People who drive gas-guzzlers will cough up more money to park on the streets of the London borough of Richmond, where the city council hopes to encourage driving of cleaner cars. This is the latest in a series of fees and taxes London has been slapping on big cars, and other British cities are embracing the idea.
Under the plan, the most polluting cars will be charged about a dollar an hour more to park than fuel-sippers like the Toyota Prius. Assessing parking fees according to vehicle emissions started as an experiment limited to a few selected areas of Richmond, but the plan has evolved into a much grander scheme, despite the recent drop in fuel prices, in an attempt to help the environment.
"I see the extension of the CO2 -related parking policy as completing something we started two years ago," said Richmond Traffic Transport and Parking Council member David Trigg to the Evening Standard. "Because of technology advances it has now become possible to apply the principles to everyone who parks in our borough - resident and visitors alike."
Richmond officials estimate the parking price-hike will effect 40 percent of the cars. And 20 city councils across Great Britain, according to the Twickenham Times, have already begun to follow Richmond's lead.
Richmond's new proposal applies to cars that emit more than 180-grams of CO2 per kilometer. In other words, vehicles ranging from sporty trucksters like the Porsche Cayenne to family sedans like the Ford Mondeo will pay the most -- £1.90 (about $2.89) an hour for parking on the street.
Cars like the Ford Focus that emit 120 to 180 grams of CO2 per kilometer will pay about £1.50 (about $2.28) an hour. But the cleanest cars, like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, that emit less than 120 g/km receive a discount and pay just £1.20 (about $1.82) an hour.
All motorists will have to register their cars online in order to receive the "Smart Card" they will swipe at meters to pay parking fees. Or they can pay by mobile phone by entering their vehicle registration number into the meter. The car's emission class will be checked against a city database, and the correct fee will be levied.
The Richmond city council is confident the slight increase in fees will not have an adverse effect on the number of visitors to the borough. But not everyone thinks the city's crackdown on emissions is a good idea. A spokesman for Automobile Association (AA) of Great Britain said, "It's ludicrous to penalize a vehicle on its emissions when the car is switched off."
Photo / Flickr user GeorgieR.
