Councils have raised more than £1 billion in parking charges for the first time in a year
- England’s councils have broken the £1 billion barrier in parking revenue
Councils in England have raked in just over £1 billion in parking charges in a single financial year – the first time this has ever been recorded, according to the AA.
A new analysis by the motorists’ organization shows that municipalities generate the majority of their income from on-street parking.
The total figure of £1 billion is an increase on the 2022/23 financial year, when parking revenues were around £960 million.
Councils in England have collected just over £1 billion in parking charges in a single financial year
The AA looked at data released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and found that on-street parking generated a whopping £698.7 million for English councils in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Meanwhile, on-street parking has generated £340.4 million.
By comparison, in the 2022/23 financial year, English councils raised less money from parking, albeit still a significant amount.
Local Authorized Businesses raised a total of £962.3 million, with £673.1 million for on-street parking and £289.2 million for off-street parking.
Jack Cousens, head of road policy, said; ‘The cost of parking, but also the ease of payment, has an impact on consumers and they will ‘vote with their wheels’ if they find the price too expensive, or a hassle if they can only pay via an app or telephone’
Jack Cousens, head of road policy, said; ‘Councils have broken the £1 billion income barrier, showing how important the income stream is to them.
“With budgets under pressure, local authorities will use every lever available to bring cash to City Hall.
‘The cost of parking, but also the ease of payment, has an impact on consumers and they will ‘vote with their wheels’ if they find the price too expensive, or a hassle if they can only pay via an app or telephone. ‘
How municipalities earn more money from parking fees
Municipalities make more money by charging higher parking fees to people who drive larger, more polluting cars.
Bath now has ULEZ style rules where owners of diesel cars and some high-emission petrol models will have to pay more to use municipal car parks in the city centre.
The Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council introduced it to encourage a ‘shift towards cleaner and more sustainable travel in the city’.
Drivers of diesel cars are charged differently – with the cost of parking at the eighth location now more expensive
New rates for petrol, hybrid and electric models from September 8 were proposed last September and are now in effect
When it was introduced last year, 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.
Only petrol drivers and models with emissions of less than 131 g/km of CO2 saw no price increase, which is also the case for EVs.
Individual costs are automatically calculated by payment terminals when motorists enter their license plate number.
Lambeth, like other London boroughs, bases the cost of a resident’s parking permit on the CO2 emissions of vehicles.
Councils such as Hammersmith and Fulham are also adding an on-street parking charge to more polluting cars.