Nimbus & the Access Card
Nimbus Disability was created in 2006 by Martin Austin. Nimbus is a Social Enterprise with several areas of focus, from Training on Disability and the Social model of Disability to Access Audits, but its main area of business is running the Access Card. The organisation is run by and for disabled people, which is a very unique and outstanding model of operation.
Martin describes ‘The Access Card’ as a card like no other; we translate your disability or impairment into symbols that highlight the barriers you face and the reasonable adjustments you might need.
He goes on to say it’s all based on your rights under the Equality Act and providers’ responsibilities to ensure that Disabled people are not put at a disadvantage in participating in such events as live music or sporting events. The card and our partners have expanded over the years to see it being used at Buckingham Palace to Alton Towers. Once you are a cardholder and your needs have been assessed based on your application, this informs providers quickly and discreetly about the support you need and may gain you access to things like concessionary ticket prices and complex reasonable adjustments without having to go into loads of personal detail.
Even more ground-breaking is the international reach of the Card, having been rolled out the other side of the world, in New Zealand. The locally operated Hapai Access Card, works in the exact same way and is led by a dedicated team in Auckland.
Accolades
In 2019, Martin was named in the New Year’s Honours list, receiving an MBE for Accessibility in the Tourism and Entertainment Sector. Martin describes the moment he found out about the award:
“There was the usual bundle of mail on my desk when I got into the office. After a little while of going through emails etc out of the corner of my eye I noticed a letter from the Cabinet Office. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the envelope.
“I had to read the letter a few times but couldn’t really take it in. Was it spam?! Eventually, it sank in and I was just… speechless!
Now in 2022 Nimbus discovered that the Access Card has received the extremely prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. Mark Briggs, Nimbus latest member of the team, working as Director of Partnerships, describes this as a true accolade to the determination of Martin and the team in getting the card to this place, and now we have the springboard to shout from the hilltops about how different and innovative thinking can be so impactful to Disabled people. The next few months are going to be very exciting as we unveil so many new projects and partners that will expand the Card and Nimbus’s reach. One of these in development is an ingenious way we will be able to use the concept of the Access Card and new digital technology to protect Disabled people’s parking. Much of the detail is still under wraps for the moment, but we are close to announcing our partnership with sector leaders in parking management and EV charging, that could be the answer to one of the most contentious issues for Disabled people, the misuse of accessible parking bays.
You can apply for the Access Card by visiting www.accesscard.org.uk. it’s £15 for 3 years and you can see all the benefits of the card on the website along with provider and access information.
Parkability
The ongoing misuse of Disabled peoples parking bays has been a topic on many news stories and governmental agendas.
To date, there is no universal way to mitigate this abuse other than on-site enforcement, and now with the introduction of ANPR car parking management, there is no on-site presence, resulting in an increased ‘allowance of abuse’, which puts Disabled people at an increased disadvantage. This misuse will only increase with the rollout of electric vehicles and their charging points, which will be instrumental in Disabled people having an equitable mobile future.
The ParkAbility partnership, Combines the Queens Award winning Access Card, cutting edge technology and accessible EV charging solutions, monitoring bay by bay vehicle interaction, validating registered Blue Badges. The one time registration is simple and easy via the Access Card, with Blue Badge kiosks in larger retail environments or by a simple phone app, that validates you in under a minute.
The Technology
The Patent Pending camera technology can monitor a number of individual bays within a car park including Disabled Parking bays and EV Charging bays. Each bay is individually cross referenced with the Nimbus Access Card database. You can register your Blue Badge and vehicles simply and easily either by the web app or buy using the onsite kiosks.
Any unregistered vehicles using the bays will automatically be issued with a parking notice charge (PNC), and or in the case of EV chargers, be unable to use to draw charge.
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- Featured in the Karten Summer 2022 Newsletter
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