WRWA Transform Recycling Centre with Booking System and ANPR Technology

Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) turn to technology to help manage site capacity and improve the resident experience.

WRWA welcome over 1000 residents a day to the Smugglers Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre. The Centre is for residents of Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Wandsworth, and Westminster. With such a high volume of visitors using the site, WRWA sought a solution that would enable them to control site capacity, improve visitor experience, ensure resident safety, and limit site usage to residents of the five boroughs.

To help them meet these objectives, bookinglab, who specialise in delivering public sector booking solutions, have teamed up with SNAPANPR, a leading Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology provider. The end product, a booking system that works in unison with on-site ANPR cameras to automate visitor access and eliminate queuing.

Sharon Ross, Deputy General Manager at WRWA, comments that:

The bookinglab system provides a service that enables residents to make bookings on the same day. In the short time the trial has been operating, we have received positive feedback from residents that like the convenience of not having to queue.

Importantly, residents who wish to dispose of waste using the Smugglers Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre must now schedule an appointment via the new system; the link to do so is here.

More on the booking system and its intended usage:

Built by bookinglab, using JRNI technology, WRWA’s new booking system is designed to manage the flow of visitors passing through the site and reduce traffic build-up in the local area. However, the system also enables WRWA to:

Increase site efficiency using insights from real-time data
Improve the visitor experience by minimising the time spent on site
Allow residents to make a booking on the same day as their visit

With integrated on-site ANPR technology, WRWA can also:

Crack-down on non-resident usage, saving taxpayers an estimated £100,000 a year
Deliver a more efficient service by automating the access of booked vehicles

Upon going live on March 22, the system managed over 6000 bookings in its first week.

Chad Duggan, Founder and CEO of bookinglab, adds that:

This solution is a great example of how booking technology can work alongside operational systems to deliver transformational change. We’ve extended our capabilities to automate the flow of data from bookings to on-site ANPR, providing real-time information to staff.
By tailoring the online booking process, we’ve prevented site misuse by validating whether a visitor resides within the boroughs served. Importantly, we’ve also been able to stop banned vehicles from booking online.

About bookinglab:

bookinglab make the shift to digital quick and easy. Delivering scalable, easy-to-use booking solutions that reduce operational costs, increase efficiency, and improve the user experience. Driven by their mission of using booking technology to deliver meaningful change, they develop solutions for appointments, events, green travel, and mobile workforce bookings. If you would like to learn more, click here.

Open Booking API for the sport & leisure sector to undergo testing.

Sport England and the Open Data Institute select bookinglab as one of four vendors to test and implement the Open Booking API specification.

Sport England and the Open Data Institute have teamed up to increase participation in sport by making it easy to find and book physical activities online.

As part of this process, they have developed the Open Booking API: a common technical standard that defines a single API interface for managing transactions between a booking system and front-end brokers.

The Open Booking API removes the need to laboriously write code each time an activity provider wishes to share data with a different system or data user. In essence, it removes connectivity barriers by allowing any broker or booking vendor that implements it to share information seamlessly.

What data will be shared and why?

It is proposed that activity providers share up-to-date information on activity times, prices, availability, locations, and descriptions.

In sharing this data with front-end brokers, activity providers gain exposure to millions of potential participants through different websites, apps, and communities — helping them reach more customers, grow their attendance, and help more people get active.

It is hoped that once refined — the Open Booking API will provide users with the tools they need to deliver a seamless, end-to-end journey that makes it easy for users to find, research, and book a physical activity online.

Next steps:

Following a positive first round of testing, Sport England and the Open Data Institute have enlisted bookinglab and three other vendors to help them better understand the economic impact of implementing the Open Booking API — and the technical infrastructure required to support it.

In this next round of testing, the four vendors will implement the Open Booking API on their booking systems and report back on the costs, benefits, and technical barriers encountered during this process.

Sport England and the Open Data Institute hope that this testing will unlock over 1.8 million bookable opportunities per month.

Chad Duggan, Founder and CEO of bookinglab, gives his thoughts on the project:

A subdivision of our business specialises in transport bookings, so we have seen first-hand the impact that open data can have. In minutes, users can discover and book thousands of different travel options — offering choice and convenience to users and a wealth of opportunity to providers. We are excited to work with Sport England and the Open Data Institute to help replicate this level of openness and make it more convenient to book a physical activity online.

About bookinglab:

bookinglab make the transition to digital quick and easy — delivering scalable, easy-to-use booking solutions that reduce operational costs, increase efficiency, and improve the user experience. Driven by their mission of using booking technology to deliver meaningful change, they develop solutions for appointments, events, green travel, and mobile workforce bookings. If you would like to learn more, click here.