A recent AA survey has revealed what drivers really think of parking charges
After the results of a recent AA study, high streets minister Marcus Jones’ call for free parking in small towns may have to be extended to bigger ones.
For most people, the cost of parking will often determine where they visit, so with Brighton charging £5-25 to park for six hours at the seaside, compared to £3-7 to park along the Eastbourne promenade, or £5-8 at Southend-on-Sea and £0-6 along the front at Clacton-on-Sea, the cost of parking could decide whether or not visitors return.
The recent AA-Populus survey, taken between 28 April and 6 May this year, has revealed that ‘disillusion and deep-rooted scepticism’ about what determines parking charges leaves 89 per cent of the 18,688 drivers questioned believing that parking charges are used to benefit council income and operator company profits, as opposed to simply providing a service.
This supports the view of the 67 per cent of AA members that think councils and companies that run parking often treat drivers badly.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly one in three AA members agree that there aren’t enough parking spaces available and there isn’t enough work being done to improve provision.
The study also revealed that a huge 86 per cent of the drivers surveyed said that parking spaces are often too small to accommodate the size of modern cars. But this disillusionment and lack of trust has tainted driver perception of council attempts to make car park charge payments more flexible, such as paying by phone.
When the survey asked drivers how readily they would take to paying for parking using their mobile phones, over half of the respondents said that they had no interest.
A tiny seven per cent of drivers said they would be interested in paying by phone, but are put off by the number of different schemes, areas and operators available, and 18 per cent of the people surveyed said that they haven’t even come across pay by phone parking.
Of the survey results, AA president, Edmund King, said: “The minister’s recent intervention chimes well with the overwhelming opinion of AA members and other drivers. He just needs to extend those sentiments to council-run parking in bigger towns.
“For the majority of drivers, the concept of councils elected by the people to serve the people does not appear to apply to car parking. The deep-rooted suspicion is that parking charges and penalties serve only one purpose – propping up council coffers,” King continued.
When the AA was asked whether the government should take further steps to make sure parking supports local shops and high streets, it responded by claiming that one of the problems with parking is the inconsistency of pricing and provision amongst different local authorities.
King added: “In its response to the Department for Communities and Local Government‘s call for evidence on parking reform, the AA highlighted a major advantage of council parking – it is regulated, unlike private parking.”
