Posted 7th January 2013 | 5 Comments
New protest at station car park charges
A RAIL UNION has condemned rises in station car park charges which have followed increases in train fares last week. The TSSA said some motorists are now being expected to pay an average of 18 per cent more than they did last year, and described the changes as a 'rip off'.
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said passengers were being treated as 'cash cows' by Transport for London and at least one franchised operator, who he said 'were determined to maximise profits on top of last week's latest inflation plus annual fare rise'.
The union said charges for parking have risen by an average of 18 per cent in London Underground car parks, and by an average of 8 per cent at car parks run by Chiltern Railways.
Mr Cortes said: "These firms are squeezing passengers until the pips squeak. While fares are contolled by Ministers, there is a free for all on car parking charges. Rail firms simply charge what they think they can get away with."
TSSA is calling for car park charges to be regulated in line with fares and to be taken into account by the Department for Transport's current Fares and Ticketing Review, although Transport for London fares and charges are the responsibility of the Mayor of London.
Regulated National Rail fares were increased last week by an average of 4.2 per cent, while TfL fares also rose on average by the same amount. Transport for London said its increases would help to fund an 'unprecedented investment' in the capital's transport network.
TfL commercial development director Graeme Craig added: "We have taken the decision to increase the tariffs at many of our car parks to bring them in line with local competitors, however, we have kept the changes to a minimum. Some stations will actually see a decrease or no changes to their current weekday or weekend tariffs.
"This is the first increase in charges in more than two years and our charges remain below the market rate."
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Roger Taylor, Laleham
The car parking fees at Hatton Cross are staggering .
My wife and I used this car park recently, the parking fees exceeded our joint rails fares when travelling on the underground using many stations throughout the entire day.
Duncan Jack, Pujols, France.
The railways should use many more connecting bus services as part of their route map. That allows the railways to go everywhere. I've never understood why they don't do that. Also, station car parks should be fully developed and low cost for rail users.Why do passengers have to pay so much when the land used was generally bought and paid for over a hundred years ago, when the railways were built.
Pauline Preston, London
Parking at Hatton Cross Tube Station, which was already high at £9 per day, has increased by 22.22% to £11. This is nothing short of extortion, greed and profiteering. I have voted with my feet and will not be parking there again. Who decided this level of increase and how can it possibly be justified? And who gets the money - is it Tfl or NCP?
Tony Pearce, Reading
The current charge at Reading Station is £1644 a year in advance. Would you prefer your fares to rise or for those who won't use Public Transport, Cycle or walking to pay the extra Car Park Charges. Incidentally the charges do seem to vary somewhat strangely. Tilehurst Station ( 3 miles west of Reading) parking is £863 a year where Taplow (much nearer London) is £742 a year.
Chris Reynell, Longstock, Hampshire.
In many parts of the South if you try to travel by rail after 9am - forget it. The station car parks are full, the alternatives may be too far away, locked at night and unable to sell more than one day's worth. Buses that connect with the railway are rare.
Network SouthEast had plans for larger/multi storey car parks which are still awaited. Some councils tried to provide extra buses to the station before the buses were privatised.
For occasional travellers, higher car park fees may result in spaces later in the day. Difficult one to sort out unless the railway companies and local government can work together on this.