Airport Parking and Road Use Charges in UK

The most expensive airport parking in Britian is at Luton Airport, according to a survey by GMB (the general trade union). An hour in the short-stay car park at Luton costs £6.50, compared with £3.90 at Heathrow, £3.70 at Gatwick, £3.20 at Birmingham, £3.40 at Glasgow and £2.80 at Stansted Airport. Luton’s short stay parking is more expensive than parking at some top London hotels!   We checked, and according to Luton Airport’s website you can save 60% on short term parking charges by booking in advance on-line.  london-luton.co.uk. 

A congestion charge has been in operation in Central London for several years, requiring motorists to pay £8 per day when their vehicle enters the congestion zone between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, excluding public holidays.  For more information visit the Transport for London website at: tfl.gov.uk.

The question of whether motorists in the UK should pay to use roads nationwide is being hotly debated but looks to be a long way off while tests are carried out and ways of implementing such a complicated scheme are worked out.  Road charging would be used to keep congestion to a minimum during busy times.  It is speculated that road charging could produce enough revenue to replace fuel tax and car tax.  (Our guess is those charges will remain firmly intact!) Charging to use roads could cut congestion and carbon emissions significantly, and deter many people from driving unless necessary. 

In Manchester congestion charges have been introduced to cut down the amount of traffic during rush hour times.  Motorists face charges of up to five pounds to enter Manchester city centre during busy times and further charges to exit each zone. The charges don’t apply at off-peak times or weekends. A similar scheme was proposed in Edinburgh but defeated. Glasgow has terrible congestion problems which it currently tackles by charging higher fees to park, thereby discouraging motorists.  It’s probably only a matter of time before road charging schemes will be in operation throughout the country. 

Here in Norwich the council’s Highway Committee plans to raise the cost of resident parking permits, with owners of large 4×4 type vehicles paying the heftiest fees. This is part of an effort to encourage motorists to switch to smaller vehicles which would be more economical and also allow for more cars to park on the streets outside houses.  Free permits would be issued to those who own cars which run on alternative fuel. The cost of parking in the centre of Norwich could also be raised to £1.60 per hour. 

Obviously something has to be done about congestion, but we hope that steps are taken to improve public transport and thereby encourage us out of our cars.  The rail system between Norwich and London is consistent in its unreliability – and it’s expensive.  Last year two of the TIA team wasted a day of their lives sitting on a train stuck halfway to London, for several hours, only to have to abandon the trip when the train returned to Norwich because of problems with overhead lines. This seems to happen an awful lot which is a shame because we have lost faith in the rail system to get us where we need to go.  Buses can take forever and are uncomfortable… which leaves us no alternative but to get back in the car.