/artykul/samochod-sam-zaparkuje-na-lotnisku-nie-to-nie-sen-to-rzeczywistosc-58673.html

Clients can choose from the following car parks:

An external metered car park with 837 parking spaces and two general-access, barrier-operated internal cark parks with 822 parking spaces. The single-storey Komfort car park (blue colour) has one car entrance, one exit, and one pay machine; the three-storey (yellow, red and green) free parking facility has two entrances, two exits, and five pay machines. The car parks feature a modern Scheidt & Bachmann parking management system.

ATRIUM PROMENADA is located near the POLSAT television offices.

One entrance is from Leszczyńska Street, and the other two from Zajęcza Street. Clients have 370 parking spaces to choose from.

The Powiśle power plant dates back more than 100 years to 1904 when local authorities announced a tender to build a plant that would power the city of Warsaw. A period of expansion followed, and in 1944 the plant was actively involved in the Warsaw Uprising, maintaining power supply for the fighting city. The plant officially ended electricity production in 2001. In 2020, Elektrownia Powiśle celebrated its NEW OPENING and now lures customers with its numerous elegant stores, exquisite restaurants, beauty hall, food hall or Plonoteka eco market where you can arrange a variety of entertainment or cultural events.

Some nearby locations include the Copernicus Science Centre, Vistula Boulevards, and the famous Mermaid of Warsaw statue.

http://elektrowniapowisle.com/

Drivers have 1,650 parking spaces at their disposal and can use our mobile APCOA FLOW application for parking. The facility is located in the vicinity of the Dolina Radości residential area and an observation tower.

There are 14 parking meters across the zone and clients can also use our APCOA FLOW application for parking.

As part of the “Posiłek za Wysiłek” programme in which free meals and beverages are prepared and delivered to medical personnel and other City of Gdańsk uniformed services involved in prevention, countering and management efforts in the current COVID-19-related pandemic emergency. Meals are also provided to senior citizens (including in day care centres, nursing homes and senior citizen clubs) and homeless shelters.

Located opposite the Sofitel Grand Sopot hotel, close to the beach and the city’s main street, the popular “Monciak” promenade, the facility uses a state-of-the-art Scheidt & Bachmann parking system and features three pay machines. Clients leaving the facility can also use PayPass cards for payments. The facility offers 209 parking spaces, divided into two sections: an indoor section ‘B’ with 173 spaces and an outdoor section with 36 spaces.

This is an unattended, barrier-controlled car park with a Scheidt & Bachmann parking management system.

The facility offers 300 parking spaces, one entrance, one exit, and two pay machines. Card payments are accepted.

Posejdon Center is located in the Nowe Miasto district, 60 Niepodległości Street, at the corner of Kaszubska and Partyzantów Streets, near the Port Gate and Hotel Pomorski.

Since January this year APCOA Parking has been operating a new car park at Galeria Dominikańska Shopping Centre in Wrocław. The facility is right in the city centre, close to such landmarks as the Wrocław Market Square, the National Musem, Ostrów Tumski (the city’s oldest part) and the Racławice Panorama. While Galeria Dominikańska is a modern shopping facility, it blends very well with the historic fabric of the city of Wrocław. Our car park has three levels (A, B & C), each with 300 parking spaces.  There are two car entrances and exits each on every level. The customer service office is on level 4. Ticket machines accept card payments.

EXPO REAL is among the largest real property and investment trade shows in Europe. More than 2,000 exhibitors turned up to showcase their end-to-end services for real estate projects, from the concept phase through financing and execution to operation and use. With 64 000 m2 of exhibition space, EXPO REAL is an ideal platform to share experiences and establish new business contacts. APCOA Parking also took part in that prestigious event showing its latest parking solutions to customers and business partners.

SCF 2019 CEE Exhibition & Conference brought together nearly 1 900 participants, including 6 000 representatives of 500 retail chains, 300 projects, and more than 80 exhibitors.

We demoed the application to our customers and business partners, showing them how to make parking a smart and hassle-free process, one in which drivers’ involvement is reduced to a minimum, making their journey more comfortable.  

In August, Poland has joined the group of 8 countries in which the free APCOA FLOW mobile application is available.

We currently have mobile applications in all of our largest markets: in the UK (since the end of 2017), Germany (since May 2018), Italy, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway (since November 2018), Sweden (since March 2019) and Austria (since July 2019), and as of August we are also available in Poland. Our applications now offer 389 thousand parking spaces in Europe; we have recorded over 300 thousand downloaded applications and 275 thousand new users. A new user is registered every 2 minutes. These are impressive numbers. We all work hard to make sure that APCOA FLOW is a great success, i.e. that all of our users are satisfied with a tailor-made product that meets their expectations and, most importantly, is efficient and user-friendly.
 
What is APCOA FLOW?

At its most basic level: APCOA FLOW is a mobile application that enables payment for parking in any car park type. APCOA FLOW brings the parking industry into the digital age. The users of each of the several hundred car parks in Poland that are managed by APCOA, after registering in the application, can use it to pay the parking fee but also to find the nearest car park and check the number of available parking spaces and amount of the parking fee. In the future, they will also be able to book parking spaces – or choose the option of guaranteed availability of a specific space. The application will also navigate car park users straight to the car park entrance. The user will also be able to use local discounts, e.g. at the shopping centre, as a loyal customer.

How does it actually work?

The entry control system recognises the car using LPR (licence plate recognition) or QR code and confirms in the cloud that the parking fee can be automatically debited from the user’s credit card. The barrier will lift automatically. Upon exit, the platform will calculate and collect the fee from the credit card and open the barrier. Everything will be done automatically, without having to pull out the smartphone.

The situation will be similar at car parks with parking meters, e.g., at shopping centres. After parking the car, the user runs the APCOA FLOW application on the phone in order to initiate the parking session and pay for the car park or find that, for instance, the first hour of parking is free, which is particularly important when parking at shopping centres.

The Polish parking industry is growing fast, which means that the potential for APCOA FLOW is very high.

People appreciate comfort and value their time. By integrating a network of several hundred conveniently-located APCOA car parks in virtually every major city in Poland with other solutions, such as the applications of shopping and entertainment centres, office buildings, sports facilities, airports, metered parking zones, public transport, railways, car sharing or urban bike, APCOA FLOW will become a platform that integrates multiple parking and mobility functions as part of the so-called smart city solutions. I am deeply convinced that APCOA FLOW will take the Polish parking market by storm and transfer it to the so-called cloud. We are already engaged in talks with potential partners who are interested in the opportunity to offer various types of smart mobility services together with us using our application.

The application is a tailor-made tool that is also suitable for the broadly defined retail industry. What are the benefits to the owners and managers of shopping centres?

APCOA FLOW opens up the possibility of operating a car park with one or more hours of parking for free, implementation of loyalty programmes, discounts on parking depending on the amount spent on shopping, dedicated parking spaces (e.g. wider spaces or spaces located directly opposite the entrance to the shopping centre from the car park) for selected customers and implementation of “shopping night” promotional campaigns combined with free parking for users of the application. APCOA FLOW can be integrated with other external applications, and it supports virtually any parking system. Other evident benefits include the savings on ticket costs and wear of car park equipment because control of access to the car park and fee collection will be done digitally.

Also this year, in August, APCOA PARKING has started to operate a new car park facility at Rzeszów Jasionka Airport. The facility offers two types of parking options: P1 – a short-term parking with 560 spaces and P2 – a long-term parking with 297 parking spaces.

Another two car parks are located next to football stadiums:

The first one is at Stadion Energa in Gdańsk and has been managed by APCOA PARKING since May 2018. The car park is divided into special zones. P1, P4, P5 – for passenger cars, and P2 – which is free of charge with parking spaces marked for the disabled (based on the EU disability card), and P5 – for buses.

The second one, operated by APCOA Parking since August 2019, is the car park located by INEA Stadium in Poznań, with 200 parking spaces available.

Also, since May 2019 APCOA PARKING has been managing Park&Ride parking facilities in Poznań in the following locations: Chwaliszewo, Droga Dębińska, Dolna Wilda I, Dolna Wilda II, Poznańska, Maratońska, Poznań Głogowska – Dworzec Zachodni. In total, the number of parking spaces available to drivers is almost 920.

http://www.rzeszowairport.pl/pl/pasazer/dojazd-i-parking/parking

http://www.arenaszczecin.pl/dla-odwiedzajacych/parking

https://stadionenerga.pl/stadion/przewodnik,a,3002

https://www.codziennypoznan.pl/artykul/2019-05-01/zmiana-operatora-parkingow-buforowych-w-poznaniu

There is no longer any doubt that today’s golden era of mobile applications has transformed the way we use our smartphones, which have become more functional than ever. It would be hard to imagine living without mobile apps:  they have become a staple of life and we use them everywhere and at all times, without giving much thought to the process. So what are the most popular apps among Poles? The answer is those that save us time and money and make our daily life easier. Or in one word: functional.

DEVELOPMENTS IN PARKING

As every driver knows only too well, finding a parking space can be quite a challenge. To make the process easier for its customers, APCOA Parking has launched a multi-purpose mobile application called APCOA Flow.

The Polish parking market is going from strength to strength, opening up a lot of untapped potential for APCOA Flow. Poles like digital innovations and appreciate apps with navigation and GPS services that make it easier for them to find not just an APCOA car park, but also restaurants, cafés or cinemas nearby. Applications such as these also allow drivers to check their current whereabouts easily and guide them to their final destination.

People are creatures of comfort and they value their time. By connecting hundreds of conveniently located APCOA car parks in practically every major Polish city with other app services – including for shopping and leisure centres, office buildings, sports facilities, airports, paid parking areas, public transport, railways, car sharing or city bikes – APCOA Flow should become a platform integrating different forms of parking and mobility in the smart city ecosystem.

For APCOA, a car park is more than a place to leave a car. The company wants to give its customers a comprehensive offering that will make parking quicker, easier and more convenient, including the availability of car wash or EV charging services or the ability for customers to make use of their loyalty discounts or enjoy a “shopping night”.

APCOA Flow will move the industry forward into the digital realm. The app’s forte is that its underlying platform allows integration with any kind of external application services (public transport,  shopping malls, etc.) and can be integrated into parking management systems from a lot of vendors.

BENEFITS FOR CUSTOMERS

Patrons at hundreds of APCOA car parks in Poland who have registered their application account will be able to find the nearest car park and check the availability of parking spaces or the prices. They will be able to book a parking space at a discount or choose a guaranteed parking option. The application will also navigate them easily on their route to the selected car park. As part of loyalty programmes, patrons will also be offered local discounts or sales promotions, e.g. in shopping malls. On entry, cars will be recognised using LPR (automatic plate recognition) or RFID technologies and the entry control system will verify whether a parking fee can be charged automatically to the customer’s credit card. The barrier will then open automatically. On exit, the platform will calculate the payment, charge it to the credit card and raise the barrier. Easily, quickly and conveniently.

TEN THOUSAND CAR PARKS ACROSS EUROPE

The same process will be used at car parks with parking meters, e.g. at shopping malls. Once they have parked their car, customers will launch their APCOA Flow smartphone app to start a parking session. When they are done parking, customers will close the session and the system will collect a proper charge based on the time spent parking or it will record time free of charge, e.g. for the first hour parked. Alternatively, the LPR system will recognise a car on entry and exit and transmit the relevant data to the APCOA Flow platform to calculate the amount to be charged against the credit card.

APCOA Flow is flexible enough to be seamlessly integrated with nearly all external applications and it can work with most parking management systems. With digitised access control and fee collection processes, the app also brings savings on ticket costs and equipment wear and tear.

APCOA Flow is currently available at 600 APCOA car parks in Germany. It has been recently rolled out in Italy and is set to be launched in Scandinavia by the end of this year, with its Polish debut planned for 2019. Most importantly, all APCOA Flow users will be able to use the service at each of more than ten thousand APCOA car parks across 13 European countries, including more than 300 locations in Poland. 

Since July of this year, APCOA Parking has been managing the two level car park under KAPONIERA roundabout in Poznań.

Customers can take advantage of 240 parking spaces. The car park features POL CHIP car park system.

The car park is maintenance – free and monitored all day.

http://www.portalsamorzadowy.pl/inwestycje/poznan-240-nowych-miejsc-parkingowych-pod-kaponiera,95654.html

http://lazarz.pl/?id=2&nr=11571

http://www.codziennypoznan.pl/artykul/2017-07-14/mozna-juz-parkowac-pod-rondem-kaponiera-na-razie-bezplatnie

http://epoznan.pl/news-news-77843-Kaponiera_mozna_juz_parkowac_na_parkingu_pod_rondem

http://www.samorzad.lex.pl/czytaj/-/artykul/poznan-z-nowym-parkingiem-pod-kaponiera-na-240-miejsc

Help is increasingly coming from the professional organisation and administration of parking and from modern technology. Maciej Zawadzki, CEO of APCOA Parking Polska talks about innovations in parking management and parking systems.

APCOA PARKING POLSKA is currently the largest company in Poland operating in the parking sector. What is behind the success of the company?

The company has been in Poland since 1998 and from the beginning it has set new standards and trends in the Polish parking management market. We manage more than 100 parking facilities throughout the country. It is also worth noting that APCOA PARKING POLSKA is part of the APCOA PARKING group. That's more than 8,700 parking projects in Europe, including 1,300,000 parking spaces managed by the APCOA group.

Where in Poland can your services be found?

Mainly in the parking area of shopping centres and office buildings, but not only. Our company also manages car parks in other facilities such as hotels, hospitals and multiplex cinemas. We also manage all car parks at the Poznan Ławica airport, where we offer more than 2,000 parking spaces for short-term and long-term parking and restricted parking in the "Kiss & Fly” area.

It is not only large facilities that use your services?

That’s right. In addition to major projects, such as managing the multi-storey car park in the Warsaw Financial Center and car parks in more than 20 shopping centres in Poland, we have experience in managing private streets and car parks. An example is Leszczyńska Street in Warsaw or the Platinum Towers car park on Grzybowska Street in Warsaw. We also manage the car parks at chain stores and supermarkets. Tesco, Carrefour, Biedronka and Netto in Poland take advantage of our experience throughout Poland. The main objective is to help solve the problem of “wild parking”. With the introduction of a professional parking system, we have more parking spaces. Drivers also appreciate the fact that despite having to pay there are always places to park.

So we can say that proper parking management should be of interest to those who own land in the most crowded places?

The needs of customers in each car park are determined by the immediate surroundings. At supermarkets, customers usually leave their cars for a few minutes, while in residential or working areas they leave them for a few hours. Parking spaces are organised by local authorities, housing associations and resident communities, often as public benefit organisations. The relevant regulations and management of parking on private roads or car parks aim to serve a wide range of users.

We focus on "parking products" that meet the individual needs of different customer groups: people parking incidentally, businesses, residents of estates with parking, visitors, customers of businesses, families, travellers, etc. Therefore, we monitor trends and conduct market research on a regular basis, so as to continually improve our products. Cutting-edge technology, optimised processes and continuous improvements help minimise costs. In this way, APCOA PARKING ensures the profitability of each car park and the full satisfaction of the owner.

It allows for control of access of subscription clients based on verification by means of a proximity card as well as on the basis of vehicle registration number.

Thanks to technically advanced configuration, the users enjoy such facilities in terms of the use of the system as for example automatic opening of the barrier after recognition of the registration number without the need to use the proximity car, possibility to pay by means of payment card in automatic pay stations (contact and proximity transactions up to PLN 50.00). The system has also been integrated with the system of control of access to the building, thanks to which:

• The subscription users may use the same access card for parking and for office space,
• The occasional users (on the basis of one-off tickets) may move within the car park and exit from the car park through the gates in the building hall by means of a one-off ticket of the parking system with a bar code.

The driveway to the car park has obtained a large illuminated information board, inter alia with information on the services available on the car park as well as on the number of available parking spots for occasional clients, guests of the lessees, etc. The new system allows also for implementation of a number of convenient products, such as e.g. parking cheques, validations, congress tickets, pre-paid tickets, etc.

From October this year, car parks at  Ławica Airport in Poznań have been equipped by APCOA PARKING in a modern and comprehensive License Plate Recognition System (LPR). Moreover, readers for scanning QR (Quick Response) codes on paper media and smartphone monitors have been installed in entry and exit devices. 

In September of this year, APCOA PARKING installed a modern and capable license plate recognition (LPR) system at the multi-level car park locate in Warsaw’s Rondo 1 building.  

Customers can take advantage of 320 parking spaces. The car park features the SKIDATA car park system, which is serviced exclusively by APCOA Parking qualified, in-house technical team.

Every driver knows the importance of a car park. Increasingly more often shopping centre, hotel and office building owners are paying a lot of attention to the choice of car park infrastructure as well as professional car park arrangements and service already at an early stage of the investment process.

A car park is more than just a space where we can leave our vehicles. It is also a management model, which, together with modern technology improves the car parking and fee collection process, which constitutes a significant item in a shopping centre's revenue structure.

Maciej Zawadzki, President of the Management Board at APCOAPARKING Polska talks about what’s new on the car park system and car park management scenes.

Today, APCOA PARKING is the biggest player on the car park market in Poland as well as Europe.What lies behind the company’s success?

Our company has been present in Europe since 1974, we operate in 12 countries and manage in excess of 8,500 car parks, including almost 400 shopping centre car parks. Our annual revenues exceed 850 million euros. APCOA PARKING has been active in Poland since 1998, setting out standards and development directions on the domestic car park management market. Currently we manage more than 70 car parks. We furnish them with state of the art hardware from renowned international producers, which, combined with the international experience of our team, ensures efficiency and a top quality service. For every car park we manage, we work out a concept for the best traffic setup, hardware and management choices, including an optimal tariff structure, taking onto account both the specifics of the given location and customer expectations. The quality and efficiency of the services we provide are the driving force behind our company's 20 - 30% annual growth recorded in recent years. 

What new locations use your services?

Amongst others, this year we signed a long term management contract for a multi level Warsaw Financial Center car park. This is one of the most prestigious office towers in downtown Warsaw, with 333 car park spaces. At the same time, we also manage car parks in other towers which comprise an ultra-modern office centre in central Warsaw, i.e. by Rondo1, Marriott Hotel, Spektrum Tower and the nearby Atrium International office buildings. This year newcomers to the portfolio of our projects also include further city car parks as well as retail locations across the entire country, at chains such as Tesco, Netto and Biedronka. In total we currently manage car parks at more than 20 retail locations in Poland.

However, APCOA is not only involved with car parks by retail and office locations?

Certainly. Our company also manages car parks by other locations such as hotels, hospitals, airports, city car parks, cinemas, sports and recreational facilities. We devise an individual strategy for each one, which also includes retail opportunities to maximise the profitability of a given car park.

What technical solutions and cutting edge technologies are we looking at across the car parks you manage?

APCOA Group experts regularly analyse the European car park systems market. Every few years we select a few manufacturers who, in our opinion, provide top quality as well as reliable and technologically advanced car park equipment. We currently use systems by Designa, Parkeon and Skidata. Our significant European purchasing power translates into sizeable discounts which, as a rule, we pass onto our customers. We use car park systems based on solutions which employ barriers as well as maintenance free parking meters. Every equipment category is dedicated to a different type of location. The current standard emerging amongst modern technologies are LED systems which indicate free parking spaces to drivers, or the possibility to pay using proximity bank cards at automatic payment machines and parking meters. We are currently working on introducing new, alternative forms of payment which will be even more convenient for drivers. An increasing number of car park owners are looking at car park system digitalisation. Then we reach for vehicle registration plate recognition systems, systems based on QR codes or advanced car park spaces reservation systems.

Thank you for the interview!

From April this year, APCOA PARKING has been operating the car park of  “Galeria Wybickiego” Shopping Centre in Kościerzyna and the car park of  “Familia” Shopping Centre in Gdańsk. 

In March this year APCOA Parking signed a ten year contract for the management of a 380 spaces, multi-storey car park at the Warsaw Financial Center office complex, one of the most prestigious high risers in the capital, located in Warsaw’s Central Business District. APCOA Parking will also operate a car wash facility at this venue. In 2016 the car park will undergo a thorough modernisation and will be equipped with a new DESIGNA car parking system. APCOA Parking has been working with major investors, landlords and public institutions across the width and breadth of the country for years. These include prestigious high risers, shopping malls, airports, hotels, municipal parks and hospitals.