Tracker’s ‘Park Hurts’ campaign takes to Joburg’s streets

Tracker is responding to the public outcry over the City of Johannesburg’s unpopular move to install parking meters in popular suburbs with its innovative on-site “Park Hurts” campaign kicking off in Parkhurst.

On Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May, 4th Street in Parkhurst will be witness to Tracker taking back tomorrow with people wearing sandwich boards and handing out flyers stating: “Welcome to Park Hurts. Park a street up and protect your vehicle with an invisible Car Guard from Tracker.”

The campaign is to promote Tracker SMS Car Guard as a money-saving and peace-of-mind initiative, allowing Tracker SkyTrax customers to proactively protect what’s theirs without having to fork out R8 an hour for line of sight parking. Patrons of Parkhurst’s shops and restaurants will be able to park wherever they choose, knowing Tracker is keeping an eye on their vehicle, even when they can’t.

Tracker SkyTrax customers can lock their car’s position at any time of day by SMSing the registration number to 47150 when they park their car, and sending another SMS to deactivate the service when they leave the parking spot. If their car moves during the interim, Tracker will immediately alert them. But keep in mind any instance of hi-jacking or car theft must be reported to Tracker before a recovery unit is dispatched.

First-time users of SMS Car Guard and SkyTrax customers must first activate the Car Guard function on the SkyTrax website and ensure that they register the cellular numbers that are to have access to the SMS services, including SMS Position Request and Car Guard. Tracker’s invisible Car Guard is only available for the vehicle registrations that appear on the Web login. SMS Car Guard can be activated when the ignition is turned off. Should the ignition be turned on before the function is deactivated by SMS, an SMS notification will be sent. An SMS will also be sent if any Stolen Vehicle Recovery alarm occurs, or the battery is disconnected.

The SMS Car Guard service is charged at R2 per SMS regardless of how long the car is parked and is available to Cell C, Vodacom and MTN customers at this time, ensuringTracker customers peace of mind, wherever they choose to park in South Africa. Bronwynn Tippett, Marketing Manager for Tracker says “By offering motorists an alternative to metered parking, we’re also giving them an outlet to exercise their free will and make a statement by reclaiming the city’s streets.” Tracker supports a consultive and inclusive approach to change and is proud to be helping their customers engage in this process whilst taking back their right to the freedom to park where they choose.

After kicking off in Parkhurst, the Tracker campaign will be extended to other popular Johannesburg suburbs affected by the City’s controversial new paid-parking system, where visitors will be charged R8 for an hour’s parking, such as Melville, Rosebank and Fordsburg.