Government report: Workers must pay to park in Bristol
Workers must be forced to pay to park in Bristol and other big cities to end the congestion nightmare, a government study has warned.
The report – which estimates the cost of delays, illness and accidents caused by traffic jams at £40 billion a year – suggested an end to free parking, to get cars off choked roads.
It said there was no such thing as "free" parking – because it has hidden costs, paid by people using public transport – describing it as "a subsidy from non-car drivers to car drivers".
And it concluded: "Restricting parking supply could have a substantial impact on traffic – if there is nowhere to park, many journeys by car could not occur."
'The Future Of Urban Transport' study felt that road tolls were a better option but pointed to an end to free parking as an alternative.
Published by Gordon Brown's 'strategy unit', it found that 76 per cent of commuters use private workplace parking, encouraging "solo car use, particularly for short journeys".
The loss of free parking would be a more powerful incentive for occasional bus users to leave the car at home regularly than would faster, cheaper bus journeys.
While admitting implementing charges "could be difficult", the study concluded: "Free parking is, in fact, a cost paid by those who do not drive. This is economically inefficient and inequitable."
A spokesman for the Department for Transport (Dft) said the study was not government policy, adding: "The introduction of congestion charging is entirely a matter for local authorities."
The study comes as a separate report, by the Commons transport committee, condemned the Government's failure to put together coherent policies outside the capital.
Committee chairman Louise Ellman said: "Integrated transport remains an elusive objective outside London.
"The Government must take some hard decision about managing demand for road use.
"If it does not, the economy, environment and public finances will suffer."
Bristol City Council is in favour of an Integrated Transport Authority, but has been voted down by the other three local authorities in the region.
2 Comments
by Bob de Bilde, Bristol
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 3:27PM
“What a complete load of drivel.
The primary cause of congestion in Bristol is the total inability of the Government and local councils to provide a decent, reliable and affordable public transport system.
If the alternative to the car is expensive and takes twice as long as a car journey (even with the congestion) then people are still going to use their cars.
This kind of nonsense has been dreamt up by Gordon Brown because the Labour Government has failed abjectly to improve Bristol¿s public transport in the 13 years they¿ve been in power. In fact, it¿s got worse due to service cuts and fare rises.
Now that the money¿s ran out they¿re flailing around trying to find a low-cost ¿solution¿ to congestion.
The gibberish that free parking represents ¿subsidies from non-car drivers to drivers¿ is absolute tosh. So how about child benefit ¿ isn¿t that a subsidy from the childless to parents?
How about subsidies paid to public transport operators ¿ isn¿t that a subsidy to bus users from car drivers, cyclists and walkers?
Or how about the recent scrappage scheme ¿ wasn¿t that a direct subsidy to car drivers? Isn¿t it a bit rich to promote one subsidy to car drivers one day and then criticise another subsidy to car drivers the next day. Breathtaking hypocrisy.
Everybody gets subsidies of one kind or another from everybody else ¿ that¿s the nature of society.
As Big Poppa said ¿ this is just another rubbish idea that will wallop the low-paid whilst doing nothing to improve public transport.
Yet another hopeless idea from a morally and intellectually bankrupt Government.”
by Big Poppa, St George
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 12:53PM
“What a load of cobblers, how can making it impossible for people to travel to work by car be a benefit?
Could it be a ploy to drive low income workers of our roads during peak travel times.
I can't wait for election day, to vote these fools out of office once and for all.”