StarTraq celebrates 20 years of enforcement innovation in the UK.
This year we celebrated 20 years of enforcement innovation in the United Kingdom. StarTraq was formed in the late nineties, securing our first client in South Africa in 1999 to automate their speed and red-light offence processing.
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The South African business was sold in 2002 and StarTraq Limited was formed in the UK. Our first client in the UK was Thames Valley Police's Safety Camera Partnership located in Banbury, North Oxfordshire. At first, we camped out at TVP but eventually, we moved our operations to offices rented in nearby villages until we finally bought our own building in 2008.
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Over the years we have grown from strength to strength and our systems are used to process approximately 60% of all the safety camera offences in the UK.
Some of our highlights over the last 20 years include:
- Our original software written in Visual Basic 6 (StarVision for adjudication and StarDocs for document management).
- Building interfaces with all leading safety camera manufactures so that our clients could pick and choose which cameras were best suited to their needs.
- Scanning of 35mm wet film and licence plate recognition to upload fixed camera images and their associated data directly to the back office for review.
- StarFF patented technology to fast forward VHS evidence to an alleged offence and automatically extract and upload the evidence to the back office.
- In 2009, we automated the process of offering driver education as an alternative to paying a fine.
- We re-invented our software using the latest cloud-based technology and the DOME was born, first going live with GMP in 2011.
- In 2016, we introduced DOME Pay in Northern Ireland for motorists to pay their fines online.
- In 2018, we introduced StarPortal, for online evidence review, online nominations and even online admissions.
- Working with the MIB and Go Safe Wales our technology is part of a national system to tackle uninsured motorists known as Operation Tutelage.
- We have made it easier for our clients to process data from Speed Watch initiatives to send warning letters to speeding motorists in local communities.
- We enabled Police Forces to collaborate to reduce costs of Automated Enforcement. The whole of Wales and Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire police forces are great examples of this.
- Our first international client was in Fiji in 2011, we installed the entire system remotely, and much to their disappointment, we did not have to send a member of our team there!
- We now have clients in Malta, the Middle East and Australia and we can translate our software into many languages including Arabic.
- We have explored new markets and provide solution to Local Authorities with Environmental Enforcement and Highways Licensing
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We would like to thank all of the StarTraq family, past and present, for helping to grow the business in an industry where we are proud to say that we have made, and continue to make, a contribution to road safety. Most of all, we would like to thank our clients, for trusting us and helping us to innovate.
The StarTraq Team
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TfL & Brighton & Hove choose StarTraq's StarGo software.
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Transport for London (TfL) and Brighton & Hove City Council choose StarTraq's cloud-based highways licensing and permitting software, StarGo.
Earlier this year we were pleased to announce that both Transport for London (TfL) and Brighton & Hove City Council invested in StarTraqs cloud-based highways licensing and permitting software, StarGo.
The solution will enable TfL and Brighton & Hove to digitise the application
and approval of multiple licence and permit types,
such as: Bus stop suspensions and diversions, TTROs,
TCSRs, Mobile Cranes & Lane Rental Waivers for TfL
and skips, scaffolding and outdoor cafe furniture for Brighton & Hove.
The StarGo solution consists of a smartphone-enabled portal where applicants can create an account to apply for and renew licences, a comprehensive back-office to manage the application process and a smartphone enforcement app for Highways Inspectors to check the validity of licences in the field, and issue a FPN (Fixed Penalty Notice) where necessary.
Brighton and Hove went live with StarGO in September 2022. TfL went live with StarGO in November 2022.
StarGo can integrate with the DfT StreetManager system via API. StreetManager will plot the activity on a map displaying the following information from StarGo:
- Licence number from StarGo
- Activity type e.g. Skip Licence
- Start and end dates
To find out more information about our highways licensing and permits solution, StarGo, click here.
To arrange a demonstration of any of our highways licensing and permits solution, StarGo, click here.
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StarTraq hosts it's first ever StarGo User Forum.
We had the privilege of hosting our first ever StarGo User Forum on Wednesday 9th November at the Crowne Plaza, NEC, Birmingham. The event bought together multiple councils from across the UK to discuss our cloud-based highways permit and licensing software, StarGo. Attendees got to share best practises and shape the roadmap of future developments and new features in StarGo. We would like to thank everyone who attended, we are looking forward to hosting more User Forums in the future.
Find out more about StarGo here.
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StarTraq sponsor the Andy Cox Challenge.
We were delighted to support the 2022 Andy Cox Challenge, which took place between May 16-22, 2022.
Spearheaded by Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox, Head of Crime at Lincolnshire Police, more than half of UK police forces were involved in the event, which saw police officers and staff join forces to run, cycle, walk or travel by any other means across their force area.
You can still support Andy by donating on his Just Giving page.
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Read our West Yorkshire Police case study.
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75% of West Yorkshire Polices admissions and nominations are made online using StarPortal.
The West Yorkshire Casualty Prevention Partnership (WYCPP) aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the roads of West Yorkshire by improving driving standards through education and enforcement.
Until recently, the recipient of a Notice of Intended Prosecution would have to complete a paper S172 form and return it by post. WYCPP wanted to move with the times and give the accused motorist the option to submit an admission or nominate another driver online. To that end, WYCPP invested in StarTraq's StarPortal system.
Since investing in StarPortal, the majority of admissions and nominations are processed online using StarPortal in West Yorkshire. The time saved has freed up 3 full-time clerical staff to support the expansion of new road safety measures across the County.
"Offering online admissions and nominations is a real benefit to the public; just think of all those avoided trips to a post box. From an operational point of view, we have freed up a significant amount of clerical officer time which easily outweighs the additional cost of the StarPortal module." - Paul Jeffrey, Head of Department, Prosecutions and Casualty Prevention Unit
Read our full case study here.
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StarGo helps Kent County Council increase highways licensing cost recovery by 32%
Kent County Council like many other councils across the UK has the challenge of providing residents and business owners with a solution to apply for and manage their permit and licence applications. A single solution was needed to consolidate these council services. Kent County Council invested in StarGo, a cloud-based end-to-end permit and licensing solution from StarTraq. StarGo offers a single solution to digitise the application, management and payment of a permit and licence application.
"Since implementing StarGo we have been delighted with the results we have achieved so far. With all the information now in one system, managing and approving applications is easier than ever and has improved staff efficiency and revenues dramatically"
- Kent County Council Spokesperson
Read our full case study here.
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The road ahead in 2023.
It has been another fantastic year for StarTraq. 2022 has seen us achieve many milestones with both new and existing clients. 2023 promises to be another challenging year, and StarTraq are committed to developing our core software products as well as providing excellent customer support. We are looking forward to exhibiting at the best trade shows and hosting more open days for both our police and council clients. Maybe we'll see you at one of these events.
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