Traffic congestion good news for BP
Logic Group enables BP filling stations to accept congestion charge payments
Fleet, Hampshire, September 26th 2005: Drivers travelling to London by car can now save time and gain extra Nectar points when paying their congestion charge at all BP owned and operated stores in England, in addition to all BP Connect stores. 5,000 drivers a week are already paying the £8 congestion charge through BP outlets.
To implement the scheme, BP approached The Logic Group, already responsible for implementing PoS solutions for mobile phone top-up and accepting Nectar loyalty cards. The same terminal is used to process top-ups, credit and debit cards as well as Nectar. From initial order to the system going live took just five weeks. The terminal software was modified to allow operators to enter registration numbers for congestion charging and the software is downloaded and maintained remotely, minimising support costs.
"We've worked with The Logic Group for a number of years," says Allan Abernethy, BP Retail Trading's Category Controller. "Their eTop-up implementation was a major success, so when we wanted to incorporate congestion charging, they were the logical choice to ask to develop the system. We're already seeing increased fuel and kiosk sales at many outlets as drivers choose to fill up and shop with us when they need to pay the congestion charge."
The road toll, introduced in February 2003, has been credited with reducing congestion in central London by 30% with 70,000 fewer vehicles entering the zone a day.
"This is a great example of the growth of multi-function PoS," says Logic Group Marketing Director Mark McMurtrie. "Not only is it generating extra revenue for BP, it's providing added value and convenience for their customers as well. It's also evidence of how quick and easy it is to implement complex new retail systems if you choose your technology partner wisely."
Note to Editors
About the Logic Group
The Logic Group manages information and transactions securely for large and medium sized businesses across its European home market. The company delivers unrivalled business value to its customers through the secure provision of card transaction processing and communications infrastructure services, together with delivering comprehensive management information and customer insight.
The group has won a number of major awards including the 2005 Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the central role it played in the UK roll-out of EMV Chip & PIN.
