Parking at work charges

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 11:46
Parking at work charges - barney100
Nottingham apparently levies a charge of something like £400 per year per parking space on companies with 10 or more parking bays used by workers. They use the money raised to finance public transport, trams and cleaner buses. Birmingham is introducing a London style pollution charge in the city centre all in the name of cleaner air, the powers that be want us all on public transport.
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Fri 29 Mar 2019 11:59
Parking at work charges - Glaikit Wee Scunner {P}

I think there was a similar thread earlier in the winter. As an occasional visitor to Nottingham, I think the park and ride is superb. The trams are clean , regular and reasonably priced .The city centre air is perceptibly cleaner, with lower traffic in most places.

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 12:41
Parking at work charges - Andrew-T

I think there was a similar thread earlier in the winter.

Yes there was. But in answer to the OP, I think the 'powers that be' just want cleaner air, as that might get some brownie points. But getting everyone on public transport is not possible, without thinking any further than regular outings to a supermarket.

There is a persistent notion that somehow we can find a way for everyone to continue travelling about without using energy which causes pollution in its generation. Lots of history suggests that is rather unlikely.

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 13:31
Parking at work charges - alan1302

There is a persistent notion that somehow we can find a way for everyone to continue travelling about without using energy which causes pollution in its generation. Lots of history suggests that is rather unlikely.

More and more renewable energy and power generation is being used...can see no reason why in the future the majority if not all will come from renewables.

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 13:55
Parking at work charges - galileo

There is a persistent notion that somehow we can find a way for everyone to continue travelling about without using energy which causes pollution in its generation. Lots of history suggests that is rather unlikely.

More and more renewable energy and power generation is being used...can see no reason why in the future the majority if not all will come from renewables.

Many people seem to share your optimism.

Few are fully knowledgeable about the issues of variable and increasing demand and how to supply electrical power when the wind doesn't blow, when it is dark, when nuclear plants have been closed without replacement and tidal barrier schemes not built.

How it is proposed to power ships and aeroplanes is seldom stated - masts and sails for 500,000 ton container vessels? Unless transport of goods/food/people is drastically reduced, it seems unrealistic for all energy to be renewable.

(Hydrogen powered IC or turbine engines are dependent on a supply of Hydrogen - currently mostly from natural gas, to produce it by electrolysis needs yet more electricity, so back to how to make enough of that. Redundant diesel engine builders on a treadmill?)

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 14:28
Parking at work charges - focussed

There is a persistent notion that somehow we can find a way for everyone to continue travelling about without using energy which causes pollution in its generation. Lots of history suggests that is rather unlikely.

More and more renewable energy and power generation is being used...can see no reason why in the future the majority if not all will come from renewables.

Time and time again the fans of renewable energy place their faith in technology that either has not been invented yet or is in the pilot plant stage trying to prove that it will work.

There is no way that the UK can be powered by "renewables" either now or in the foreseeable future.

Face that fact and build some nuclear power stations asap before it's too late.

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 19:04
Parking at work charges - Vitesse6

Before building more nuclear power stations we need to find a away to dismantle the existing ones. Leaving a radioactive legacy for the next several thousand years isn't really a sensible option.

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 20:00
Parking at work charges - bathtub tom

We don't seem too worried about building on other brown field sites. A couple of them round here have thrown up serious problems.

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Fri 29 Mar 2019 21:30
Parking at work charges - RicardoB

Work Place Parking Levy - yes, Nottingham was the first, or certainly one of the first to introduce this tax on employers who had the temerity to have premises with car parking spaces that their staff can use.

The theory was to fund green transport, especially the tram. The tram is losing millions of pounds, all the same.

Some employers try to absorb the tax (for that is what it is) but others simply can't afford to so their staff have to pay.

Some employees who won't, or can't afford to pay the tax, park their cars on streets outside the city boundary, and either walk or get a bus into the city. This puts added pressure on on road parking for neighbouring council areas outside the city boundary - with knock on effect of making life difficult for people needing to park in these areas.

Some employers have had enough of the city and have moved away across the borders.

There has been some success with green buses but whether it's all been worth it, the jury is still out.

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 15:16
Parking at work charges - concrete

This is a tax of course, by any other name. The obvious way to disguise a revenue raising policy is to call it policy to save the planet. All for reducing fossil energy use and cleaner air and reducing traffic volume, but please, just for once call it a transport tax or levy. It is the usual smoke and mirrors approach when they p*** down your back and tell you its raining!

Park and ride is brilliant, we use it whenever possible. Trams, trains all excellent for a lot of journeys. But not all journeys can be fulfilled with public transport. Sometimes you just need to use the car. The decent thing would be to abolish road fund tax. If ever there was a misnomer then RFT is it. There is no road fund, never has been, so to charge for vehicle use per journey is more acceptable if the RFT is abolished. However Spreadsheet Phil or Miseryguts as we call him is just like all before him. Money first, people last.

Cheers Concrete

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 16:16
Parking at work charges - carl233

A country with pathetic public transport charging in this way does depart from logic, common sense and ethics. There is a trend though with home working. The company I work for does encourage most staff around 70 percent approx to work from home two days a week depending on the role etc. Some work from home three days a week in specific roles sitting at home or an office makes no difference to duties. It also allows recruitment of staff further from the office knowing the commute will only be for limited days in the week.

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Sun 31 Mar 2019 16:54
Parking at work charges - Galaxy

A parking at work charge really is nothing new. I was paying such a charge to my then employer some 10 years ago! They deemed the charge to be 0.6% of your annual salary. It was deducted from our monthly payment.

I'm 99.9% sure that none of this money was paid to the relevant local council. My employer stated that the money was being used to provide the parking facilities, including the running of a shuttle-bus to a local supermarket car park where they were renting additional parking space for employees vehicles who were unable to obtain an on-site parking permit.

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Mon 1 Apr 2019 00:36
Parking at work charges - Andrew-T

A country with pathetic public transport charging in this way does depart from logic, common sense and ethics.

It's no use cursing a country for having 'pathetic public transport' without asking why it is pathetic, and perhaps suggesting how it might be improved without increasing demand on taxes, which many (most) are unwilling to pay.

Public transport is poor because it is only used heavily at rush hours and becomes uneconomic at other times, partly because most passengers are travelling on bus passes. Also users probably have to wait (inconvenient) sometimes in unpleasant weather. The advantages of a car make it worth the hassle of finding and paying for parking. It's only human nature - also to grumble about public transport, which other people should use more ... :-)

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