24 7 Parking News

Archive for August, 2008

Drivers to be hit by higher parking costs in town centres

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

In a move accused by some of being yet another ‘stealth tax’, the government wants local councils to charge motorists more to park in town centres. This move comes on top of council tax increases and soaring petrol prices, and critics claim that excessive parking charges will have a negative impact on town centres, as people will be discouraged from using the high street and thus small businesses will suffer from the reduction of passing trade. Furthermore, city centres are in competition with larger retail outlets outside the city, where parking is free.

The local government minister John Healey, who is proposing the increases, said that local councils should charge more for off-street parking, notwithstanding the fact that inflation-busting council tax rises have already hit many areas of the country. His proposal comes on the back of the government’s plans to carry out a series of trials for a national road pricing scheme, which could result in drivers paying £1.30 during peak hours.

Although council tax bills have soared in the past decade, councils raked in £12.6 billion from additional fees in 2007-8, more than double the amount in 1997-98 when Labour came to power. A large chunk of this has come from higher parking charges and from use of leisure centres.

The government’s claim that charging more for parking in town centres could help protect small shops by encouraging people to walk to their local stores has been questioned by small business groups, who claim that the opposite is in fact the case. The national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses said that the practice of local authorities using excessive parking charges as a means of raising council revenues is killing town centres.

However council leaders backed Mr Healey’s call for councils to charge more for local services. While council parking fines are determined by the government, town halls can charge what they want for car parks and on-street parking.

As motorists find themselves increasingly hard hit in all directions, including rising fuel costs, an increase in the cost of a tax disc, and increased towing, a rise in parking charges will come as a heavy blow. For those who drive into London on a regular basis, their best option would be to secure a parking contract or seasonal parking spot through private parking companies, as this will afford them both peace of mind and a fixed parking charge for the period of time they require.

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24 7 Parking carries out daily surveys of the national media to provide up-to-date news and commentary on UK transport.

Passenger misery on overcrowded trains

Friday, August 8th, 2008

Overcrowding on some of Britain’s train services is so bad that passengers are allotted proportionately less space than the EU legal minimum for poultry, sheep and cattle. A report issued by the Department of Transport reveals details of just how serious are the conditions of overcrowding faced by millions of commuters on the country’s busiest rail routes.

Among the worst of the so-called “cattle class” commuter lines are the 08.02 from Woking to Waterloo and the 07.15 from Cambridge to King’s Cross, both of which are operating at 76% above capacity, making them the most crowded trains in Britain. On the latter service, 870 passengers are being squeezed into carriages designed to carry a total of 495 people, while on the Woking train 865 passengers are forced into a space designed for 492 people.

The 08.22 from Oxford to Paddington is also seriously overcrowded, as are a number of evening services.

To make matters worse, plans to cut space on the two busiest commuter lines into London were revealed by the rail minister, Tom Harris, who admitted that passengers on these services have been allocated less space than those on other train routes. He said that seats are being removed from carriages run by South West Trains into Waterloo, which instead will have “appropriate grab rails for standing passengers to ensure that passengers can stand in relative comfort for short journeys”. This “low density seating” will leave passengers with 0.25 square metres each on South West Trains, and with 0.35 square metres on Southeastern, in comparison to 0.45 square metres elsewhere on the network. But even the latter figure is proportionately less than is legally acceptable for transporting farm animals.

Rail travel in the UK is the most expensive in Europe, and fares are expected to soar by some 10%. Passengers are already paying above-inflation increases for the cost of train travel – and yet, on the busiest routes, are often left struggling to even get on the train, let alone get a seat.

For commuters facing the misery and discomfort of two daily journeys on their feet in a packed train carriage, compounded by ever-rising fares, travelling by car may prove the better option. Besides the obvious advantages of comfort, privacy and flexibility afforded by car travel, commuters coming into London can also take advantage of contract parking, which guarantees a secure and conveniently located parking spot.