A Berkshire town has become the latest authority to move towards introducing emissions-based parking.
Reading Council could introduce a sliding scale of parking charges, which would see cars with the highest CO2 emissions pay significantly more.
Some cars, many of which will be large SUVs as they are often among the most CO2-emitting models, will end up paying more than double to park under the proposals.
The new rates would apply to both parking permits and on-street parking, but not to municipal parking garages.
If the move goes ahead, the new charges will come into effect from April, with the council meeting on January 20 to discuss the matter.
Reading is not the only council exploring new parking charging systems, which would see those driving large cars such as SUVs pay more to park in public spaces.
Reading is the latest city in Britain to introduce parking changes, which will see drivers of larger cars that pollute more pay a higher parking charge
We reported in December that Cardiff has launched a public consultation asking residents whether larger vehicles will have to pay more for permits.
It followed a similar consultation opened by Bristol in October.
Bath and many London boroughs already have ULEZ-style parking charges.
While proponents of ‘SUV tax’ parking schemes say they are ‘fair’, those opposed to the rules accuse them of being ‘anti-car measures’.
What does Reading represent?
Reading Council has said that ‘the main aim is to encourage those with the most polluting vehicles to choose other modes of transport’
Reading permit holders will be subject to the emissions-based parking changes – these are the permit zones in Reading, all of which will be affected
Reading Council is proposing that all petrol vehicles should pay at least 20 per cent more than they currently do.
On a sliding scale, diesel vehicles would then pay 25 percent more than now.
Emissions chargers will be based on the different bands that cars fall into: the lowest is the 151 to 170 g/km band, and the highest is the greater than 255 g/km band.
In its examples, the council says a Ford Focus (1.0 EcoBoost) emitting between 151 and 170g/km would pay £3.60 for an hour’s parking, an increase of 60p on the £3 it currently costs .
However, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class (G 63 AMG) would pay £6 to park for an hour, double the current cost.
A Mercedes-Benz G-Class (G 63 AMG) would pay £6 to park for an hour, double the £3 it currently costs in Reading
Electric vehicles are not included in this proposed change, but will be considered in the future.
The council also notes that future reviews should ‘consider the benefits of a combined weight and emissions scheme or a size-based charge’ – meaning that stricter size-based parking charges could be introduced, such as in Paris’s ‘Land Rover’ tax’.
The report points to Oxford and Bristol as examples to follow, both of which are currently considering similar plans.
How are the new costs calculated?
Hand in hand with the new emissions sliding scale, Reading is looking to update its ‘outdated’ payment and display machines, with the council looking to reduce the number of machines from 168 to 75, while at the same time modernizing the machines to accept card payments. and close paper tickets.
The new machines will require drivers to enter the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM), which the council can then use to link to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data on tailpipe emissions. RingGo already collects this data.
The amount someone will see and be charged is then calculated based on DVLA data.
How are the size-based parking rates of other municipalities structured?
Bristol is about to introduce ‘weight, emissions and size’ of cars, meaning vehicles such as SUVs will have to pay more to park
In September 2023, Bath introduced ULEZ-style rules, requiring owners of diesel cars and some high-emission petrol models to pay more to use council-owned car parks in the city centre.
When it was introduced, it was estimated that 66 percent of parking users would see extra parking charges – an increase of around 47 percent from £1.70 per hour to £2.50.
Many London boroughs, including Greenwich, Lambeth and Hammersmith and Fulham, have parking permits for residents based on vehicles’ CO2 emissions.
Diesel car drivers will be charged differently in Bath – with the cost of parking at the eighth location more expensive after the 2023 change
Bath’s new rates for petrol, hybrid and electric models are now in effect
Cardiff’s proposals are specifically based on size and would ‘charge SUVs more to encourage people to own smaller cars and impose new restrictions on licensing for student-only properties, and to ensure it system cannot be abused,” the council says.
Bristol’s advice is based on ‘weight, emissions and size-based pricing’.
Oxford Green Party councilors have proposed a parking system that would see drivers including…4x4s and larger, heavier cars will incur higher charges.
Why are municipalities making these changes?
In its report, Reading Council says: ‘The main aim is to encourage those with the most polluting vehicles to choose other modes of transport.’
This is “part of the drive for net zero” to “reduce the number of vehicles with higher emissions, while delivering direct benefits to air quality and health.”
Councilor John Ennis, responsible for climate strategy and transport, said: “We have seen similar programs successfully introduced by councils across the country.
‘We believe this is an effective way to help reduce the number of high-emission vehicles, while improving air quality, benefiting health and helping to achieve our ambitions to become a net zero municipality.’
Drivers have fiercely opposed Oxford City Council’s plan to charge large vehicles more for parking in the city, even as Green councilors say there isn’t enough space to park
Meanwhile, Emily Kerr, a Green Party councilor who proposed ‘size, weight and emissions based parking’ in Oxford, told MailOnline: ‘There’s no denying that bigger cars take up more space and we’ve seen that cars become hugely have grown.
‘So what you see now is that there is not enough space in parking garages. A car can physically fit into a space, but they can’t open their doors if there’s another vehicle next to it.”
However, these arguments do not always catch the attention of motorists or locals, with motorists proclaiming such changes as part of an ‘anti-car agenda’.
Responding to the Cardiff consultation, Conservative Party councilor Calum Davies said: ‘The simple truth is that Labor wants to police, tax and punish drivers, imposing a moral value on you if you dare to own a car.’
Even the policy director of leading road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, Nicholas Lyes, said some people ‘might see it (the Cardiff proposal) as a cash grab’.
Lyes noted: “We want to encourage the council to find other ways to improve road surfaces and safety infrastructure without pocketing people.”
How can I give my opinion on the parking proposals?
Reading plans to hold a public consultation before charges are laid.
Similarly, all other parking proposals had to include public consultations, with Oxford, Bristol and Bath all holding these.
Cardiff’s consultation ended on December 1, but not before a council spokesperson encouraged ‘anyone who lives, works or studies in Cardiff’ to take part ‘so their voices are heard’.
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