Your say / Politics
‘Bold ideas to improve Bristol require bold decisions’
As the leader of the Green group on Bristol City Council, I believe that any solution that raises money to improve the city’s transport and tackles the issue of clogged roads is worthy of exploration.
We all need clean air and a healthy, safe environment to thrive in school, work and within our communities, and accessible, reliable and affordable public transport is crucial to providing this for the people of Bristol.
Councils have had to endure savage cuts to their funding from 14 years of Tory government, and there seems little prospect of any change under Labour. This makes it far more difficult for us to deliver these essential services.
is needed now More than ever
However, car parking charges are something that the council has control over and the management of parking is widely agreed to be one of the fundamentals of a robust transport strategy.
Taking action to ensure clean air, road safety and helping people who can’t or choose not to drive, means all of us to make shifts in the way we travel.
But these crucial changes aren’t going to happen of their own accord; they require creative, smart and inclusive strategies that help our city do this together.
This is why I am pleased to be supporting a motion being brought to the new transport & connectivity committee on Thursday evening that looks at implementing a workplace parking levy (WPL).
The Green group first introduced the idea to full council in 2021. Although that motion passed, the then Labour mayor decided not to go ahead with the project.
But now, the new Green-led council is bringing it back to the table, as promised in our manifesto.
But what is a workplace parking levy? It’s a charge levied at businesses that provide free parking for their employees and charge them for those spaces per year. This money is then ring-fenced to re-invest in transport projects for the city.
Councils can decide how exactly to implement a WPL, but typically a business with over a certain amount of spaces, for example 11, would be charged for the spaces above that.
This means that businesses would be able to have several free spaces which they could keep for disabled employees, or that are needed for their businesses to run.
Beyond that, free parking could not be offered as a perk of the job unless the business decides to subsidise it.
This scheme has many benefits, the top one being financial.
The WPL introduced in Nottingham in 2012 has raised around £12m a year, that’s around £83m to date, which has been reinvested in Nottingham’s transport system, including its tram network.
The second benefit is that it pressures businesses to consider their transport options for their employees.
Rather than offering free parking, often reserved for senior staff, it encourages them to offer other alternatives, such as cycle-to-work schemes, lift shares and subsidised bus passes.
If a business is over the threshold of parking spaces, they could dedicate spaces to a bike hangar, an e-scooter park or a recreational space for employees, rather than pay for it to house a single car.
Another benefit to reducing the number of cars coming into the city is of course to our overall health. Since its introduction in 2012, Nottingham has seen a 5.79 per cent reduction in average total transport emissions.
Exemptions can be put in for different situations, such as carers and NHS workers, but the overall aim is to get businesses to take their share of responsibility for changing the travel habits of their employees to ones that are greener, healthier and – in many cases – cheaper.
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Read more: How Nottingham used a parking levy to cut congestion and raise millions
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It is a right for all people to be able to travel where they need to go easily, safely and affordably, whether that is by bus, train, tram or bike, while still acknowledging that for some people – such as those with disabilities or who have jobs that require a car – private cars are necessary.
All our policies should work towards making sure that this right is recognised.
Making the most sustainable transport methods the easiest and cheapest is one way of doing that, but for that to happen we need a modal shift, financial investment and political will.
Modal shift in transport has to come from a fine balance of carrots and sticks to motivate change.
The carrots are investments in better public transport, mass transit and active travel options that are safe and easy to use.
The best sticks are the ones that raise money to invest in the carrots, which is something a WPL does.
With the feasibility case for a mass transit system for Bristol getting us closer to mass transit in this city becoming a reality, imagine what the additional investment of £12m a year would do?
And as for political will, the Green group has the will.
We know that any new charge comes with a level of pushback but bold ideas require bold decisions.
We are willing to engage with the city’s business community to help them get the most out of this for their employees.
We want to be able to look back in 20 years (perhaps when a tram system is up and running and Bristol is known for its excellent public transport) and be proud.
I hope the committee members from the other parties share in this vision and will vote this through.
This is an opinion piece by Emma Edwards, councillor for Bishopston & Ashley Down and leader of the Green group at Bristol City Council
Main photo: Martin Booth
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