Trolley App

[cheshire~rose]

For those of you with a smart phone - there is now an app which alloys you to report the location of abandoned trolleys.

 

I have only installed it on my phone today but it appears you register your details when using the app for the first time then when you find an abandoned trolley you take a photo of it then allow the GPS on your phone to log it's location.

 

I cannot comment on how fast the trolleys are collected but I suspect there are certain areas of the canal where having this app on your phone would at least allow you to report it. Maybe if a few more people have a quick and easy way of reporting them when they are spotted they might get cleared.

 

I suspect we should all be reporting them to CRT when we see them? I had not thought about it before but maybe the organisation behind the app forward the reports to CRt?

[Jerra]

I saw this on a news bulletin the other day. It appears the trolleys are collected by the organisation (at least that was the impression given). That left me wondering: Is it a nation wide scheme and how do they make a profit?

[john6767]

I saw the news item, but the reviews of the app in the app store were not good, so I left it for now. Teething troubles perhaps. I presume the company gets paid by the supermarkets for the returned trolleys?

[cheshire~rose]

I saw the reports of teething troubles too but it appears that most of them are related to specific (older) phones. It would appear they are ironing out the glitches.

 

I did wonder how they would go about collecting a trolley in a canal. I know supermarkets have to pay for retrieval of abandoned trolleys (which is why many have the £1 slot in them or brakes that lock when you try to take it past a certain area) I suspect they will have a network of contractors they can pass the info onto?

 

I just asked how they would retrieve a trolley from a canal - the reply I had was "our Trolleywise team will be alerted of all reports and collect these for you within 24 hours, they are fully trained to deal with canal hazards"

 

Perhaps boat owners with an open hold or a tug deck can sign up to get paid to retrieve them

[Nightwatch]

Because I'm dim........I can't find the app. What's it called or referred to?

 

Martyn

[cheshire~rose]

Oops! It would help if I had added a link!

 

http://www.trolleywise.co.uk/

[Lockie Junior]

In our area we fish them out and take them to one of our depots and some supermarket/CRT partnership comes and collects them and returns them to supermarket, or scrappies if they are to far gone. If they go in near to the supermarket (as most do apparently) we just shove them back into the car park and let the supermarket deal with them from there.

 

Regards,

Lockie.

[billh]

 

 

Perhaps boat owners with an open hold or a tug deck can sign up to get paid to retrieve them

A local boat charity started something along these lines with one of the big supermarkets. They were paid £x per trolley recovered from the canal. For a while, they did very well financially until the supermarket management decided there couldn't possibly be that many of their trolleys getting in the canal and terminated the arrangement with vague accusations about how the trolleys were going missing in the first place . Their theories were unfounded. Since then, the number of trolleys in the cut has increased- the owners still refuse to have coin slots on them.

[Nightwatch]

Thanks for the link.

 

Martyn.

[DillyDally]

Thanks for posting this cheshire-rose, I spotted a couple on our latest trip (last one in-between bridges 3 and 3 on the Shroppie) and wondered the best way to report them... Have downloaded the app and will test out on the next sighting!!!

[madcat]

We found one dumped in our street, after deciding there was nothing we could use it for we rang the local branch of the supermarket and cut a deal to take it back in return for a reward. It meant wheeling it back to town and we came away with some bottles of red wine.

[cheshire~rose]

Thanks for posting this cheshire-rose, I spotted a couple on our latest trip (last one in-between bridges 3 and 3 on the Shroppie) and wondered the best way to report them... Have downloaded the app and will test out on the next sighting!!!

 

I saw that one on The Shroppie too - last bank holiday weekend!

 

I bet now I have the app I won't see another for months!

 

I do like the idea of cutting a deal to take them back though Madcat!

[Trolleywise]

Hi! many thanks to Cheshire for creating this thread, we spotted you on Twitter and thought we'd help with a few questions here. As you can see by my user name I represent Trolleywise and manage all e-commerce activities.

 

I'll try and reply to some of the questions listed.

 

From a commercial point of view Trolleywise has existing store contracts with major retailers and the service has been around for the last 6 years. Our fleet of 47 vehicles collected almost 500,000 trolleys from the UK last year. The Trolleywise App was created to enhance the service by giving the public the power to remove unwanted trolleys from their communities in a quick and efficient manner.

 

We're aware of some negative reviews in iTunes and Google Play and we're trying hard to address these. Most of the bad reviews were due to our server almost exploding from the traffic created by appearing on The One Show last Thursday so we're conducting load testing on the server to try and prevent this happening again.

 

Trolleywise supports the independent charity Trees for Cities who plant trees into communities that need it the most, for every trolley we collect Trees for Cities receives a donation from us. We estimate this year we will have donated enough to plant 2,000 trees.

 

If anybody has a question regarding the service I'd be happy to help!

Edited June 6, 2013 by Trolleywise

[David Mack]

Hi! many thanks to Cheshire for creating this thread, we spotted you on Twitter and thought we'd help with a few questions here. As you can see by my user name I represent Trolleywise and manage all e-commerce activities.

 

I'll try and reply to some of the questions listed.

 

From a commercial point of view Trolleywise has existing store contracts with major retailers and the service has been around for the last 6 years. Our fleet of 47 vehicles collected almost 500,000 trolleys from the UK last year. The Trolleywise App was created to enhance the service by giving the public the power to remove unwanted trolleys from their communities in a quick and efficient manner.

 

We're aware of some negative reviews in iTunes and Google Play and we're trying hard to address these. Most of the bad reviews were due to our server almost exploding from the traffic created by appearing on The One Show last Thursday so we're conducting load testing on the server to try and prevent this happening again.

 

Trolleywise supports the independent charity Trees for Cities who plant trees into communities that need it the most, for every trolley we collect Trees for Cities receives a donation from us. We estimate this year we will have donated enough to plant 2,000 trees.

 

If anybody has a question regarding the service I'd be happy to help!

 

Do I assume that you are funded through the supermarkets paying to get their trolleys back? Is CRT paying anything towards the service?

[Lockie Junior]

Me, sir!

 

After the trolleys are reported:

1. If the trolleys are actually in the cut, do your lads fish 'em out or do you only collect from CRT's yards, after CRT has fished 'em out?
2. How long would it take, if you do remove them from the cut, to remove them (roughly ish)?
3. My third question has already been asked by David Mack - Who pays: CRT, supermarkets, or both?

 

Regards,

Lockie.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Lockie Junior

[Trolleywise]

Hi David,

 

Yes, most supermarket retailers choose the service as it's much more affordable to have their trolleys retrieved rather than paying for new ones. If you count in the council fines that supermarkets also receive then you can understand that abandoned trolleys are a severe financial drain to their business.

 

We work closely with and have been endorsed by Canal & River Trust and Defra, they do not pay us for the service - I'll link to our YouTube video showing a brief interview with Jeff Whyatt from CRT

 

Me, sir!

 

After the trolleys are reported:

1. If the trolleys are actually in the cut, do your lads fish 'em out or do you only collect from CRT's yards, after CRT has fished 'em out?
2. How long would it take, if you do remove them from the cut, to remove them (roughly ish)?
3. My third question has already been asked by David Mack - Who pays: CRT, supermarkets, or both?

 

Regards,

Lockie.

 

Hi Lockie, our retrieval teams specialise in canal trolleys and have been fully trained to deal with them, as far as I'm aware we do not collect from CRT yards unless we are contacted directly by CRT.

 

Our teams do have small tugs and other equipment to retrieve the more stubbornly located ones in canals/rivers. Our aim is to retrieve all reports within 24 hours, so far the average time is around 5-6 hours.

[cheshire~rose]

How refreshing to get the information directly "from the horses mouth" so quickly after I became aware of this service and started the thread.

 

I want to find a trolley now!

[Trolleywise]

As a company we like to be 'hands on' with user experiences and feedback, so thank you Cheshire for the opportunity.

[junior]

So come on then, who's going to be the first person to find a trolley and report it!!??

[Lockie Junior]

Hi Lockie, our retrieval teams specialise in canal trolleys and have been fully trained to deal with them, as far as I'm aware we do not collect from CRT yards unless we are contacted directly by CRT.

 

Our teams do have small tugs and other equipment to retrieve the more stubbornly located ones in canals/rivers. Our aim is to retrieve all reports within 24 hours, so far the average time is around 5-6 hours.

 

I am impressed!

 

I was expecting the answers to be : No, we only collect from CRT Yards and the towpath and the removal time to be "within a week". Seems my (slight) cynicism was uncalled for, you are obviously a business committed to what you do.

 

Keep it up,

Lockie.

[DHutch]

Looks good to me!

[David Mack]

So come on then, who's going to be the first person to find a trolley and report it!!??

 

Well here's not just one but a whole stack of them:

 

 

Hopefully not still there. I took this picture 4 years ago (just across the road from Tesco in Brownhills).

[Ruth Seneviratne]

Well we are heading down the Ashton canal tomorrow and we had already found out about this app. We'll have everyone on trolley spotting duty.

 

Trolleywise expect a few photos from East Manchester tomorrow.

[billh]

Well we are heading down the Ashton canal tomorrow and we had already found out about this app. We'll have everyone on trolley spotting duty.

 

Trolleywise expect a few photos from East Manchester tomorrow.

Asda's at Portland Basin

B & Q at M60 bridge 23A, includes big builders materials trolleys

Tesco at Fairfield Top

Assorted one's down to lock 16

Asda's again between lock 7 and 8

 

Note that none of the one's you will find are £1 in slot type like at Lidl ,Aldi or Morrison's- that tells you something.

[cheshire~rose]

Well we are heading down the Ashton canal tomorrow and we had already found out about this app. We'll have everyone on trolley spotting duty.

 

Trolleywise expect a few photos from East Manchester tomorrow.

 

 

Can anyone beat Ruth with a live trolley report!

 

I should not get so excited - sorry but it is Fridaaay!