Workplace levy can improve our air quality

I FIND the opposition to the Workplace Parking Levy, expressed here and elsewhere, very concerning.

Leicester has serious problems with congestion and air quality and reducing private car use is essential to dealing with both these problems.

I have two grandchildren living in Leicester and I worry about the effect the poor air quality in Leicester has on their health.

The purpose of the Workplace Parking Levy is to raise money to help improve public transport, making the buses cheaper and more reliable.

This should help reduce the number of cars on the road and improve air quality.

One of the planned uses for the revenue raised is to provide an orbital bus route which will stop within 400 metres of 75 per cent of Leicester employers, making commuting by bus a real option for many more employees.

The council does not have any other good way to raise the money to achieve these goals.

Ideally national government would allow the council more freedom to provide and regulate buses, but sadly this is not possible under the present government.

Around 40 per cent of households in Leicester do not own a car and many of them are not in a position to afford bus fares, so improving bus services will help some of the lowest paid and most disadvantaged in Leicester.

Finally, there are environmental benefits to reducing car use in Leicester which the Workplace Parking Levy will help to do.

Less congestion means better travel times through and around Leicester, less pollution with all its negative effects on public health, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions helping in the fight against climate change.

Jill Fisher, Leicester