Fighting Exceessive Car Park charges ....

[prjohnsonnn]

I am looking to build a case to see if there is any scope for a case to be brought against a train operating company that is now making excessive profits from car parking. Any advice on a deent group / lawyer who would be interested in this ?

Thanks

 

[Comstock]

I agree that some parking charges are disgustingly high but on what grounds do you plan to build such a case? What possible law could you use?

 

[All Line Rover]

You are looking to build a case to see if there is any scope for a case? Makes sense...

On what basis do you think you could bring a case, and what evidence would that require?

 

[NoMorePacers]

But local councils and hospitals do it every day yet no one seems to notice...

 

[Elecman]

You don't have to use the station car parks if you feel they are so expensive

 

[Skimble19]

I am looking to build a case to see if there is any scope for a case to be brought against a train operating company that is now making excessive profits from car parking. Any advice on a deent group / lawyer who would be interested in this ?

Thanks

No there isn't.. Train companies can make as much or little as they want from car parks, they aren't forcing you to park there and often they will compete and price themselves alongside other local car parks.. You could always walk or bike to your local station if you really don't want to pay though!

 

[NoMorePacers]

Some sensible advice: if you're travelling by train, leave the car at home

 

[The Planner]

Read that three times and still struggling, if you have no other method of getting to the station?

 

[anme]

Anyone interested in bringing a case against prjohnsonnn for the pollution, noise and danger to others caused by his/her car?

 

[NoMorePacers]

What is your local station?

 

[yorkie]

Some sensible advice: if you're travelling by train, leave the car at home

For York to West Yorkshire journeys, it's considerably cheaper for those with cars to drive to Garforth, than it would be to leave the car at home. Especially if you had to get a bus into town!

 

[tbtc]

I am looking to build a case to see if there is any scope for a case to be brought against a train operating company that is now making excessive profits from car parking

I'm interested in how you know that the TOC in question make a profit from car parking and (more importantly) how you know that these profits are "excessive"?

They presumably pay some degree of rent for the land in question (?), they'll have to pay maintenance to keep the car park up to a reasonable standard, they'll have to pay staff to go round checking tickets, they'll have to pay for CCTV, they'll have to pay insurance (especially in these days of Where There's A Blame There's A Claim), they may have to pay for ticket machines (I'm guessing... you've not specified which TOC/ which car park)...

...so maybe it seems expensive but maybe they aren't actually making that much money on it?

I don't know, but there are a lot of things that look expensive (or look like companies are making a big profit on) that turn out to be much more marginal in reality.

(Did anyone see the story about the York cafe that charged a quid or two for "a cup of water with a slice of lemon", where the cafe owner explained all of the costs involved in providing something that seems so cheap?)

 

[NoMorePacers]

I haven't had to live like that, in fact, I live in the city centre so it's a 5-10 minute walk to the train station.

 

[edwin_m]

Read that three times and still struggling, if you have no other method of getting to the station?

Park elsewhere (if the charges are that exhorbitant some alternative provision will appear, as it does with airports).

Drive to a station nearby with cheaper parking and get a connecting train.

Even if there is no bus service and the distance is beyond the passenger's ability to cycle, there is always the option of a taxi.

 

[me123]

I am looking to build a case to see if there is any scope for a case to be brought against a train operating company that is now making excessive profits from car parking. Any advice on a deent group / lawyer who would be interested in this ?

In a word, no.

In a few more words, the car park is a private enterprise. As such, they can charge as much as they want, and if people are paying it they're going to make money. You are not forced to park your car there (and before you say that you are because of work/childcare/other excuse, you are not forced to park your car there by the literal interpretation of the word forced). The TOC involved is not going to fall foul of any legislation by charging high prices for its car park. If you, and presumably other people, use the car park and pay them these "Exceessive" (sic) fees, they will assume that you're quite happy to pay for it.

You have made an interesting claim that the train operating company is "...now making excessive profits" from the car parking charges. I would assume, therefore, that you have evidence to back this up if you are taking them to court? Profit, of course, is not the same as turnover. The turnover will be high if usage and fees are high, but that does not necessarily equate to high profits. If the running costs of the car park are high for whatever reason, that may mean that the company is not making a huge profit on car parking. To take that claim to court, you're going to need evidence in the form of cold hard numbers, which I'm sure you won't have.

Lowering parking charges can be a mixed blessing. Whilst it makes your journey cheaper, it also encourages people to use the park and ride and if space is at a premium (which it does tend to be in station car parks in my experience), you often end up in a situation where supply0 outstrips demand, and then you'll be moaning that you can't get parked at your local station any more!

No good lawyer will waste their time on this case, because there is no case.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Some sensible advice: if you're travelling by train, leave the car at home

As many people have already pointed out, quite a lot of people in this country do not have public transport on their doorstep. For some people, the car is by far the best option to get to the station, and I don't think it's necessarily inappropriate for people to use park and ride facilities.

Cycling depends on ability, confidence and to an extent the actual road/path taken. Walking is not always possible/practical over longer distances. Taxis can be unreliable, particularly if you're somewhere rural.

Of course, there are plenty of people who drive quarter of a mile to the railway station, and that's just silly. But if your nearest station is ten miles away, driving to it seems perfectly reasonable IMO.

 

[Aldaniti]

I haven't had to live like that, in fact, I live in the city centre so it's a 5-10 minute walk to the train station.

I know this must come as a terrible shock, but some people live many miles from their nearest railway station, and a station car park encourages them to travel by train for most of their journey.

 

[route:oxford]

I am looking to build a case to see if there is any scope for a case to be brought against a train operating company that is now making excessive profits from car parking. Any advice on a deent group / lawyer who would be interested in this ?

Thanks

It's very unlikely.

Primarily because both national and local goverment have actively used high parking charges to discourage people from bringing their cars into towns and cities for decades.

In Oxford, for example, a council owned car park costs just £25 a day Sunday to Friday leaps to £31.50 on a Saturday to discourage tourists and shoppers from bringing cars into the city.

Of course, the biggest issue for anyone doing this is that if someone were to investigate a single car-park carefully and start attributing, defining and ring-fencing every single possible cost - it's not inconceivable that it could be proved that some car parks are actually running at a loss and prices would need to rise.

 

[edwin_m]

As many people have already pointed out, quite a lot of people in this country do not have public transport on their doorstep. For some people, the car is by far the best option to get to the station, and I don't think it's necessarily inappropriate for people to use park and ride facilities.

Cycling depends on ability, confidence and to an extent the actual road/path taken. Walking is not always possible/practical over longer distances. Taxis can be unreliable, particularly if you're somewhere that you

Of course, there are plenty of people who drive quarter of a mile to the railway station, and that's just silly. But if your nearest station is ten miles away, driving to it seems perfectly reasonable IMO.

Those people who need to use the train frequently and live some distance from the station must accept that their lifestyle choice will result in certain costs. They certainly shouldn't be expecting to be subsidised by those who have chosen a more sustainable lifestyle.

I read somewhere, some years ago, that it costs an employer typically £400 per year per space to provide employee parking. Station parking, often being on more valuable land and always requiring means of payment and enforcement, probably costs more. As an unregulated part of their business it's likely that TOCs will be charging what the market will bear for station parking, but the above figure suggests that fchages ees are not wildly out of line with costs.

Taxis can be unreliable but sometimes so can private cars - there's always the risk of a mechanical problem or a blockage on the road to the station.

 

[deltic08]

You don't have to use the station car parks if you feel they are so expensive

Or use your car for all of your journey.

 

[NoMorePacers]

If many people park their cars at train stations then why bother taking the train at all?

 

[deltic08]

You could always walk or bike to your local station if you really don't want to pay though!

Or use your car for the whole of your journey.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Some sensible advice: if you're travelling by train, leave the car at home

Or use your car for the whole of your journey.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Park elsewhere (if the charges are that exhorbitant some alternative provision will appear, as it does with airports).

Drive to a station nearby with cheaper parking and get a connecting train.

Even if there is no bus service and the distance is beyond the passenger's ability to cycle, there is always the option of a taxi.

Or use your car for the whole of your journey.

 

[Llanigraham]

If many people park their cars at train stations then why bother taking the train at all?

Err?
Because on many journeys it is cheaper to catch the train than take the car.
Eg London return £44:10 by train, over £50 by car.

 

[NoMorePacers]

Or use your car for the whole of your journey.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Or use your car for the whole of your journey.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Or use your car for the whole of your journey.

Look at this post.

 

[Llanigraham]

Look at this post.

Why?

I can get to London for a meeting cheaper using the train than using my car, and I haven't taken into account the cost of insurance or parking, or the tiredness factor of having to drive 225 miles home after a 4 hour meeting.
It is even cheaper for 2 of us to go to Shrewsbury by train than take the car.

Therefore, why should I use the car instead?

 

[Busaholic]

In theory, local councils are only allowed to collect car parking charges that, after administrative costs have been stripped out, are to be spent on transport-related issues. In practice, how can this ever be evaluated? I'm not aware of any successful legal challenge to these charges. I have no idea whether there is anything in law, or in the terms of any contracts with individual TOCs, to stop high charges in station car parks, but maybe someone knows? IF there were, then you might be able to bring a case (possibly).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ring fencing is totally meaningless, as you can always counter it by cutting some of the non-ringfenced funding from that area.

 

[dk1]

You don't have to use the station car parks if you feel they are so expensive

My sentiments exactly. Same with any establishment. Not sure what grounds you'd have without being laughed at. Often it's a on business & on a business account so why would you care less how much it costs?

 

[47271]

It would be useful if the OP returned and specified the exact location they have in mind. I entirely agree that legal action would be pointless but, as ever with sharp practice in private parking charges or penalties, it does no harm for a wider audience to know about a particularly bad case and have it publicised. We may all be able to be more helpful then too.

Personally, my experience is that there is far worse than that created by TOCs. I can think of a few well known private parking outfits who have upset me over the years...

 

[DaveNewcastle]

It would be useful if the OP returned and specified the exact location they have in mind.
. . .

Indeed, and to answer some of the other questions raised.

I know very many lawyers, but wouldn't even consider starting a converation about this question on the basis of the short opening question.
Without some grasp of the claim that "excessive profits" might be some sort of allegation of something or other, I struggle to comprehend what form of assistance might be helpful.

Please explain:
1)what you wish to achieve; and
2) what basis you have for your allegation of "excessive profits".

Thanks

 

[ainsworth74]

If many people park their cars at train stations then why bother taking the train at all?

Because I don't want to drive all the way to London but still want to be able to leave London fairly late on?

I live in the North East and my nearest mainline station is Darlington but I live on the Tees Valley Line out near the Saltburn end of the line. The last train I can get from London and then change at Darlington to still get a train to within walking distance of my house is the 1900 from Kings Cross.

On the other hand if I drive and park at Darlington the last train I can get from London is now the 2200. This gives me up to three hours longer in London.

The same applies in the morning. If I walk to my nearest station and change at Darlington the earliest I can arrive in London is 1002. By driving to Darlington I can be in London for 0812 almost two hours earlier.

I really don't think you are fully understanding that driving to a station can be a necessity (perhaps because you are used to living 10 minutes away from a mainline station rather than a branch line station) and indeed something which the railway should be encouraging as if you make it easy for car drivers to park at a station I'm sure many would happy take the train for the longest portion of their journey (though, of course, only if the ticket price is right as well but one concept at a time! ).