Forum Topic

Parking Charges

While I welcome the decision to bring in cashless parking across the borough, I'm a bit annoyed that LBH have decided to use it to smuggle in a price hike.They say you'll "generally" pay the parking charge, plus 20p "convenience fee", plus 10p for the confirmation text, plus 10p for the (optional) text telling you the time's about to run out. That's 40p extra for someone who might only want to park for 20mins. Other councils- Westminster's a good example- just charge you for the parking, with everything else, including the texts, being free.Wouldn't it have been better just to be upfront and say "we're increasing the cost of parking by at least 20p"?

Mark Gormley ● 3277d7 Comments

Having just had a look at the full document, it appears that the new system will only let you buy parking in half hour increments- as opposed to 3 minutes. So if you want to park for 40 mins, you'll have to pay for the full hour. That's what Hammersmith do, and it's one of the most annoying things on the planet.

Mark Gormley ● 3266d

My issue is that the charge isn't levied by RingGo, but by what they describe as the "Parking operator"- which I presume to be either the Council or Serco. Other councils don't impose it. Which means we're being ripped off- by quite a high percentage if you only want to park for, say, 20 minutes. It's fine when there's free parking for half an hour, but that's only in a few places. If councillors were told something different, then perhaps they could ask a few questions.

Mark Gormley ● 3267d

How on earth can Hounslow lose money on parking? What about the times people purchase a ticket and don't use all the allotted time? This frees a space up to be paid for again. I can see the point on the machines being vulnerable, that has been the case for years, looks like another officer decision that a numpty councillor has just signed off.

Vanessa Smith ● 3268d

MarkI too find the Ring Go charges excessive.I've found the relevant Single Member Decision signed by Cllr Sampson - see. http://democraticservices.hounslow.gov.uk/documents/s127572/Parking%20Fees%20and%20Charges.pdfI'm unclear whether the charges you mention were in existence prior to this approved increase in parking charges. This no mention of any change in this SMDJohn

John Todd ● 3268d

Um, no. Open and honest would be to announce what the charge to park actually is. Westminster council seem to manage quite happily. Ealing just charge you 10p for the text. Hounslow describe it as a "convenience charge". But it's not being imposed for my convenience, but theirs, as does wonders to cut costs. By rights, they should be charging me 40p less to park every session.

Mark Gormley ● 3268d

The two Conservatives on the parking charges working party (Cllr Gerald McGregor and I) argued for the charges to be included in the fee. Most people are not interested in the fact that admin charges have to be paid - only in what it costs to park. However, you could easily argue that by disclosing the fees charged by the service provider that the council is being open and honest.

Cllr Sam Hearn ● 3268d

When has this administration ever been honest and upfront about their hidden taxes?They treat us like mugs

Paul Fisher ● 3276d