Britain's most expensive station car parks

[PhilipW]

As reported in today's papers:

Top 10 most expensive train station car parks in the UK are:

Reading - £23.70
Southampton Airport Parkway - £15
Guildford - £14.50
Brighton - £13.10
Ebbsfleet - £12.60
Coventry - £12
Macclesfield - £12
Milton Keynes - £10.80
Billericay - £10.60
Woking - £10.50

I live near Southampton Parkway. I had always thought of it as very expensive but had not realised that it was in the top 2. Despite that, it is often full; I would guess that a fair proportion is claimed back on expenses for people having to make business day trips to London but I have no idea of knowing what percentage that would be. The season ticket prices do not offer that much saving.

I will add that after 10:45 the price reduces to £6 for off peak travellers and leisure travellers allowing you to be in London by 12:20. I have paid that price but as I approach the station I do wonder if there will still be spaces at 11:00. So far I have always got one but I have been in the last few sometimes.

 

[Failed Unit]

I guess it is down to competition as well.

Not sure how this will post, but here are Great Northerns charges.

http://www.thameslinkrailway.com/your-journey/car-parks/charges/

Station Daily Weekly Monthly Quarterly Annual Premier
Arlesey £4.00 £16 £60 £170 £680 £800
Ashwell & Morden £4.80 £23.50 £85 £221 £725 £835
Baldock £5.40 £25.50 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Bayford £3.20 £13 £47 £130 £410 £515
Biggleswade £4.70 £22.50 £85 £221 £725 £835
Brookmans Park £3.20 £13 £47 £130 £410 £515
Crews Hill £3.20 £13 £47 £130 £410 £515
Cuffley £5.20 £25.50 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Downham Market £5.30 £24.20 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Enfield Chase £3.20 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Gordon Hill £6.80 £32 £116 £314 £995 £1,140
Grange Park £6.80 £32 £116 £314 £995 £1,140
Hatfield £6.80 £32 £116 £314 £995 £1,140
Hertford North £6.60 £31 £116 £314 £995 £1,140
Hitchin £7.60 £34 £132 £346.50 £1,135 £1,265
Huntingdon £5.80 £27.50 £96 £273 £865 £965
Kings Lynn £5.30 £24.20 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Knebworth £5.30 £24.20 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Littleport £1.80 £5.70 N/A £57 £205 N/A
Meldreth £1.50 £5 £20 £80 £180 £220
New Barnet £5.50 £25.50 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
New Southgate £3.20 £13 £47 £130 £410 £515
Palmers Green £5.50 £25.50 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Potters Bar £6.80 £32 £116 £314 £995 £1,140
Royston £7.60 £34 £132 £346.50 £1,135 £1,265
Sandy £5.30 £24.20 £96.60 £261.50 £835 £945
Shepreth Free Free Free Free Free Free
St Neots £7.90 £37 £133 £370 £1,290 £1,415
Waterbeach £3.10 £20 £51 £127.50 £485 £585
Watton-At-Stone Free Free Free Free Free Free
Welham Green £3.80 £14.50 £56 £167 £496 £620
Welwyn North £6.80 £32 £116 £314 £995 £1,140

Welwyn Garden City missing off this list - but it is actually cheaper than Welwyn North and Hatfield either side simply because you can park in the council car parks for £5 per day so it is capped at this price as a result no matter how much they try in increase it.

It does also demonstrate how these prices are geared towards long distance travellers. Live in coventry and going for a day trip to Birmingham? The car parking is more than the price of the ticket. Lets use an alternative form of transport or drive to a cheaper station. Newark has the same problem, people going to Lincoln would not use Northgate as the with the price of parking you might as well drive to Lincoln - Luckily Castle is better..

 

[AndrewP]

That list is not complete - York is £16

However, these prices are low when compared to central London parking which can be up to £42 a day!

 

[The Quincunx]

Anyone who thinks station car parking charges are "unfair" can always consider referring the matter to the Office of Rail & Road.

http://orr.gov.uk/info-for-passengers/station-car-park-charges

 

[pemma]

Most expensive depends on a number of factors. If you want to park overnight a car park that charges £18 for up to 24 hours could be cheaper than one which charges £12 a day but with tickets expiring at midnight.

Do any of the expensive ones have free to use pick-up and set-down points? If so for someone only picking up or setting down they can be cheaper than one which charges a flat £5 and has no pick-up and set-down points.

 

[greatkingrat]

St Pancras charges £37.40 per day!

http://stpancras.com/maps/parking

 

[Andrewlong]

As reported in today's papers:

Top 10 most expensive train station car parks in the UK are:

Reading - £23.70
Southampton Airport Parkway - £15
Guildford - £14.50
Brighton - £13.10
Ebbsfleet - £12.60
Coventry - £12
Macclesfield - £12
Milton Keynes - £10.80
Billericay - £10.60
Woking - £10.50

I live near Southampton Parkway. I had always thought of it as very expensive but had not realised that it was in the top 2. Despite that, it is often full; I would guess that a fair proportion is claimed back on expenses for people having to make business day trips to London but I have no idea of knowing what percentage that would be. The season ticket prices do not offer that much saving.

I will add that after 10:45 the price reduces to £6 for off peak travellers and leisure travellers allowing you to be in London by 12:20. I have paid that price but as I approach the station I do wonder if there will still be spaces at 11:00. So far I have always got one but I have been in the last few sometimes.

Quite why anyone would want to navigate Reading's one-system to pay £23 per day beats me !

 

[Failed Unit]

Most expensive depends on a number of factors. If you want to park overnight a car park that charges £18 for up to 24 hours could be cheaper than one which charges £12 a day but with tickets expiring at midnight.

Do any of the expensive ones have free to use pick-up and set-down points? If so for someone only picking up or setting down they can be cheaper than one which charges a flat £5 and has no pick-up and set-down points.

Interesting question about Reading, I have got dropped off near the station by a local many times and walk the 500m. I don't know however if that was to avoid the station car park charge or just easier for traffic.

The car park at Reading is one where you take a ticket as soon as you arrive, but considering where it is in relation to the station if you are picking up like many airports you would want to know your passenger is actaully off the train before you went in.

How much does it cost to park in the local NCPs such as the oracle in Reading (for anyone that live there)

On a positive note it does encourage people to use public transport - I suspect you can get a taxi from many areas for that daily charge.

 

[Comstock]

St Pancras charges £37.40 per day!

http://stpancras.com/maps/parking

True. You are much better off parking at Euston which charges a mere 28 quid!

To be fair those prices actually compare pretty favourably with other London car parks. And if you live in central London you can easily get a bus or tube to St Ps anyway.

 

[The Quincunx]

For price comparisons, try Parkopedia.

For example: http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/reading/

 

[74A]

Paddington station car park is £26.00

 

[DeeGee]

Paddington station car park is £26.00

Seems like quite a bargain, actually.

 

[BlueFox]

As reported in today's papers:

Top 10 most expensive train station car parks in the UK

You shouldn't believe what you read in the papers. There are loads that are more expensive than some of those on the top 10 list.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

You shouldn't believe what you read in the papers. There are loads that are more expensive than some of those on the top 10 list.

I've just read some of the article on the Evening standard website. It's not the most expensive car parks in the country, it's the most expensive from a list of 100 commuter towns and cities the researcher chose to look at.

 

[sarahj]

Brighton station has a pick up/drop off area and some free 20 mins spaces. Brighton's issue is that it needs another floor. It can get full around the 13.00 time and selling spaces to the owners of the nearby apartments has not helped. You now get cars that never seem to move, including a Renault 4!!

 

[EM2]

The price for Ebbsfleet is for Premier Parking, nearest to the terminal and bigger spaces.
If you don't mind a walk, you can park in Car Park D for £5.30 a day.
There's also a 20min. pick-up/drop-off area which is free.

 

[Timrud]

Sheffield is £16.10 I think

 

[route:oxford]

Quite why anyone would want to navigate Reading's one-system to pay £23 per day beats me !

Reading's multi-storey is just off the IDR and really easy to get in and out of.

The former BMW garage opposite the railway multi-storey is now operating as carpark with multi-storey and there are a couple of Council owned car parks within a short walk of the station too.

 

[Kendalian]

Preston is £12 Mon-Fri.

Used to be £10 peak and £6 after 10am but the off peak reduction was abolished last year.

 

[Busaholic]

So, for £13 you can park in the morning at Brighton, hang round the station all day on the outside chance a train might turn up, then go back to the car and drive home in the evening. If only David Nobbs was still alive he could fashion some new Reggie Perrin material out of this.

 

[sk688]

Victoria charges a very reasonable £30 per day

With just 83 spaces

 

[coppercapped]

Interesting question about Reading, I have got dropped off near the station by a local many times and walk the 500m. I don't know however if that was to avoid the station car park charge or just easier for traffic.

The car park at Reading is one where you take a ticket as soon as you arrive, but considering where it is in relation to the station if you are picking up like many airports you would want to know your passenger is actaully off the train before you went in.

How much does it cost to park in the local NCPs such as the oracle in Reading (for anyone that live there)

On a positive note it does encourage people to use public transport - I suspect you can get a taxi from many areas for that daily charge.

There are two 'free to use' drop-off and pick-up points at the station, one in the undercroft of the 1989 station building on the south of the line and one on the ground floor of the multi-story car park to the north of the line. In each case parking is limited to 20 minutes and a ticket has to be obtained from the machine in each area.

The nearest NCP car park to the station is that in Garrard Street and a ticket for 12 to 24 hours parking is £22 for pay on the day. The Oracle car parks - which are a fair hike away - cost £20 for more than 8 hours. The tariffs here are designed to discourage long term parking for the benefit of shoppers so the shorter periods are much cheaper, up to 2 hours costs £3.50.

It can be seen that the charges for the multi-story station car park are not out of line with others in the area.

As for encouraging the use of public transport - I suspect that the markets are very different. The Reading urban area has a quite comprehensive and frequent bus service so I suspect that the cars come from the more outlying areas - especially south Oxfordshire and parts of the town where the length of the bus journey is not competitive. Large numbers of bikes are left at the station during the day as well and these will mostly be for local journeys - two or three miles at a maximum. As for taxis - my wife and I returned from London last night at just gone midnight and the taxi fare from the station came to £8.50 for a journey of 1 1/2 miles as the crow flies. If one did that twice a day over a slightly greater distance then the car park starts to look like a good bet!

 

[Kite159]

2 hours costs £3.50, still rather expensive for a shopping centre, considering it would be beneficial to keep customers in the shopping area for longer.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Milton Keynes - £10.80

Easily avoided (for London) by paying half as much (nearly) at Bletchley instead.

 

[tony_mac]

That must have been compiled before Virgin's changes - they are now mostly £12 a visit. You can almost buy a house in Crewe for that!
(Crewe car park is currently about 75% empty)

 

[Andrewlong]

There are two 'free to use' drop-off and pick-up points at the station, one in the undercroft of the 1989 station building on the south of the line and one on the ground floor of the multi-story car park to the north of the line. In each case parking is limited to 20 minutes and a ticket has to be obtained from the machine in each area.

The nearest NCP car park to the station is that in Garrard Street and a ticket for 12 to 24 hours parking is £22 for pay on the day. The Oracle car parks - which are a fair hike away - cost £20 for more than 8 hours. The tariffs here are designed to discourage long term parking for the benefit of shoppers so the shorter periods are much cheaper, up to 2 hours costs £3.50.

It can be seen that the charges for the multi-story station car park are not out of line with others in the area.

As for encouraging the use of public transport - I suspect that the markets are very different. The Reading urban area has a quite comprehensive and frequent bus service so I suspect that the cars come from the more outlying areas - especially south Oxfordshire and parts of the town where the length of the bus journey is not competitive. Large numbers of bikes are left at the station during the day as well and these will mostly be for local journeys - two or three miles at a maximum. As for taxis - my wife and I returned from London last night at just gone midnight and the taxi fare from the station came to £8.50 for a journey of 1 1/2 miles as the crow flies. If one did that twice a day over a slightly greater distance then the car park starts to look like a good bet!

I wonder whether the average commuter from Reading who parks at the station pays for parking and travel ticket or are on expenses ? Also are there season ticket rates for parking? In the time I have commuted from Reading to London I have taken the bus from east of Reading whereas nowadays I park at Winnersh Triangle and take train into Reading and then out to London. Far cheaper and less hassle than driving (greener too!)

Only time I would stump up £23 per day would be if I was going to a concert in London in evening and there would be a risk of missing last connection from Reading to Winnersh Triangle. Car parking is a cash cow and an easy way to screw the commuter.

 

[coppercapped]

I wonder whether the average commuter from Reading who parks at the station pays for parking and travel ticket or are on expenses ?

I'm not sure what you are insinuating. The travellers one sees mornings and evening don't all seem to belong to the upper echelons of management and direction. Both the station car park and Garrard Street (which also caters for users working in the town centre) each have just over 900 spaces. Do you really think that most or all are on expense accounts?

Also are there season ticket rates for parking?

Yes. £1850 annually for the station multi-story and the NCP run Garrard Street car park offers a weekly ticket for £45 but longer period season tickets are also sold. Didn't ask the price but it will be comparable to the APCOA run station facility

In the time I have commuted from Reading to London I have taken the bus from east of Reading whereas nowadays I park at Winnersh Triangle and take train into Reading and then out to London. Far cheaper and less hassle than driving (greener too!)

Only time I would stump up £23 per day would be if I was going to a concert in London in evening and there would be a risk of missing last connection from Reading to Winnersh Triangle. Car parking is a cash cow and an easy way to screw the commuter.

It's good that you have that option. Not everybody does.

I don't understand what you mean by 'screw the commuter'. An annual season ticket Reading - London costs £5116 to Travelcard Zones 1 to 6. Based on use on 225 days per year that amounts to £22.73 per day. This allows use on any train leaving Reading or Paddington (or even Waterloo) in the peaks.

An Off-Peak One Day Travelcard from Reading to the same Zones costs £23.30. This is only valid on trains arriving in London after 10.00 and severely restricts the choice of return train in the evening peak period from Paddington to a few stoppers.

Far from being screwed the season ticket holder is getting a damned good deal - (s)he can travel on any peak hour train for off-peak prices. It's time people stopped repeating the same old knee-jerk statements.

 

[SirBroccoli]

Interesting question about Reading, I have got dropped off near the station by a local many times and walk the 500m. I don't know however if that was to avoid the station car park charge or just easier for traffic.

The car park at Reading is one where you take a ticket as soon as you arrive, but considering where it is in relation to the station if you are picking up like many airports you would want to know your passenger is actaully off the train before you went in.

How much does it cost to park in the local NCPs such as the oracle in Reading (for anyone that live there)

On a positive note it does encourage people to use public transport - I suspect you can get a taxi from many areas for that daily charge.

You can park at Hills Meadow on the other side of the Thames and a 7 minute walk from the north entrance of Reading station for £8 a day...

 

[londonmidland]

Birmingham New Street, anyone?

 

[Crossover]

You shouldn't believe what you read in the papers. There are loads that are more expensive than some of those on the top 10 list.

Indeed not rail related but there was something in the media about the cheapest car park per hour, which one in Dewsbury came in at the best at 5p for one hour....however, it doesn't multiply and costs much more for multiple hours (it used to be free for an hour but I suspect the local miscreants would have emptied the machine of tickets as you just went up to it and pressed the button to get a freebie!)

 

[Old Yard Dog]

These will seem like a pittance once HS2 opens.