Great Western Coffee Shop

From thisiscornwall (http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/homepagenews/Yellow-line-threat-car-chaos-continues/article-1243586-detail/article.html):

Good to see the good old stock words 'commuters' and 'chaos' even find their way into articles in deepest darkest Cornwall. Only 'misery' is missing. Here's hoping that the 'crisis' meeting resolves this 'severe' and 'controversial' situation before 'safety' is compromised, 'last resorts' measures have to be introduced, and desperate journalists run out of hi-impact OTT phrases... ::)

Hi

Or alternatively those doom breeding journalists should perhaps look at it from the angle of :-

"Motorist's squeeze into the smallest parking spaces and congest town, after FGW asked them to pay for the priviledge of parking on their land, and taking away valid parking spaces for those travelling on their services"

I would doubt very much that a ^2 per day charge for parking at the station on top of the fare would be any deterrent to the genuine travelling FGW customer.

Perhaps the journalists should start doing true investagative work, and ask those clogging up the streets, where they used to park previously and why their habits have suddenly changed.

I wish it was ^2 to park at Totnes/Newton Abbot/Paignton!

The last time I parked at Reading Station, I was charged almost ^10 for the day. However, in comparison, I was very suprised to find that it was free, to park at Hungerford Station, the other day.  Both FGW Stations.

All station car parks should be free for rail users. We pay enough in fares.

I don't suppose they made huge efforts to improve cycle lanes and parking around the station prior to the charges coming in.

Genius. After all, you'd never get people buying very cheap tickets for footlingly short journeys with no intention of travelling in order to park for very little money in prime city centre locations, would you?

I doubt people would think of that.

Besides - with the current situation, non rail users can still pay and use the car parks!

It wasn't that long ago that I discovered you could park for ^0.20p less in the car park at the back of Chippenham station compared to the one at the front, and with less of a distance to walk to the trains as well (unless you need to visit the ticket office). Still costs ^4.50 a day though.

The Car park at Melksham Parkway meanwhile remains free! Wahoo!

Another "out of this world" statement me thinks ;)

I think they should be more fairly priced, i.e not ^8 to park at East Mids Parkway for the day (!!!). If they were free, integrated transport would go out of the window.

Er.......would chargin not actually require trains for people to use other wise there is no point

Yes. I was being mildly sarcastic. Sorry.

I got it and thought it was rather good but then again I do have a dry sense of humour.




Edit note:  At this point, a series of rather amusing posts were made, which I think deserve their own topic, without being lost within the mainstream debate here. I therefore moved those posts to a new topic, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=5165.0 Chris  ;)

There should be discounted parking available for travellers. I'm not suggesting free, although it would be a good gesture, Simply issue these car parking tickets when booking, which could be left in the car for the duration of the journey, say at ^1.50 per day or part of a day or ^7 per week.

Non travellers or those not pre-booking should continue to pay similar rates to those currently charged if not higher.

I don't like the way that station car parks are treated as not just for rail users.


In my opinion, if Rail Cornwall's idea was taken up, I would expect the "non travellers' " rate to be sky high to stop shoppers clogging up spaces.

But there should be several free 20 mins max spaces, to allow people to see off/ collect and use the ticket office.

But then there is the WOS loophole!

If you park in a 20 minute space - you dont get a ticket

Ever

Not once in two years! (sorry flamingo - another I know its wrong but,,,,,,,,,,)

Permit to park machines, time and date stamped would resolve that issue, or simply get the normal parking machine to issue tickets valid for 30 mins FOC.

"I know it's wrong but....." is no excuse. Try using that defence in court and see how far you get ;)

Fraud is fraud :)

I would not

if I ever got a ticket id just pay it

never have

Society dictates that we have rules, and the expectation is that these rules are obeyed. Bending (or breaking) them just creates animosity, or a belief that if one person can get away with it, we all can.

And we all know where we'd be without rules, don't we? (Any Al Murray fans - please feel free to add the appropriate rejoinder.....)

France! ;D

And if we had too many rules, where would we be...?

Mussolini's Italy?  ;D

Germany  ;D

And if we had rules dictating that all Cotswold village stations should be axed?

Yes - Worcester! ;D :P

You doubt it, do you? Well we Brits love a bargain - and love something free even better, so of course they won't pay ^2 if they don't have to.

After Thames Trains started to charge at Moreton-in-Marsh, lots of people just started to park their cars in parts of the High Street and a couple of other roads near to the station, where there are no time restrictions, a situation which persists to this day because the town and county councils seem unable to ever agree on a policy on waiting limits covering the various bits of the roads they are each responsible for. Great for the commuters, not so great for the shoppers and tourists the town depends on for a living who can't find a space.

In Charlbury post-introduction of charging, lots of extra yellow lines were painted along the roads around the station because people just started to park in them all day, rather than cough up a pound or two.

Same problem happens around Bicester North station and has done for years, despite an ever-expanding, now part double-deck car park. There's no need to ask the drivers - you just ask the people who live in the streets affected - as the papers I work for did when the Bicester issue first blew up. They were pretty well placed to spot an influx of cars in the early morning, which all disappeared again by the early evening.

The reason Reading costs a tenner and Oxford station car park is Ring Go-only is because some people worked out that the railways were providing the cheapest all-day parking in town - it took a while longer for the railways to work it out.

Ho, ho, very satirical btline, but if they were shut, then you would be enjoying a journey via Stroud - if you were lucky - remember, we pay the bills, not people from Worcester.

Come back Dr Beeching, all is forgiven ;D

There's an item on the Cornwall Council (http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=20403) news pages about the Liskeard parking situation.

It is possible to get parking at Liskeard station for ^1.70 a day by using the Ringgo system, which is better than ^2 a day but I agree ^1.50 a day, ^7.50 a week, would be better. When comparing to other FGW stations in Cornwall. Liskeard and Bodmin Parkway get quite a good deal. For example Newquay station is ^7.20 a day and Looe is ^4.40 a day in the summer.

If you are looking at longer duration parking permits for example a month, there are inconsistencies between the daily charge and monthly charges in Cornwall. For example a monthly permit at Liskeard is ^37.50 with a daily charge of ^2.00. Now if you take St Austell the daily charge is ^2.20 and the monthly permit costs ^34.00. I think FGW and APCOA need to sort out the inconsistencies in parking charges at the train stations.

sorry does not make sense any more than saying "all buses and taxis to stations should be free for rail users we pay enough in fares"

A few years ago I was discussing the differences between Germany and the UK with a German work colleague.

He summed it up quite well: "In England everything is allowed, unless it is forbidden. In Germany everything is forbidden, unless it is allowed".

The Ringgo and similar systems put people off. The 'old' system where you bought your parking ticket over the ticket counter was far superior. The complete travel purchase should be done in one simple transaction it improves 'the experience'. The systems for online purchase should have included parking and other addons such as PlusBus (and ALL railcards too for that matter - but that's OffTopic) from the start. I agree the machines should be there for casual purchase but their use should NOT be the prime means of payment for parking.

I completely agree with this statement I only use the Ringgo system as it saves me money.


The FGW website already offers the facility to buy season tickets, it would not be to much of an inconvenience to add an option for an appropriate car park permit for the length of the season ticket.

I dont think I did ask for it but you are welcome to offer it .........

Ok, perhaps there would be loopholes.

But for season ticket holders, and those paying more than, say, ^10 in a rail fare, then the parking should be free.

I feel that TOCs are hiking parking charges as they can't raise regulated fares that much.

Are you joking!!!!!

I wish I was I got the price from the FGW website.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=2329 (http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=2329)

You presumably wouldn't travel on a train or bus for a whole two years just because noone bothered to check your ticket and you could get away with it.  Whilst I personally don't think ticketless travel is the worst crime in the world I think that there is general agreement on this forum that it is wrong both morally and criminally. 

So many people seem to have a different moral perspective when they are in a car.  I am not sure why but there is even the idea that "traffic offenses" (speeding etc which is probably the most dangerous and selfish thing that most ordinary decent people do on a regular basis) are not even proper crimes

The thing with Newquay car park is that it's only about 30 spaces and slap bang in the middle of town. Because of the actual train service (don't forget it's at the end of a branch line) very few passengers use it, it's mainly used for short term by local shoppers so the "market forces" come into play and the charges levied are similar for other car parks in Newquay.

oh and by the way , whilst I was in Truro a week or so ago getting info on the fares, I was also told that the car parking charges were being "reviewed". Truro currently at ^2.80/day all day, will be going upto ^3.60 before 10.00 but after 10.00 it will going down be ^1.80

and you still do today ............
Price to park in St Ives station these days ?

If however the car park fee makes the use of the train non-competitive, it negates the 'green advantage' of using Public Transport. There's absolutely NO WAY that car parking fees should exceed the PlusBus add on for the station involved for any traveller using the rail service.

I find it hard to believe that people are shocked to pay!

The amount of people who ask where the pay & display machines are at where I work is phenomenal ;)

ok - I always used to get a ticket every time I parked


Then London Midland an meteor parking took over.........

At the machine you can only get daily

You can buy a scratch card for random journeys or  weekly/monthly season

But if you want a season you have to do it on line and register your vehicle registration - but you can only register two (when I first took umbridge it was one)

I can and do drive anyone of four vehicles.  When I phoned and asked how I dealt with this - they said "we promote green transport so we do not see the need for for registrations" - no - fatuous - I cant drive more than one at a time - it just depends on circumtances if me and family which one I drive each day - I just want the old ticket that can be put in the window of whatever heap of metal I am in. 

THAT is when I started the short stay thing as the only result is overpriced daily or scratch card since I cant use a monthly!

Sorry, I don't see why regular travellers who already pay sky high fares should have to fork out extra for parking. Many people have to drive to the station.

Supermarkets don't charge! ;) We pay for shopping.

As for, "people will just park and buy a single to the next stop" - have a ^10 minimum fare to validate your parking! (similar to supermarkets who do this to stop people buying a mars bar to validate a free days parking! :P )

And I'll explain the "green idea" to you. Each day, the train service runs (hopefully!) giving off X tons of CO₂. I can either drive to work, releasing an addtional Y tons or take the train, releasing none. In fact I reduce emissions, as there will be slightly less congestion.

Ah, all well and good Btline. But does your carbon footprint take into account all the gas you release on this forum?  ;D ;D

 :-\ :-X :'(

And folk who walk to the supermarket subsidise your parking space.  I am not saying that is wrong but to be fair folk who walk whoudl get a discount.

St Ives station isn't owned by the railway, wonderful BR sold it off in the 70's. As for Liskeard, if your so tight that you're not going to pay ^2.00 for parking for a whole day then you need to get a life!

Does something bad happen if they don't?


By your logic, my ^12 AP ticket to London means I should pay through the roof at my car park, to subsidise those poor souls on the ^70 SVR fare who should get free parking due to paying such ridiculous fares.

Yeh right...

By, as I have said twice previously, by only having free parking for Season Ticket holders and those who spend more than, say, ^10 (or more) in fares.

Most stations in the West Midlands have free parking. (ok, it's because they are sponsored by NWM/Centro) As a result, people drive from places outside the midlands to park there.