Many organisations in Leicester provide free car parking for their employees. Most do not provide a benefit of the same value for employees who do not drive to work (e.g., a free bus pass), so they effectively subsidise travel costs only for the car drivers[1]. The lowest-paid in any organisation are the least likely to own a car and benefit from this subsidy. One organisation I used to work for provided car parking spaces for the CEO and directors (who were of course paid the most) and everyone else had to choose another form of transport or pay for street parking. This just compounded the inequality created by free parking. And any incentive to drive has a cost for everyone in terms of air pollution and carbon emissions.
There is a way to address this issue and it was introduced in Nottingham several years ago. Local authorities can charge a workplace parking levy (WPL) so that organisations have to pay for every parking space they provide. The levy is charged to employers but most pass it on to the employees who use the car parking spaces. The money generated can then be used to fund sustainable transport initiatives that benefit everyone. In Nottingham, it goes towards their tram system[2].
Leicester City Council are now considering introducing a WPL. They are meeting employers and working with De Montfort University to gauge whether it would work in Leicester. They are hoping to launch the public consultation later this year. If it goes ahead, they would have continuous funding for transport improvement works, instead of relying on government funding schemes as they do at the moment.
The way that the government forces local authorities to bid for funding has always seemed ridiculous to me. Council officers spend enormous amounts of time preparing bids for specific funding schemes, in competition with other councils, only to be unsuccessful and have to shelve their plans on a regular basis. If the government funded local authorities properly, councillors and officers would be able to look at their area, decide what is most needed and make it happen. Instead, they are dependent on the vagaries of whatever the government feels like funding that week. This is just another way for the government to take away local control. Although the government has provided funding for various sustainable transport initiatives over the past few years (e.g., cycle lanes and electric buses), it is always piecemeal and never allows local authorities to confidently plan an ongoing strategy. The WPL could change all of that.
In a pre-consultation meeting we
had with Leicester City Council recently, they explained that they are planning
to link all revenue to work on climate change action, with three investment
priorities:
·
Rail
station transformation - to allow for increased capacity
·
Rapid
mass transit network - electric tram quality buses
·
Active
travel everywhere - expanding the walking and cycling network
These all have the potential to make it easier for people to choose sustainable transport.
In Nottingham, the WPL has also given the council an excuse to talk to employers about travel demand. These conversations have led to the adjustment of bus routes to better serve employment locations and created a scheme where employers can bulk buy bus season tickets at a discount. Along with the disincentive of paying for parking, these schemes will help to discourage people from driving to work.
Although we will want to look at
the details carefully, to make sure the proposals do not unfairly disadvantage
the lowest-paid (as the current situation does), it is clear to me that
environmental groups should support the introduction of a WPL in Leicester. We
are looking forward to the consultation.
[1]
This point was recently made by Professor Donald Shoup in an online lecture
called, ‘The High Cost of Free Parking’, hosted by Queens University Belfast.
[2] Nick
Ruxton Boyle’s article in Air Quality News has more about Nottingham’s
WPL scheme: Workplace
Parking Levy - the second coming - Air Quality News
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