One-hour free parking schemes also set to be scrapped.
The Council has a range of parking payment machines many of which are more than 10 years old. They say currently out of the 104 On Street machines, 51 are not working and are at end of life. The current annual cost for servicing and repairs is £220k per annum with further expense incurred for cash collection and bank charges. Following COVID, there has been an increase in customers choosing to pay by phone – 79% who previously paid by cash are now using alternative payment methods. The cost to replace the 51 machines On Street would be in the region of £321k, with would require funding.
With that in mind, the council say as machines reach the end of life, they will not be replaced by like for like machines, but move to cashless and ultimately digital payment methods. Where new chargeable parking arrangements are put into place, such as Winslow Station Car Park and Quoiting Square, Marlow, it is recommended that these do not include payment machine options. This would not only reduce the costs of delivering the service but would also provide more consistency for customers and reflects society trends.
Parking Charges:
In order to achieve consistency across Buckinghamshire, the first planned step is to align Sunday charging rates and charging start times, and to extend the charging end time to 19:00 for all car parks that currently cease charging before this time. At the same time, extension of On Street charging periods will continue to encourage customers into the car parks.
Removal of unfunded free parking sessions:
Across Buckinghamshire there are a number of one-hour free parking schemes that are paid for by the Parish Councils. There are also a number of free parking sessions that are not funded and these are therefore subsidised by Buckinghamshire Council. Introducing charges in these areas will create income in the region of £32,518 based on current usage levels. The locations include, Wendover - Library, Winslow - Market Square, Amersham - KGVH.
Whilst the charges for these locations will be included in the consultation to amend the Traffic Regulation Order, the relevant Town and Parish Councils will be given the opportunity to fund the charges to enable the free element to be retained. This is similar to the other funded free parking schemes.
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