Parking too cheap says government

With daily news of increasing costs for the beleaguered motorist, the last thing he needs to hear is that the government thinks that we pay too little for our parking, but that's just what John Healey, a local government minister has suggested.

Healey's theory is that increased parking fees will persuade motorists to use more public transport and hence reduce congestion.

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) supports this stance, pointing out that increased charges will make sense in some parts of the country, but crucially as part of an integrated transport policy.

Director at the ETA, Andrew Davis said: "Our own research revealed that in most cases parking is subsidised - the land used for the car parks would be worth more if it was used for something else such as office space. In other words, cars pay less than desks!"

London motorists may baulk at the idea of even higher fees than the current rate of up to £6 per hour, though elsewhere in Britain parking costs as little as 40p per hour.

Meanwhile, the UK's biggest employer of traffic wardens, Westminster Council in London, has launched a new initiative to change the image of the widely disliked warden.

Changes to the way wardens work will be implemented by the running of customer service seminars, which will encourage wardens to actually help the public out and only issue a ticket as a last resort.

Shane O' Donoghue