Parking tax ‘to redress falling car costs’

● Campaigners back planned workplace levy to tackle congestion and pollution

A workplace parking levy would help rebalance trav - el costs because driving is 10 per cent cheaper than 20 years ago, MSPS have heard.

Cycling and walking promoters Sustrans Scotland said the charge, which could be more than £400 a year per space, could also tackle congestion and pollution.

However, business and trade union leaders said many employers would pass the tax on to their staff, some of whom had no alternative but to drive to work.

The groups were giving evidence to the Scottish Parliamen t’ s rural economy and connectivity committee over the proposal, which has been added to the Scottish Government’s transport bill as part of a Budget deal with the Greens.

It would give councils the power to charge companies and other employers for parking spaces on their premises.

The money raised would be ring-fenced for improving public transport.

Sustr ans Scotland senior policy officer Alex Quay le said: “Since 1997, the cost of motoring is down 10 per cent in real terms. Bus fares are up 7 per cent and rail fares up 5 per cent.

“The least desirable forms of transport are being prioritised in a flat way, regardless of your capacity to afford them or not.”

He said the levy would be a “relatively small financial mechanism that can rebalance that”.

Mr Quay le said motoring costs also did not take account of the impact of vehicles on congestion and pollution.

He added that workers on the lowest incomes were likely to benefit from the levy because they were less likely to own a car and more likely to live in areas suffering air pollution and higher road casualty rates.

Sue F lack, a policy ad viser for sustainable transport campaigners Transform Scotland, said: “Continuing to make motoring cheaper will only encourage more people to drive.”

Stuart Douglas, Smarter Choices Smarter Places manager for developers Paths for All, told the committee: “We have a climate emergency. Transport is the biggest cause of emissions and 60 per cent are from cars. We can not accept the status quo.”

Earlier, insurer Aviva told the committee it backed a levy because it would reduce the number of cars on the road.

However, Fi on a Beale, its head of corporate real estate, said the firm should potentially be exempt because of the work it did to promote other forms of transport, including funding bus improvements, car-sharing and cycling.

Helen Martin, assistant general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, said the levy would potentially fall heavily on low-paid workers, such as shift workers.

She questioned whether it would raise enough money to make much improvement to public transport and feared councils would just use the revenue to replace current transport spending.

She said: “Local authorities will raise the levy to replace money that is currently going into transport so they free up funds for other areas.”