Ring-fence City Parking Income
Invest all city parking income in sustainable transport
Central or local governments in Scotland should think about implementing a city parking policy to provide revenue to fund key city transport infrastructure and services. This would help to reduce traffic congestion, improve pedestrian safety, free up short-term shopper parking and create a central city environment that is both economically and environmentally healthy. This has been achieved in Perth (Western Australia) where they have a city parking management policy requiring the licensing of all non-residential bays within the Perth City Centre. Revenue raised by parking bay licence fees has been used to implement a range of initiatives to help to deliver a more balanced transport system in central Perth, these have included: a free bus service, construction of bus lanes and other bus infrastructure, provision of cycle paths and lanes, and improvements for pedestrians. Since 2012, over $180 million has been allocated to these improvements.