News

New information points hit the right buttons

May 3, 2004

LONDON--Kiosks, or new information points, or as they are known, are hitting all the right buttons with Gateshead residents according to a story on Managing Information.com. Easy to use and free of charge, the public information kiosks are accessed through a series of touch screens, which guide you to the relevant information.

New figures show that, on average, more than 43 people accessed council information and services via the kiosks every day in April--way above the national average for similar information points in other parts of the country.

The figures also reveal kiosks may be attracting people who were previously techno-phobes. 51% of people polled via the kiosks said they had not used the council's internet site before, but were happily using the free kiosk service to access council information.

Lindsay Kirkley, Special Advisor to the Chief Executive managed the project for Gateshead Council. She said, "We are delighted with these results, which show the operational information points have been a real success. They offer residents another means of accessing the council and our services, which is one of the primary aims of our new customer service strategy, Gateshead @ Your Service. We want to improve the services we offer customers as much as possible and part of that involves improving access to them. "