In 2021 and 2022 our Transport Action worked to support Leicester putting in place a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL), a step which we have campaigned for for years and which would have made a real reduction in carbon emissions, air pollution and congestion while funding cheaper and more buses. Sadly the Council decided not to go ahead with it.
What is the WPL? A charge (suggested at £550per year per parking space) charged to employers in Leicester with parking spaces they provide for their employees. Only employers with 10 or more staff would be charged, and the employer can choose to pay the charge or pass it on to their employees to pay. The money raised would be spent by the City council to improve bus, walking and cycling provision.
There are so many reasons to support a Workplace Parking Levy in Leicester. Here are just some of them (more detail below):
- We need more buses and cheaper bus travel – the money raised by a WPL would be used to fund new bus services, and reduce the cost of bus tickets.
- A WPL would reduce air pollution in the city as it supports people to switch to commuting by foot, bike and bus. Air pollution causes and exacerbates asthma, lung disease, heart disease, damages childrens brain development and much more more.
- There is choice in how the levy is applied, it is only charged to medium and large employers, and it does not have to be passed on to employees.
- It reduce inequality and supports social justice. More than a third of the households in Leicester can’t afford a car. Many of the people in these households are also the most vulnerable in the city to air pollution, which is largely caused by car emissions. These people should be prioritsed and the WPL does this.
- We need to halve the worlds carbon emissions in the next 10 years to reduce climate change. Transport makes up about a quarter of Leicester’s carbon emissions and the WPL is a real step towards reducing Leicester’s transport emissions while also making healthier transport choices more available. The WPL in Nottingham has helped with the shift from car to public and active transport.
- Leicester is seen as a leader in the area of carbon reduction by other cities, so we need to lead well. The WPL is a really positive step towards tackling climate change, inequality, air pollution and congestion.
- A WPL will reduce congestion in Leicester.
Reason 1 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: The WPL will reduce carbon emissions and support people on lower incomes by encouraging walking, cycling + bus use over driving to work.
Many people in Leicester cannot afford to run a car. At the moment these people are penalised by our transport system which puts car use over other (much more climate-friendly) options. We need bus services which people can afford to use and which go to the places needed when they are needed. The council are committed to using the money raised by the WPL to reduce bus fares, add to the bus services and support walking and cycling in the city.
There is substantial evidence that far more people choose not to drive when a carrot and stick approach is used. In other words when driving is made less attractive (in this case by charging for parking) at the same time as alternatives are made more attractive (in this case by making bus travel cheaper which will be funded by the WPL) far more people switch away from car use than if only the stick or carrot is used. We’ve been asking the council to put in place a WPL for this very reason. It represents a real shift towards supporting public and active transport over car use. Nottingham’s WPL has funded their trams and stopped the growth in commuter driving seen in other cities across the country.
Reason 2 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: It will result in less air pollution in Leicester as people drive to work less and walk, cycle and bus more.
As more people use the buses the services will improve (even without the extra funding for buses raised by the levy). As fewer people drive the roads will become safer for everyone. And we will all have better health as a result of the cleaner air as fewer people drive to work.
There is consistent evidence that air pollution from motorised traffic damages our health and for some people, kills. Among other things, it has been shown to:
- cause chronic bronchitis in children and adults
- increase the frequency and severity of asthma attacks
- make children more likely to develop allergies and asthma, as well as triggering allergic reactions in adults and children
- increase rates of cardiovascular (heart) disease, and shortening life significantly for those who have these conditions
- cause and exacerbate chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
- contribute to babies being born with low birthweight – which increases levels of infant deaths and lifelong negative health impacts
A 2009 study published in The Lancet estimated that the effects of a programme to reduce air pollution and increase cycling and walking in London would result in a reduction in years of loss of life in the region of 10-19%. Clearly local government actions such as the WPL can have a significant effect, including lower costs to local health-care providers improving local health care provision overall and increasing mental health and well-being as exercise levels increase.
Reason 3 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: There is choice in how the levy is applied, it is not charged to small employers, and it does not have to be passed on to employees.
The WPL is a charge on parking spaces which only applies to employers with 10+ employees. Employers can pay it themselves or choose to pass it on to their employees. This means they can use their knowledge of their own employees to pass it on fairly (if at all). If they pass it on, they can differentiate between people they employ on low incomes or at times when buses don’t run, and people who can afford to pay or for whom for whom a switch away from car use would be possible. Here is an example of it being applied sympathetically in Nottingham. If the WPL is brought in in Leicester, the Council have said they will work with employers to help them pass it on fairly.
Reason 4 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: It reduces inequality and increases social justice.
Around a third of the households in Leicester don’t run a car, frequently not by choice but because they can’t afford to. Many of the people in these households are already vulnerable to poverty related disease, including heart and lung disease. Many of these people also live in the parts of the city with the worst air pollution due to cars driven by other people with more travel choices. Air pollution makes these diseases much more life threatening. People should be supported both for better health and in their access to affordable transport to access jobs, education, healthcare, friends and so much more. The WPL does this this by taking money from employers/employees lucky enough to be able to commute by car and using it to fund healthier transport choices, resulting in cleaner air, lower carbon emissions and less congestion for everyone.
Reason 5 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: We need to halve the worlds carbon emissions in the next 10 years to reduce climate change. Transport makes up about a quarter of Leicester’s carbon emissions and the WPL is a real step towards reducing Leicester’s transport emissions while also making healthier transport choices more available.
The next 5-10 years are crucial in limiting climate change. Climate scientists say that global temperature levels must be kept below 1.5 degree of global warming to avoid the very worst impacts of climate breakdown – in other world catastrophic climate change. Last year the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) produced a report which says the world is due to hit 1.5 degrees warming by 2034 under current plans and progress, and a UN report found that we need to slash 45% of emissions globally by 2030 to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
In order to tackle climate change how we live and travel has to change. It may be difficult, inconvenient and limiting to use cars less and cycle walk and bus more, but our futures and our children’s futures are at risk if we don’t make this change fast enough. Difficult, inconvenient and limiting will mean something much more devastating if we fail to tackle climate change. Now is the time for us to work together to support the changes which will keep the world below 1.5degrees of warming. And supporting a WPL is part of this.
We need people to use cars less in order to reduce carbon emissions and minimise climate change – and the WPL in Nottingham has helped with the shift from car to public and active transport. Please support it in Leicester.
Reason 6 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: Leicester is seen as a leader in the area of carbon reduction by other cities, so we need to lead well.
The WPL is a really positive step towards tackling climate change, inequality, air pollution and congestion. Only Nottingham currently has a WPL (it’s the reason it’s been able to fund their excellent tram network) and it was set up a decade ago under a very different national government and before climate change was being taken seriously.
Leicester is widely seen as a green leader for cities in the UK. If we go ahead with a WPL now other cities are likely to follow, and Leicester will be able to support and advise them to do so quickly and effectively. What we do here can ripple out.
Reason 7 to support the Workplace Parking Levy: it will reduce peak time congestion.
By specifically focusing on commuter driving, the WPL will reduce congestion in Leicester at the times when it is at it’s worst – the modelling predicts by 10%. Less congestion means fewer carbon emissions (start-stop traffic has a higher carbon footprint than smooth flowing traffic), less air pollution (for the same reason), safer roads for cyclists, pedestrians, buses and car users, and more reliable bus services.
Transport checklist for new developments. There are loads of new housing developments in the pipeline across Leicestershire – largely due to Leicester’s growing population. At the moment they encourage car dependancy and don’t support public or active transport options in the solid way we need to address the climate crisis. The Transport Action Group has just developed a very simple checklist/basic briefing about what good quality new housing developments need to include in terms of transport planning if they are to tackle and survive the intensifying climate crisis. We’ve sent it to councillors across the County, but it is also for you if you who want to respond to planning consultations with objections or support asking for a climate-friendly future. You can find it here. For a briefing from the TCPA (Town and County Planning Association) on 20 minute neighbourhoods – better described as 10 minute nighbourhoods – click here.
