Help Finding Your Car

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Last year Chevrolet carried out a survey in the UK to discover what the demand might be for a device which enables motorists to find their car, once they have left in a large car park. The results showed that one in five drivers misplace their vehicles at least once a month, leading to those individuals spending an average of five hours and thirteen minutes a year looking for their car. Furthermore, one in four of these forgetful motorists have seriously contemplated reporting their vehicle stolen after searching for over an hour, before realising that they simply parked it elsewhere.

The device, which is currently being tested by Chevrolet, is known as K.I.T.T.Y (Key Innovation That Talks To You) and enables a lost car to actually call out to its owner. The gadget will resemble a tiny megaphone with a recorder attached and can be placed under the bonnet of the vehicle. Users will be provided with a small remote control which will work anywhere up to 600 feet of the apparatus. Upon pressing a button on the remote, the device will respond by emitting a pre-recorded announcement which may be personalised to whatever the owner desires.

Testing on this new technology, created by a partnership between Chevrolet and LOC8TOR, has been performed over the holiday period and the results are set to be evaluated this month to decide whether the device should be offered as an option on the company’s new vehicles. How much such an addition would cost is yet to be decided but, if the price is reasonable, K.I.T.T.Y looks set to makes drivers’ amnesia a thing of the past.

However, if you aren’t planning to buy a car which will shout at you until you find it, why not just make the task easier by parking in a well-lit, secure space. For a free quotation simply fill out an enquiry form on this website. You will be surprised to find out how cheap parking in London may be!

Charged by the Length

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

Norwich City Council has become the first local authority to assign parking charges according to the length of the resident’s vehicle.  However, the scheme has come up against much criticism as many have claimed that such a proposal discriminates not only against large cars which still manage to have low emissions but also against families.  The plan will penalise drivers who own vehicles which are more than 4.45 (14 ½) metres in length, such as the Vauxhall Vectra.  The aim of the operation, which has been implemented by Norwich Highways Agency Committee (a joint initiative between the city council and Norfolk County Council), is intended as a way to “encourage more people to drive smaller cars”.  According the Brian Morrey, the committee’s vice-chairman, “it is far more environmentally friendly and would also generate more parking space on the roads”. 

Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone is sharing in Mr Morrey’s opinion as a number of motoring organisations have asserted that the measure is meaningless, as it is not an appropriate way of discriminating between eco-friendly cars and the more harmful gas-guzzlers.  The traffic enforcement company NCP has joined these challengers by strongly contending that the plan is without merit point out that a car such as the Toyota Prius would fall into the expensive parking classification, being quite a large car, though it has very low emission.  Large electric vehicles would be another example of a clear exception, being a big car which is by no means as dangerous or harmful to the environment as many of its smaller associates.

The parking tariff of cars longer than 4.45m will almost double, increasing from the current rate of £16 to £30.  Vehicles below 3.92m, such as the Vauxhall Corsa, will continue paying the present annual parking charge, whilst the fee for those residents owning transport between 3.92m and 4.45m will rise to £22.  An RAC spokesman has purported that this new system, dividing cars into three categories of length, will “discriminate against families with children” as they are more likely to drive longer vehicles such as estate cars.

Not only will the scheme be controversial and, to many, irritating, it will also be expensive.  At a cost of £36, 000 to implement the idea, with funding coming from the EU Civitas project, it is unclear as yet whether the changes will be worthwhile.  Other councils are likely to watch with interest in order to determine whether or not they should follow suit.  Richmond, in South-West London, became the first area to place a £300 levy on gas-guzzlers and 4×4s, with Hackney acting similarly by penalising residents who own cars with large engines.

Here at 247 Parking we don’t discriminate according to your choice of vehicle so if you would like to park in a secure, well-lit environment (without having to get your ruler out!) why not fill out an enquiry form for a free quotation.  You’ll be surprised to find out how cheap parking in Central London could be!

No Long Term Parking in McDonalds

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

The  fast paced world in which we live places time constraints on almost everything we do and it seems that McDonalds is no exception to this.  In early December, Peter Fernandes parked his car outside a McDonalds’ restaurant in Salford Crescent whilst he went inside for a lunch time business meeting.  A week later, he received a £75 fine for doing so.  Baffled by the penalty, Mr Fernandes claimed “I thought they must have made a mistake” and contacted the restaurant to explain that he had been inside at the time, but they insisted that no error had been made.  It appears that three months earlier, the restaurant had introduced a one-hour rule in order to stop commuters parking at the branch, leaving no room for genuine customers to leave their cars.

            Mr Fernandes experience in Salford was by no means an isolated incident as it seems that a number of the fast-food chain’s outlets have implemented a similar policy.  Many of the drive-through branches now limit customers to a maximum of 45 minutes to finish their food before issuing them with a £125 fine.  If motorists choose to ignore this penalty the fine is likely to escalate, leading to court action and bailiffs being sent out.  The forty McDonalds’ car parks which apply such a rule employ private companies, such as Civil Enforcement, to run a system which uses plate recognition cameras to log when people arrive and leave.  It seems that a number of other companies are following the example which the fast-food restaurant has set, as an elderly company from Wiltshire found out when they were recently fined by Tesco for taking too long doing their Christmas shopping. 

Rather than paying £125 for an hour of parking why not rent your own, secure space from 247 parking.  Simply fill out an enquiry form on this website for a free quotation. You will be surprised to find out how cheap parking in London may be!

Chaos to Continue for Rail Users

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Over the last four days severe rail disruption across the United Kingdom has affected more than 250, 000 passengers and reports today suggest that such commotion looks likely to continue until Friday at the earliest.  Virgin trains have been informed that they will not have the West coast main line handed back to them until tomorrow, leading to a further 60, 000 people having their journeys disturbed.  However, even this assurance should be taken with a pinch of salt due to the string of earlier deadlines which have been missed.  Virgin’s own lack of confidence in such promises can be observed by the fact that they are keeping buses on standby to provide alternative transport, should the line not be repaired.

            The line has been blocked from London to Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool (amongst others) as a result of the late completion of engineering works at Rugby by Network Rail.  This is not the only delay effecting travellers in and out of London, however, as Liverpool Street Station, from which 60,000 commuters a day take trains to East Anglia, Essex and many of the capital’s suburbs, has been closed for much of the day due to Northwest Rail failing to complete the installation of new overhead cables.

            Though these disruptions should be resolved in a matter of days, this will not bring an end to the havoc being caused for train passengers, as the Office of Rail Regulation has announced an inquiry into the events of the last few days.  Furthermore, recent forecasts have warned those in the south east to expect heavy snow falls which, given previous occurrences of such weather, is most probably set to throw even more train services into disarray.

Train Prices Increase Again!

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

Train fares across the country are on the increase, as of the start of the New Year, forcing commuters to pay even more extortionate prices than usual in order to get to work.  South west London train prices have risen by an average of 4.8%, with companies such as South West Southern and First Capital Connect putting their prices up by 0.6% more than inflation.

The trend continues across South east London networks, with Southeastern’s average prices on regulated fares, such as season tickets and standard returns, having increased by 6.8%, whilst those on unregulated fares, such as cheap day returns, rise by an average 4.8%.  Some fares from Kent have gone up today by a staggering 14.5%, with those travelling from Hayes to London seeing the steepest rise on weekly season tickets.

George Muir, the director of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has defended the move by explaining that fare revenues help to pay for “investment that directly benefits passengers.”  However, Muir’s confidence is not shared by the large number of angry commuters who think that prices are already too high.  Such a viewpoint is supported by Norman Baker MP, the Liberal Democrat’s transport spokesman, who has condemned the “massive fare hikes and overcrowding” facing British commuters, explaining that “we already have the most expensive rail fares in Europe, with rail travellers facing further inflation-busting price rises.”

Furthermore, Baker has stated that “the cost of motoring has actually fallen” under the Labour government “while the cost of using trains has gone through the roof.”  Such assertions further emphasise the benefits of driving into London as opposed to using alternative commuter transport.