'Motorcyclists have disrupted traffic by riding slowly through central London in protest at parking fees.
Since August motorcyclists and moped riders have been required to pay £1.50 a day to use West End parking bays.
Around 100 bikers rode from Golden Square around the West End as part of a campaign to have the fees withdrawn and for any fines to be refunded.
A Westminster City Council spokeswoman said the parking fee scheme would not be abolished.The No To Bike Parking Fees campaign group describes the scheme as "a dangerous piece of anti-biker legislation" that "seems totally contrary" to the city's anti-congestion initiatives.
Spokesman Warren Djanogly said: "We can create havoc if that's what we want.
"We don't cause congestion but if that's what Westminster wants us to do to prove a point, that's what we'll do."
A council spokesman said the changes were needed to meet an increased demand for motorcycle parking following the introduction of the congestion charge.
He said the number of parking spaces for motorbikes in central London increased from 4,500 to 6,400 and new security stands were installed.
On average about 16,000 motorcyclists ride into central London every day, up 40% from 10 years ago, the council spokesman added. "
So their argument seems to be that they don't cause any congestion ?
They do however run on petrol and that does ( as we are constantly told, cause climate change ) How ever, the demo was about parking fees, not the congestion charge so it looks like they are just being awkward for the sake of it in my opinion.
'Spokesman Warren Djanogly said: "We can create havoc if that's what we want.'
Nice chap.
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I don't see any need for this comment so I removed it. smokie
Edited by smokie on 15/12/2008 at 11:14
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Another bunch of freeloaders who dont want to pay their way, its disabled drivers in my area complaining that they have to pay for parking in their many dedicated bays in prime locations with their subsidised cars.
Edited by Old Navy on 15/12/2008 at 11:08
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pay £1.50 a day to use West End parking bay
I'm just trying to work out the 'rental' cost. Whatever it is, by London West end standards it's nugatory, peppercorn even. What on earth are they complaining about!
Totally free (point of use - someone, somewhere pays for this after all) parking is a privilege
we, quite rightly, reserve only for deserving diplomats & politicians(!!).
If I was a bikers' action group offical or whatever, I'd be quite careful to complain/protest about important issues - bikes are quite leniently treated as far as VED/congestion charges/parking goes at the moment; if you highlight yourself in this way, for this 'cause', maybe politicians/public opinion might look a bit closer with a more jaundiced eye.
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The best of luck fighting this one - it'll be pushbikes next. I mean, the pollution levels from those things (the noise of the wheels going round, the odd ring of a bell, drips of 3-in-1 from the chain...), not to mention injuries caused by collisions and the consequent drain on NHS resources...
Once motorbikes are priced out of the city and daily parking for pushbikes rises to 20 quid, my guess is a daily pavement tax for pedestrians.
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70.00 a square foot sound quite extortionate to me, but perhaps i'm a bit 'out in the sticks'
And that is with no services!
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On a practical note, how do you levy a charge on motorcyclists? Parking receipts could be removed from the bikes, or does each bay have a meter ?
As far as providing security stands goes, I would expect the council to charge for their use and I don't think £1.50 a day is a deal-breaker to park in Central London. Or is it ?
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Never seen congestion caused by bikes (other than from an accident) so I agree with them... just sounds like a money grabbing exercise as they must have lost some income from drivers switching to bikes and need to get it back...
Just out of interest, MrX, are there any road users you do like? ;)
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Please return and read the first post. They are not protesting about the congestion charge, they are complaing about being charged to park in a capital city. The congestion bit is a red herring.
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I don't like paying for parking my car, but I don't see why bikes should be exempt, until such time as they invent levitating parking which does not take up any tarmac space.
Of course the council could remove the bike parking bays and replace them with charging car bays, but then the bikers would moan that they have nowehere to park.
Talk about cake and eat it!
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I don't have a motorbike. I'd quite like one but not enough to do anything about it.
However, I would not be in favour of anything which might discourage others from using them in our crowded towns and cities.
Anything which encourages their use frees up more space for me and my car.
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Please return and read the first post.
I have, and if you read mine you'd see that I'm saying that they are introducing it to get money back that they are losing due to the CC encouraging bikes and not cars, I have connected the two, logically in my opinion, but thats just my view!
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Charging bikes to park will mean some riders will go back to cars & public transport, so there is likely to be an increase in congestion/ overcrowding. Riding a bike in the cold/ wet/ dark/ heat/ risky traffic is worth it as it's cheap, quick and can be exciting. Take part of the 'cheap' bit away, and there is less reason to put up with the bad stuff.
I do think, though, that the bikers making such a fuss and causing inconvenience to ordinary folks is totally counter-productive. Some people that might have been sympathetic will now consider them as a pest (evidenced by some of the less than generous comments in this thread).
For what it's worth, I ride a bike into London, but luckily my office has an underground car park. If I had to pay £1.50 a day, I would look seriously at going back to the train (that may well push the cost above public transport). I wouldn't necessarily begrudge having to pay, but it would shift the balance for me.
Cheers then,
Alex.
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' Charging bikes to park will mean some riders will go back to cars '
which they will have to pay to park, especially in London. So why would they ?
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1, if it was a decision made purely for congestion reasons, then it would be flawed wouldn't it, because as stated before the negatives of riding a bike in the winter are many, inc the dangers...so if you make it even more negative through cost, then it becomes less attractive
2, if the decision was made on revenues and the need to balance a council's books...then it makes more sense and evens up the burden between car drivers and m/c riders....
however 2, doesn't help 1, at all...which seems strange.... as up until now that's all they've been harking on about in city centres
why on earth don't the councils provide huge great areas for m/c parking, make it free and encourage MORE people to get out of their cars or free up space in the buses/trains etc
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why on earth don't the councils provide huge great areas for m/c parking make it free and encourage MORE people to get out of their cars or free up space in the buses/trains etc
I have nothing against motorbikes, and usually find bikers very nice people, except for a minority of halfwits who think that deafening people with noisy exhausts are kewl. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to encourage more use of motorbikes, even if some bikes have the appalingly bad taste to ride something other than a pink Vespa ;-)
Unfortunately, bikers do have more injuries than other road users, and I would be v reluctant to use one myself. However, since they aren't very likely to injure anyone else, I regard that as a risk which bikers are entitled to take. If you wanna risk breaking my bones, I'll object strongly, but feel free to take risks with your own bones.
Unfortunately, it occurs to me that some of the health-and-safety nannies (the sort of busybodies who find it appropriate to fine people for not wearing seatbelts), may have decided on similar ve-know-vot-is-good-for-you grounds that discouraging the use of motorbikes is a good thing. So the intentions may be precisely the reverse of what Westpig woud like :(
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I agree with Mr X - when in a strange town/city on a bike, its usually easy to park it legally and without having to pay however, it wouldn't bother me to pay to park on proportionate rate to cars. As Humph says though - where do you put the ticket. This happened to me in Shrewsbury couple of years ago - parked in a fee paying bay (full car sized) paid my dues - and kept the ticket on me. Ask the Parking Attendant that was patrolling, showed him my ticket and noted the number of my bike. Not an efficient way to go about things. The continentals are far more civilized with proper free and secure parking for bikes - bikers aren't an afterthought in this country.
However motor cycle use and congestion are linked - if every motorcyclist in London used a car it would be even more gridlocked.
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Sounded like a sensible thing you'd say - apologies.
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I have done 65,000 miles on my present motorbike, but now have a lesser commute so I cycle. Unlike the cycle, there is no greater moral rectitude in a bike than a car, so they should pay proportionate dues in terms of parking and congestion tax. Probably the best way, since the infrastructure is already there (?- can they film the rear facing licence plate?) is to introduce a considerably lower bike congestion charge and make the parking free again- then the losers would only be those who happen to have free bike parking already. You can't please all of the people all of the time.
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