Drivers could soon pay more to park in council car parks in the evening as a planned fee hike is back on the table. At the moment, car parks charge a flat rate of £4 to park between 6pm and midnight, but this could switch next year to an hourly fee.
Bristol City Council owns and operates several car parks in the city centre, such as at Trenchard Street and Wapping Wharf. These charge drivers an hourly fee during the day, but a flat rate in the evening regardless of the time spent there.
Bringing evening rates in line with the daytime would help bring in extra money for the cash-strapped council. But the transport committee previously heard warnings that the fee hike could affect women’s safety, music venues and shift workers trying to get home at night.
The fee hike would be introduced in April next year, after being assessed by a parking taskforce of councillors. An update was given to the strategy and resources policy committee on Monday, February 3.
Labour Councillor Tim Rippington said: “This was something that came to the transport committee back in September and was rejected by members. So it’s a bit disappointing to see it come back into the budget, after members said it was something that they don’t want to see.”
Last week, Cllr Rippington and Green Cllr Ed Plowden, chair of the transport committee, met with representatives of the night-time economy to discuss the evening parking hike. Feedback suggested the increases would hit staff working on minimum wage the hardest. Somebody parking for four hours in the evening would pay £10, more than double the current charge of £4.
Cllr Rippington added: “Effectively what this proposal is doing is doubling the amount they would have to pay for car parking charges. These people are already on very low wages.
“I hope we can find a way to mitigate the problem, especially for minimum wage staff in the night-time economy, for whom other ways of getting home, such as public transport, are almost invisible.”
The fee hike is due to come back to the transport committee at a later date, following the discussions with the night-time economy representatives, for a final approval. The committee could vote to scrap the hike, but then would have to find the money from elsewhere.
Green Cllr Heather Mack said: “There needed to be consultation with the night-time economy, before a decision was made.
“I pushed very hard for that to happen before the budget meeting, which is now happening, so the proposals could be shaped. It wasn’t flat-out rejected, it was that there needed to be some more consultation with the night-time economy.”
Last September, when the transport policy committee initially discussed the plans, a spokesman for the Bristol Association of Restaurants, Bars and Independent Establishments warned the fee hike would mean paying for parking costing more than a ticket to a gig at smaller music venues.
The spokesman said: “The increases are ridiculous and would massively impact the night-time economy. For some smaller venues, the cost of parking will now be more than getting into the gig.
“There’s a huge knock-on for staff as well, because the long-term scooters have now been removed so staff now have to either drive or get an Uber, or walk unsafely home after midnight.
“We want to object really strongly to any changes, until some proper consultation has been done. Those increases will close venues, and stop staff coming into the city centre.”
These warnings were backed up by Green and Labour councillors on the transport committee at the time, particularly due to the effect on women’s safety. They called for further consultation before the proposals progressed.
Cllr Emma Edwards, leader of the Green group, added: “We keep talking about modal shift and getting people onto public transport or cycling, but that’s not always an option in the night-time economy. I worry that this will disproportionately affect women as well.”