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Car park changes should benefit drivers and save money
31/08/2022
Changes will see faster credit card payment machines and more pay-on-exit schemes
After five years Cherwell District Council is set to stop using APCOA to manage its car parks in the district. A new deal is likely to be agreed which will see Oxfordshire County Council take over.
The move is likely to save around £100,000 each year.
The County Council took over enforcement of on-street parking from Thames Valley Police in November last year. The same team will now cover the council’s car parks.
The new deal will see faster credit card payments at payment machines and more car parks changing to pay on exit operation, whereby drivers pay when they leave, removing the need to guess how long a stay you need to pay for. Two council car parks are already pay on exit. Work on the new Cherwell Drive car park (which is currently a coach park) is about to begin and this will also operate on a pay on exit basis.
Cherwell’s current contract with APCOA is worth around £450,000 a year. The predicted annual spend under the new deal with the county council is under £350,000 annually.
Councillor Dan Sames, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “Drivers have benefitted from a number of improvements during the course of our existing contract with APCOA. These include the introduction of pay on exit at two car parks, the addition of electric vehicle chargers at five of them, and this autumn, LED lighting will follow.
“Our commitment under a new arrangement with Oxfordshire County Council will be to speed up payment machines and increase pay on exit, which I know is popular with drivers. We will retain cash payments so that users have a choice of how to pay.
“Since it was introduced nearly a year ago, the arrangement for enforcement of on-street parking we have with the county council seems to have been a success.
“It makes sense that enforcement in our car parks should be carried out by the same team, and this will cost the taxpayer less money too. At the same time, we at Cherwell will retain a large degree of control over our car parks, setting the overall enforcement strategy and monitoring their performance.”
Cherwell’s current contract with APCOA will expire in November. The new arrangements are set to be agreed at a meeting of the Council’s Executive next week.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam
Claire Rogers On 31/08/2022 at 11:19 am
I totally agree, but this should be brought into hospitals as well.
John Healey On 31/08/2022 at 11:25 am
I completely agree with Claire, as a regular hospital patient and visits numerous times
Hayden Hayden On 31/08/2022 at 11:28 am
There should be no parking “tax” at hospitals.
Edward Horton On 31/08/2022 at 1:51 pm
I don’t care who manages them. It’s still £5 a day or £100 a month if you work in town and pay to park.
What do they actually do to manage a pay-on-exit car park. They can’t check windscreens for tickets because there’s nothing to display. And you can’t get out without paying so what costs £350,000 a year.
The only issues could be problems with ticket machines or barriers and a man in a van with a prominently displayed contact number could sort those out.
PS: Does anyone use the electric vehicle chargers? I park in Windsor Street and I’ve never seen anything plugged in.
john morgan On 31/08/2022 at 3:58 pm
how does this work with disabled drivers who currently get free parking on council sites