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Pay-as-you-go parking card will charge drivers for car's emissions
Ruth Bloomfield and Ellen Widdup8 Sep 2009
An Oyster card-style parking scheme is to hit the drivers of gas guzzlers in west London.
The system in Richmond will allow drivers to buy top-up cards and swipe them at ticket machines rather than using cash to pay — but will also charge for their vehicle's carbon emissions.
From 1 October, motorists will be able to register their cars online, providing its CO2 emissions, to receive a pre-pay “RichmondCard” which can be topped up and swiped at street and car park ticket machines anywhere in the borough.
Under the scheme, cars with an emission level of below 120 C02 g/km, such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, will pay 50 per cent less than a car park or street meter's basic rate, which differs across the borough.
Cars with an emissions level between 121 and 180 CO2 g/km, including the Ford Focus, will pay 25 per cent less than base rates.
But cars of more than 181 CO2 g/km, such as the Porsche Cayenne and some Ford Mondeos, will have to pay 25 per cent above standard rates.
The move could result in additional parking income of £800,000 a year for the council, and has provoked fury among residents' groups and motoring organisations.
The AA has called it a “brazen and monstrous attempt to boost revenue under the guise of being green”.
Paul Watters, the AA's head of public affairs, said officials were “giving themselves a big pat on the back for being environmentally-friendly” but “totally missed the point”.
He said: “It's ludicrous to penalise a vehicle on its emissions when the car is switched off.”
The Association of British Drivers branded the council officials behind the idea “money-grabbing”.
Roger Lawson, the group's London co-ordinator, said the council was being “unfair and unreasonable”.
But councillor David Trigg, Richmond cabinet member for parking, said the borough decided on the scheme in the wake of changes it made to its resident permit system in 2007.
Those were also aimed at penalising drivers of high-emission vehicles and have resulted in a £1.5 million annual boost to parking income. Mr Trigg denied the council was out to make money.
“It's about encouraging all road users to consider driving vehicles with low CO2 emissions,” he said, claiming 70 per cent of drivers would benefit from cheaper charges.
“The aim of our variable charging policy is to continue to encourage people to think about the car they drive,” he said.
“I truly believe that this approach is welcomed by most people and that other boroughs will follow suit.”
The cards will cost £2.50 but are free before November.
Visitors will be able to register for one to use when they visit the borough.
Those who do not register or pay with cash, will be charged the top rate regardless of what car they drive.
Reader views (43)
Kingston - congratulations you have achieved your objectives I wont be visiting and parking my car....BUT I will take my revenue elsewhere ! Sorry to all the traders.
- Visitor, South Wales, 11/09/2009 13:05
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Perhaps, you paper hats will go out and vote now.
- Baz Bazzan, London UK, 09/09/2009 03:15
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I get maybe 9-14 mpg, it's my choice to pay 2-3 times more than someone in an 'economical' car in fuel duty.
I've paid double the road tax (and done a quarter of the miles), four times the fuel tax (which is a fair go) but you bastards still want your pound of flesh.
I (and many others) pay their way driving our disgusting, gas guzzling, wonder machines so the tree hugging nutjobs can chop down the remaining rain-forests and plant bio (palm-nut) fuels in their place.
Polarisation is not the way... mediation surely.
- Des, Wickford, 09/09/2009 02:53
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Ahh well, come next May's local elections in London there will be a change of political control in Richmond and ridiculous nonsense such as this will be swiftly kicked into touch where it belongs.
- Matt, London, UK, 09/09/2009 01:40
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I HATE THIS COUNTRY !!!!!!!
- Brian, Wiltshire, 09/09/2009 01:04
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Poor old motorist clobbered again. Easy prey!!!
I wont be shopping in Richmond any more.
- Steve, Walton, Walton on Thames, 08/09/2009 21:22
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I wonder how long it will be before the British public take to the streets in protest against the blatant rip offs by the regime and the private business operators. It has gone on long enough snd people in other countries would never stand for it.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK, 08/09/2009 20:32
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I suggest that John, Herts spend tonight in an atmosphere containing 100% CO2, perhaps then he will realise that at sufficiently elevated concentrations, anything, including his beloved CO2 can pollute the atmosphere.
- Eric Pode, Croydon, UK, 08/09/2009 19:58
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You know what, life in the UK is becoming so stressful, what with all manner of crazy laws being introduced in different parts of the country it actually makes the government's comment that the wars we are fighting abroad are to preserve freedom just a tad ironic. Here in Oxford, (wait for it!), they have introduced blanket 20MPH speed limits across the city. There is not enough space here to explain why this is madness, but let's just say, it has zilch to do with saving lives, and much to do with making money out of a law that is VERY hard to adhere to due to the way current cars are designed. We are steadily being turned into drones. That is why our TV programming is being dumbed down. (I was stunned how dumb "Bang Goes The Theory" was on BBC 1 last night, nothing on Tomorrow's World.) Thick people don't question their masters. Hence Nu Labor is destroying the middle classes, the last bastion of common sense with the fiscal luxury of being able to question flawed law making. Me thinks there is a direct correlation between the banking crisis (that doesn't really effect those without bank accounts) and all this cracking down on motorists. It was engineered and no accident.
- Oflife, Oxford & London, 08/09/2009 19:33
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<i>To the uninformed, carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It cannot be classed as one, as it is a natural constituent of air! - - John, Herts </i>
John, uranium can occur naturally in water in very low amounts, but I shall presume you'd rather not have your water full of the stuff. Same thing goes for carbon dioxide - it's naturally in our air, but if you end up with a higher concentration, then that's damaging. A pollutant is something that causes contamination - and excess carbon dioxide is doing exactly that.
What are the strong scientific arguments against global warming? The scientific community is in consensus that it is happening - national academies of science from every major industrial country recognise that global warming exists, and no scientific body of national or international standing has opposed the concept of global warming since 2007, with only a few individual scientists on the fringes (often with funding links to conventional energy companies) disputing it.
- Mark Lee, Vauxhall, 08/09/2009 18:07
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This is just the start. I've seen a suggestion that the Tories are going to sell the Motorways. That will mean toll charges for using them. We are going to be squeezed. Only those with a massive mortgage having bought at the peak are going to be looked after. And they are the stupid idiots who helped caused this mess in the first place. Not forgetting Crash Gordon for encouraging debt and the other moronic MPs who let him get away with destroying the country
- Harry H, London UK, 08/09/2009 17:19
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By the family bikes...with a cart on the back for suitcases......single people use a bike as well......I dont know what the fuss is about.....otherwise use public transport...It's simple you morons.
- Themanoftruth, United Kingdom, 08/09/2009 17:15
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theres no need for 4x4s on our roads this should be all over b isles in cities.
- Cmay, biggin hill, 08/09/2009 17:11
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To the uninformed, carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It cannot be classed as one, as it is a natural constituent of air! It is also true that Global Warming, caused by Carbon Dioxide is only a theory, with strong scientific argument against it being true. If in 30 years time the world realises that Global Warming was a ridiculous idea, will Richmond Council and the government be refunding these ridiculous green taxes?
- John, Herts, 08/09/2009 15:57
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So Melvyn Windbag on Canvey Island I guess you can get by with a Smart car because you've got neither family nor mates? Some of us need a car with a bit of a footprint to get family, friends and luggage in. I suspect that my enormous 3 litre V6 (coming up to 150000 miles) actually puts out less CO2 per passenger mile than a holier than thou Prius, especially when the replacement and disposal costs of all those batteries are considererd. I'm happy to pay for the fuel I use, but weighted parking charges are yet another easy revenue raising exercise.
- Paul, London, 08/09/2009 15:22
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The reason they are introducing this in Richmond is because people will NOT switch vehicles, they will, in the typical English manner, pay up. Richmond is a wealthy area, and this is just another crack down on the high quality middle class lifestyle by a very very bitter prime minister who is revelling in it all. Nothing to do with the environment! All about thieving from hard working people.
- Oflife, London, 08/09/2009 15:20
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So,who cares and more importantly, who wants to go to Richmond anyway?
- Steve, Brentford, 08/09/2009 15:17
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Great, a tax on families. Very fair.
- Dr Whooligan,, London, 08/09/2009 14:25
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Car parking charges should be based on the amount of parking space the car occupies, not on the fuel consumption. We have fuel tax and vehicle duty to cover that. (Note - ferries DO charge for vehicles by length)
It would work fairly much the same. Most (admittedly not all) gas guzzlers are longer than most economical cars.
- Nigel, London, 08/09/2009 14:04
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"...Yes, people have a right to drive the vehicle that they want, but they do not have a right to wantonly pollute the air that I breath.
- Mark Lee, Vauxhall"
...And I have a right to live the way I choose without being continually robbed blind by bureaucratic bullies on some spurious "green" alibi who don't happen to agree with my choices.
- Kate, London, 08/09/2009 13:56
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I have a gas guzzler. I also have four kids, which means I travel with six people in the car most of the time and still manage 30mpg. If Prius has one person in it doing 60mpg, who is more polluting? Who is creating more congestion? Any other point, if the car is parked then surely the emissions are zero, ro you could keep driving to find a cheaper space?!
- Duncan, Tunbridge Wells, 08/09/2009 13:46
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I am scared that we are going towards the same style they have in Hong Kong with the Octopus cards.
There people need to swipe the card to gain access to their flat buildings and in more modern buildings the card will tell the lift which floor the resident lives..
Personally I think thats way too much technology fit into one little card. Plus the cards are being used as a payment method in most shops.
Anyone who gets their hands on it and knows how to decipher it will know where the owner lives, works, shops and travels to..
- Josh, London, 08/09/2009 13:38
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Well they must be doing something correct as Richmond is officially the second most happiest place in England
- David, London, 08/09/2009 13:31
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Nothing to do with me living in Switzerland. I do happen to run an old V12XJS on LPG & this pokes out 0% emissions. How would they cope with that?
Loads of other people do this in the UK too with range rovers & similar vehicles.
Can these expect a fair answer?
- John Clifford, luzern, Switzerland, 08/09/2009 13:20
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It did'nt take me long to guess which loony council this referred to. Nearly every story relating to increasing fees on cars comes out of Richmond. The lefties that used to ruin the likes of Lambeth and Brent in the 80s have now all moved to the suburbs on their fat salaries and a lot seem to have joined Richmond. The borough is one big traffic jam with roadworks and speed bumps everywhere. Still if your mad enough to vote libdem you deserve all you get in this day and age.
- Stuz Graz, Wimbledon, London, 08/09/2009 12:35
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So, a Toyota Pious that costs more per mile to run over its lifetime than a Land Rover, will cost less to park because some sandal-wearing hippies think that it runs on air and produces emissions of rose petals?
It's about time that the true facts about low emissions vehicles are presented to the fanatical greens so that they don't keep dreaming up policies based on false assumptions.
As for Richmond, I never liked the place anyway.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 08/09/2009 12:27
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Same old story, government bodies using 'greenwash' to squeeze more money out of us.
If I remember correctly, a few years ago the incoming Mayor of Richmond refused to give up using the Jag that went with his job as it was part of the dignity of his office.
To be true to his environmental principles, shouldn't he be ferried around in an electric milk float?
- Jools, London, 08/09/2009 12:19
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Wow-ee!! Peeps in London will soon need an Oyster-style card to BREATHE.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR, 08/09/2009 12:19
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Fantastic idea. We don't have the luxury of clean air in this city - and anything that disincentivises people from using more polluting vehicles is a great idea.
Yes, people have a right to drive the vehicle that they want, but they do not have a right to wantonly pollute the air that I breath.
Richmond is easily accessible by bus, tube and train, and I hope that this will make a few people consider these options instead.
- Mark Lee, Vauxhall, 08/09/2009 12:07
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Peter, Harrow - It does once the engine has started.
Its time to clean up London and if BOJO wont then local councils will have to until London regains a Mayor who puts health before wealth.
How about mmaking legal parking spaces that are to small for some of these oversized vehicles that often block streets that are to narrow for them to park!!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 08/09/2009 12:06
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Oh how I loathe the Borough system ! Its quite absurd that each council can think up its own very special ways to tax the motorist into oblivion.Thank the then chancellor Gordon Brown for that as it alleviates central government having to top town hall revenues on their overspends. Despite the bleatings of the anti motorist brigade and the politics of envy how else does a city run without vehicles ? Since Roman times and probably before everyone has had the right to an autonomous way of travelling and carrying out trade either on horseback, or carriage or wagon for that matter.Traffic jams are as old as time around cities and market towns, as were road accidents , and pollution of some kind.Today motorists are merely revenue generators for cowardly politicians applying stealth taxes.Those that rub their hands in glee every time some new tax is applied are just Ostriches burying their heads in the sand .And no I dont particularly like large gas guzzlers either but most of the new variety are clean in terms of emissions.
- David, london, 08/09/2009 11:59
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Variety is the spice of life they say; or has that been replaced with local council’s versions of, variety is the lice if life?
You have to hand it to Local Councils; they have screwed you all up good, with their wheelie bin regulations, today none of you even know what to do with your rubbish; and now they have moved on to even bigger parking screw up’s than ever before, and with the support and blessing of the government; nobody mentions the corruption in the House of Commons, or bent politicians and banker’s anymore.
Divide and rule; remains supreme in the UK, you can fool all the people all of the time; and they know it, even if you don’t.
- Mickinlondon, london, 08/09/2009 11:59
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So a new solution to the parking 'problem' is to....charge even more money!!! If 'gas guzzlers' are such a big problem, why don't these councils lobby the govt. to force car manufacturers to stop selling these vehicles? Or would spendaholic councils rather keep this revenue? And I wonder how much it will cost Richmond tax payers to convert all the exisiting parking meters to this new scheme?
- Bob Fourton, london, 08/09/2009 11:49
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This is what you get when the loonies are running the asylum - and they are in my borough. AGW due to CO2 is no more or less than an unproven religious dogma used to tax people for things the loonies just don't like.
- Stephen, Hampton, England, 08/09/2009 11:45
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Why not charge motorists for using the pavements while their cars are parked? Maybe people can be made to pay according to their shoe size, this of course being directly linked to their "carbon footprint"!
- Dannyp, Egham, 08/09/2009 10:35
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Fanatastic idea, can we have this introduced in Kingston, espacially so it hits the morons who sit outside my house with their engines running while waiting for a parking space.
- Dc, G London, 08/09/2009 10:32
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C.Nichol - Why is it a tax on greedy morons?? Are you really that deranged that you think a ford mondeo driver deserves to be charged more than a ford focus driver because the mondeo driver is a greedy moron? Honestly!
- Isabel, Woking, 08/09/2009 10:18
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On principle I will now go to extreme lengths to avoid parking in Richmond. I am sorry for local businesses, but unless there is some kind of reaction, then this kind of nonsense will proliferate.
- Stephen, London, 08/09/2009 09:31
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Yeah yeah! Let them bark and be outraged, but the idea is a winner! Let's hope other councils across London or everywhere in town once BoJo gets voted out.
- Marco, Notting Hill, London, 08/09/2009 09:12
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Thanks Richmond but I believe I'll take my cash to a bourough NOT controlled by loonies. Watch everyone else do the same.
Enjoy your extra helping of recession losers!
- Ethan, UK, 08/09/2009 08:56
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When are the next local elections so we can vote these money-grabbing lying bureaucrats out of office?
- Chris, Richmond, 08/09/2009 08:51
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So a parked car produces Co2. Now that's clever. I wonder how it does that with the engine switched off?
- Peter, Harrow, UK, 08/09/2009 08:31
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An excellent idea - in effect, it is a tax on greedy morons.
- C.Nichol, London, 08/09/2009 08:20
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