The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations and statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.
The following question has been received from Margaret Lewis:
“To ensure a modal shift away from cars to more sustainable transport, it is imperative that car drivers are given incentives as well as disincentives to switch. May we ask if the WPL will be used to pilot subsidising fares for key groups, such as school children and those on benefits? If not, why not?”
The Following question has been received from Zina Zelter:
“Do you propose to ensure that a parking space charge is higher than an annual bus ticket? And if bus prices continue to rise, will you put in a mechanism to ensure that the WPL charge rises with them?”
Minutes:
The Chair invited Nicola Royale to introduce the question to the Commission on the Workplace Parking Levy.
“Climate Action strongly feels that the cost of each parking space should be the same or slightly higher than the cost of an annual bus ticket. Currently an adult flexi bus ticket is at a cost of £620.00, considerably higher than the cost proposed for parking spaces in the Workplace Parking Levy. Do you propose that the annual parking space is higher than the annual bus ticket and if the price of bus tickets continue to rise, would there be a mechanism to ensure the Workplace Parking Levy rises with them?”
The Director for Planning and Transportation provided a response to the question. It was noted that the consultation exercises had been carried out and ended on 17 September 2021 but were grateful for further comments. Any further comments helped the development of a full business case for the Workplace Parking Levy and the related work on the Local Transport Plan. It was noted that there had not yet been a settlement on the final figure for the charge, but a figure had been suggested to stimulate the conversation.
There were different considerations, including the average annual bus ticket but also considerations related to affordability and the department were still in the process of working through this. The current challenge was to consider all the factors and see where all the information leads to in terms of a final view on the charge.
It was suggested that in terms of indexation, there would be indexation of charges and this was a current practice in Nottingham..
As a follow up to the response provided by the Director for Planning, Development and Transportation, Nicola Royale noted that if the introduction of a Workplace Parking Levy was an incentive to get people out of their cars and using sustainable forms of transport, the cost of a parking space had to be more expensive than the cost of an annual bus ticket.
In the absence of Margarette Lewis the Chair introduced the question.
“to ensure a model shift away from cars to a more sustainable forms of transport, it is imperative that car drivers are given incentives to switch. May we ask if the Workplace Parking Levy will be used to pilot subsidising fairs for key groups such as school children and those on benefits and if not, why not?”
The Director for Planning Development and Transportation provided a response to the question raised. It was noted that, the workplace Parking Levy was still in its early stages and the comments were welcomed. It was agreed that if this was going to be successful then significant investment would be required in the modal shift away from cars into public transport, walking and cycling. This would be incentivised through the WPL charge itself to employers but also the investment of the money that would be generated by the Workplace Parking Levy to invest in bus services. The WPL investments would also help improve cycling infrastructure, pedestrian routes and improvements in both the central parts of the city and also local neighbourhoods. It was absolutely the case that the service would like to incentivise modal shift but in terms of specific subsidies, these were subject to ongoing consideration.