Parking and Company Car Policies

Parking management strategies

Organisations may not charge employees to park on site: nevertheless parking isn't free, there is a cost in maintaining a car park, however basic, and a requirement for additional land which could be used for business expansion.

Managing the car park should enable the organisation to prioritise users because of their needs or requirements; for example there is a statutory requirement to provide a specified number of Blue Badge bays - but organisations often wish to provide visitor parking as well.

Provision should also be made for car share spaces.

Parking permits and spaces

A permit system may need to be intoduced to manage the allocation of spaces. Make sure that any permit system and method of allocating permits is fair to all participants - it should not be based on position or seniority.

Permits could be allocated on some but not all days of the week, thus encouraging take-up of alternative and more sustainable forms of transport. However consideration must be given as to whether this will displace parking from the work site to the surrounding streets. This is often the cause of considerable conflict between the local community and a major employer in the area. If this happens the local authority may introduce parking restrictions such as residents only parking bays.

Parking charges

If encouraging sustainable travel is a combination of carrots and stick then car park charges are most certainly the stick. Many drivers feel that being charged to park at their workplace is unfair without considering the cost of maintaining a car park or how the provision of a car park is a benefit to them which non drivers do not enjoy. Pointing these facts out to staff may help them understand why charging is necessary.

Car park revenue can also be used to support sustainable travel options such as improving facilities for active travel or funding a better bus service to the site.

How parking charges are made may also make a difference to how staff relate to car use: an annual charge may be easy to administer but doesn't encourage behaviour change.

Charging on a daily basis may be more complex but will remind drivers every day of the true cost of motoring. It will also encourage them to think about using sustainable travel on some days.

Incentives not to drive

For example, offering interest free loans for public transport season tickets, subsidised bus travel or a cycle to work Salary Sacrifice Scheme. Consider introducing a scheme which rewards employees for each day they don't drive to work, such as collecting points which can be exchanged for more time off at the end of the year