Westminster Council now runs a Motorcycle Parking Scheme which sees users of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds pay for the use of on-street solo motorcycle parking bays. The scheme, which became permanent in 2009, requires users to pay £1.00 a day to use parking bays across Westminster (with payment only possible via automated Pay-by-Phone systems). This has quickly been dubbed the "Bike Parking Tax" by those opposed to it and opposition to the plan has been fierce. Camden seems set to follow Westminster's lead.
A non-political group ‘No To the Bike Parking Tax’, along with the support of several organisations, action groups and thousands of motorcyclists, have held various organised protest rides, lobbied councillors and submitted formal objections as well as launching a full legal challenge to try to have the decision overturned before the scheme is copied by other councils across the UK. Throughout, Westminster has upheld its decision to introduce the scheme citing an increase in demand for motorcycle parking bays and the need to ‘balance the requirements of all road users and the finite amount of kerbside space.’
So why do I find myself on the opposite side of the biking representative groups' arguments? The argument goes that bikes alleviate congestion and are greener than cars, therefore their use should be encouraged rather than penalised by, for example, parking charges. That's fine, and it's true that the majority of car journeys are still single occupancy - hence, if these solo drivers switched to two wheels, congestion would fall and journey times drop dramatically. Plus, in terms of parking, you can fit around 3-5 bikes in the space allocated for one car.
Does all of this mean that parking for bikes should be free in what is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe? And do the green credentials really stack up? There is a lot of argumentation around this - one can find studies that set out to "prove" things either way. To me, "green" is just a label - most vehicles pollute, it's simply a question of degree. Bikes are fundamentally still about burning petrol and so are not "green" like walking, cycling or mass transit (buses, trains etc) - especially where standard exhausts are replaced with Cat-less aftermarket jobbies. So is it reasonable for bikers to seek to occupy the moral high ground in this way?
To be absolutely fair to the NTBPT group and others, they have achieved a parking fee reduction from the planned £1.50 a day, which is obviously welcome. However, my concerns are more about the tactics employed by these biking groups and their inability to see the wider picture. I work in Westminster so I've seen plenty of evidence of the form this opposition takes. On many occasions, I and thousands of others have been inconvenienced by the NTBPT group, who at various times have conducted go-slows and blockades through some of the main thoroughfares of Central London (Whitehall, Park Lane, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus etc). Indeed, the group's stated aim is to cause "massive disruption, chaos, congestion and misery in Westminster". Charming....
My view is that biking organisations should concentrate on fighting the battles they can win. They can't (and won't) win this one. As bikers in London, we generally get a pretty good deal. We get free use of most bus lanes, we are not subject to the Congestion Charge and while free parking in the future might come under threat, it is still only Westminster that has adopted the policy of charging. Overall, that's not bad. The risk is that continued opposition will wind Boris up even more and the end result could be the Congestion Charge being levied on bikes and scooters and the bus lane red route exemption removed. There is more to be lost here than can be won.
There is simply no logical reason to exempt motorcycles from parking charges. A better strategy, I suggest, would be to work with Westminster Council and Transport for London, build relationships and then lobby (positively) for more parking bays and better security at the bay locations - CCTV, ground anchors etc. If the NTBPT feel the need to campaign about something, that would be my starting point. Let's get something in return for the money we pay.
Interesting thoughts and the first thing I have seen from a biker that has an opposing point of view. Would bikers be more willing to pay if the parking on offer was more secure? Undercover? Maybe a little more bespoke?
ReplyDeleteMy only knowledge of the subject is the battle I used to have in a previous life stopping motorbikes using the bicycle parking I had helped provide.
Hi Chegwin - I can see your point and I'm pretty sure it might convince a 'bystander'. However, I have followed this campaign for two years now and when you see every month new dirt being uncovered about councillors, new reasoning why the scheme had been introduced (I already heard three different reasonings, depending who at Westminster speaks) then you lose hope in people who introduced it.
ReplyDeleteLobby towards more bays and safety features? Mate, this was PROMISED at the beginning of the scheme and during two years of running this scheme we saw a handful of parking anchors (about 200 per 6000 bays if I remember correctly).
Last thing - Westminster throughout the campaign had a strong point that parking in offstreet car parks is still free for bikes. Since early this year they sold off all remaining car parks to private companies meaning they cannot decide whether parking will stay free for bikes or not.
During those two years I have witnessed such a hypocrisy on Westminster's side that I cannot see making a pact with people who lie for a living and I pay their salaries. The glove has come off.
And the ride around Trafalgar Square is ALWAYS happening at the same time.
I think although the campaign started off on the right approach in that it was lobbying and at least talking to the politicians and Westminster council officers, all that seems to have come to an end, and the NTBPT group have lost their way.
ReplyDeleteThere is still talk of going to Europe but with what? Even the latest barrister asked a small group of NTBPT supporters recently what did they want to take to Europe. They have nothing viable to go to Europe with unless those who have been working independently of the NTBPT campaign throw them a bone and pass over their research. Claims that charging bikes to park is illegal and is against some European law is laughable and there is no one supporting the NTBPT who has the skills to prepare any sort of a case to take to Europe. The NTBPT supporters and leadership chased away all the thinkers months ago.
It seems to me that all they have left is the weekly evening protests riding around and around Trafalgar Square, upsetting not only a great many of the public but also TfL. There is talk emerging from the corridors of TfL about the punishment to be dished out soon to all bikers in London. I fear we will lose more than we have achieved and that bikers will be paying the penalty for years to come. Whilst the NTBPT are still around none of the established biking groups can have dialogue with the people with power. Because of the bad feeling created against the motorcycling industry group (MCIA) by the leadership of the NTBPT we have a situation where they cannot come forward with their financial resources to take this challenge up. The NTBPT made the mistake of making things personal and now have burnt all of their bridges for any further sensible ongoing dialogue.
The much talked about spreading of the motorcycle parking charge is also over hyped. It is only viable for a few central London boroughs to even look at this. Camden was one, but insiders there say the MCS is now off the table in Camden. But the NTBPT wouldn’t know that because they have no dialogue with the people in power making these decisions.
The NTBPT have lost in the courts, twice!
It’s time for us to look at the wider picture and for other more respected motorcycling groups to take over the fight, ones that are not now so toxic that no one with any influence will even listen to them. By toxic I mean some of the revalations that are being exposed here http://nutsville.com
Frank - I have no doubt that what you say is true. Westminster has a poor reputation on a range of issues but the central point remains: there is more to be lost here than can be won.
ReplyDeleteSara - I agree that Europe is a complete non-starter. I work in an area of European law myself (not transport) and there has to be good grounds for any challenge.
Has Westminster acted contrary to the law? Not as far as I can see.
Are the proposals and costs reasonable set against the scheme's objectives? With charges set substantially lower than those for cars etc, it's difficult to argue otherwise.
Have the rights of individuals been infringed or is a particular group being unfairly disadvantaged? I don't think so.
I think any challenge at European level is doomed to failure but it might anger Boris sufficiently to consider different approaches in other areas.
Like I say: there is more to be lost here than can be won.
Chegwin, thanks for a fairly balanced write up as to what's been going on without resorting to the general shouting that the opposition seem to rely on.
ReplyDeleteYou talk about engaging with the Westminster Councillors, this has been tried over the years and has got us nowhere. They are so adept at doublespeak, changing their minds and moving the goalposts that it has proved impossible. If you look back at the old Nutsville site via the 'webarchive' or 'Google cache' you'll see the wealth of information that had been dug up before the site switched to attacking NTBPT instead of Westminster and deleted all it's old posts. (still no explaination for that just rumors)
Bus Lanes, I half expect Boris to take away the bus lanes to appease the cycle lobby at the end of the second trial, Ealing Council already did this on the quiet without consulting very widely. There is also a good chance that Ken will do the same if he gets into power next year.
On the Congestion Charge, I cannot see this happening unless all vehicles are soon to be fitted with transponders that allow them be read as they drive down a road or the cameras are turned around to face the other way. The transponders will only happen if/when they replace Road Tax with Road Charging, which is at least 10 years away if at all. Turning around the cameras to get the back of vehicles will cost millions of pounds because you cannot just turn the cameras around you will also need to move them to the other side of the road and change the position of them so that they only catch the number plates actually entering the zone. It would be political suicide to spend this much money when it would take so many years just to pay for the resetup again.
I think if Westminster had followed through with it's promises for more bays and security there could have been a case for us to stop. The only thing left to us is to protest and show any other borough that follows suit what we will do to them next.
Off Topic - On the Nutsville front, whatever you read there please note the context, as it is all coming from an ex-member that went off in strop a little while back and is now just trying to lash out in anyway he can.
Gordon - Thanks, interesting points. I'm not sure I agree on the difficulty of turning round the CC cameras but that aside, you haven't made a case as to why charging bikers a nominal amount for on street parking is so wrong and should be resisted? What is the clinching argument for bikes to remain free?
ReplyDeleteOn the "Nutsville" stuff, I had a quick trawl through the link provided by Sara and well....what can I say.... It hardly covers the biking community in glory does it? As with local and national politics, give people a little power and the arguments and factionalism are never far away....
I think the best argument for bikes to stay free is that councils are legally 'not allowed to use parking as a way to make money' and therfore have to provide a service for the charge. Car parking charges are accepted because they were accepted when WCC first introduced the parking meter (the solution in Paris when they first did it was the public just chopped the posts down).
ReplyDeleteThe argument that came from the judges in the end boiled down to 'cars pay so bike should pay too', in the future that same argument will be use on pushbikes. Now that the Boris bikes are gaining a decent foothold and starting to spread to the outer boroughs it won't be long before WCC decide that people should be using them or proper cycle storage areas (which will only allow registered users to use) which they will start charging a £1 a day to use. Local Authorities are already allowed to remove any bike chained to their street furniture anyways. the cycle lobby will complain but the argument will be that 'motorbikes pay so puchbikes should pay' and that in return for your money WCC will increase the number of spaces.
If WCC had followed through on their promises at the start of this campaign there is a pretty good chance we wouldn't be here now. I doubt very much that it'll stay at £1 for very long and it will start going up within a few years, but they cannot raise it whilst we are still going because that will encourage more people to join us.
We only protest for one hour a week now and everyone knows we are going to be doing it, and it's always the same location. The ride around that we do is instructed to happen by the police when they issue a Section 12 Notice that changes our protest into a parade/march and they send us off towards Picadilly where the tourists seem to love the spectacle and noise.
Our point to point ride outs are normally just limited to the inside lane (or other as directed) and are normally welcomed by the public. We rarely have any trouble, so much so that the police don't even bother with sending officers along and instead allowing our own outriders to 'police' the events. We have another M25 lap leaving from the Ace coming up in June which was a good run, the first one had about 1700 riders which is quite a sight when they all pull into the services 'en masse', just don't expect to get petrol quickly.
If people think that our protests are annoying just take a look at what has been happening over in France for the last year or so, they have bought Paris and the whole country to a standstill a few times now.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff Gordon - thanks for taking the time to post. I was in Normandy at the weekend and, as you do, visited a few towns during our ride - what struck me was the acceptance of bikes there. In most towns you can just ride into the centre and pretty much pick where you want to park. All gratis.
ReplyDeleteIt highlights something that we've lost in this country - i.e. all our authorities are interested in is how they can screw as much money as they can out of the populace.
But, and it's a big "but", none of this answers the essential question regarding WCC: forget what you feel about it, given that they have introduced a system of charging and charges are levied against cars, vans etc, why not bikes? If bikers are provided with exclusive parking bays, why should bikes be a special case?
In my opinon, it's cars that should be the special case, because they take up lots of room, whether parked or not.
ReplyDeleteIt was the chaos they caused with triple parking and congestion back in the 50's that resulted in parking charges being introduced (and regulation of parking).
In creating designated places for cars to park, motorcycle bays were created, which were free. Motorcycles don't choke up the roads. They don't take up huge amounts of space when parked. So I don't see why it was necessary to introduce charges.
Commenting as an 'ordinary biker' without a particular political axe to grind, my own personal experience of the bike parking charge is this. I used to work in Westminster (Covent Garden/Leics Sq area) and couldn't get a m/c parking space for love nor money. So I used to park in Camden and walk. Nothing to do with parking charges.
ReplyDeleteThen I moved my job to the City. Loads more parking bays for m/cs where I worked (Farringdon/Holborn area) than in Westminster and parking generally wasn't a problem, although the bays would get pretty full after mid-morning.
I've recently moved back to the Covent Garden area again, after the introduction of parking charges and the big and obvious change is that I can get a space whenever in the day I can haul my arse into work. That may not be the case in more popular parts of Westminster, but my experience is that the parking charge has resulted in more availability of parking spaces.
One note on the costs: I currently pay about £25 a day in petrol on my commute to London because I'm stupid enough to live closer to Calais than my place of work. So a £1.10 'tax' to park my bike is a lot less important to me than the eighteen quid or so that the government gouges me for in fuel duty and VAT.
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ReplyDelete