A new Oyster-like pre-paid card is set to change the future of parking in an attempt to make the manoeuvre easier – and cheaper – to carry out.
The RichmondCard, believed to be the first of its kind, was launched this week by Richmond Council and will enable drivers to claim a discount on their parking tariff when the borough’s on-street CO2-based parking charges come into effect on October 1.
The card, which costs £2.50 but will be free before November, requires residents to register with the council by providing their registration number and CO2 emissions band – one of three levels based on the DVLA’s official guidance.
They can then charge money to it to pay for parking spaces anywhere in the borough.
The council’s cabinet member for parking, Councillor David Trigg, said: “Parking in Richmond will be either the same price or cheaper for 70 per cent of people when the new CO2-based bandings come in, but you will only be able to pay the lower rate if you use a RichmondCard or if you pay using our Pay by Phone scheme.
“The aim of our variable charging policy is to continue to encourage people to think about the car they drive – I truly believe that this approach is welcomed by most people and if other boroughs follow suit, as I expect they will, then this will be a significant step towards reducing CO2 emissions in London.”
But Conservative parliamentary candidate Zac Goldsmith branded the new scheme “clumsy”.
In March, Mr Goldsmith teamed up with campaign group Support our Small Shops and collected more than 3,000 signatures calling on the council to scrap its plans.
He said: “This is a disruptive and expensive way to achieve virtually nothing in terms of cutting emissions. It will only benefit the big supermarkets with free private parking, while driving people away from shops and small businesses.”
The council said users of the card who drive low CO2-emitting vehicles will qualify for “substantial” discounts off the standard charge when the system – a world first according to the council – is introduced.
The card can be topped up at any pay and display machine – shortly to include the pay on foot machines in multi-storey car parks – by returning it to the council for topping up, which takes seven days, or through an online service that will be introduced by the end of the year.
Drivers will be able to see their credit on machine display screens and will be issued with a ‘fraud proof’ ticket to put in their windscreen.
Anyone paying by cash without using a RichmondCard will have to pay higher parking fees, whatever CO2 band they are in.
A registration form for the card is available from the Civic Centre, in Twickenham, from libraries and from the council’s website.
