Park & Ride 'Made Up' Parking Fee

Cbailey98

I am a student at York college and started parking in the Park and ride across the road whilst at college following a parking fine (they finally dropped it) from tesco. One day i left the car and was approached by a parking warden who told me college student cant park here, you must buy a ticket or leave. He let me off but said next time you have to.

I started to buy single tickets for £1.40 in the little hub when i parked there but last week they began to say 'do you want a student parking bus ticket'. This ticket costs £2.80 and is essentially a return into York.

Is this a legal practice, i cant see anywhere saying you 'must' have a return to park in a park and ride? Infact i often buy single and then get a coastliner back as its cheaper (£1.40 + £1 as opposed to £2.80 return).

Not only does their student parking scheme seem shady and made up on the spot, it also seems discriminatory towards students at the college across the road. As i cant imagine them denying an older adult a single rather than a return if they've parked there.


Any help will be appreciated!

Thanks!

JasX

The official line seems to be:

http://www.itravelyork.info/park-and-ride/park-and-ride-sites/askham-bar
"
Please note:

Students attending York College are not permitted to park at this site."

wealdroam

Cbailey98 wrote: »

I am a student at York college and started parking in the Park and ride across the road whilst at college following a parking fine (they finally dropped it) from tesco. One day i left the car and was approached by a parking warden who told me college student cant park here, you must buy a ticket or leave. He let me off but said next time you have to.

I started to buy single tickets for £1.40 in the little hub when i parked there but last week they began to say 'do you want a student parking bus ticket'. This ticket costs £2.80 and is essentially a return into York.

Is this a legal practice, i cant see anywhere saying you 'must' have a return to park in a park and ride? Infact i often buy single and then get a coastliner back as its cheaper (£1.40 + £1 as opposed to £2.80 return).

Not only does their student parking scheme seem shady and made up on the spot, it also seems discriminatory towards students at the college across the road. As i cant imagine them denying an older adult a single rather than a return if they've parked there.


Any help will be appreciated!

Thanks!

Did they insist on a return ticket?

You post states that they asked if you wanted a return ticket, not you 'must have a return'. Nor is there any implication that they are denying anyone anything.

Perhaps you think they are being 'discriminatory towards students' by denying college students parking facilities, as pointed out by JasX.

NBLondon

Isn't the clue in the name - Park and Ride as opposed to park cheaply and walk across the road to college.


If it's a private operation, they should be within their rights to insist that you use the "Ride" as a condition of using the "Park".


It's not discriminatory against students - unless they allow college staff to make use of the car park freely.

agrinnall

As NBLondon says, you need to ride in order to park. The car park that I occasionally use at my nearest station is free to use but requires a train ticket in order to exit from it. That seems very reasonable to me - it's also near a FE College and would no doubt be even more swamped than it already is if non-P&R people were allowed to park there.

patman99

I find it quite odd that they offer a return ticket. All the P+R schemes in Essex and Suffolk operate on a fixed-fee ticket that gets you a days parking and use of the P+R bus.

In theory, the op could pay for a standard P+R ticket, then not use the 'ride' part, but just walk across the road to the college. Or, if there are CCTV cameras monitoring the P+R, catch the bus to the first available stop, then return on another bus before walking into college.

At Colchester's P+R, you have an option that allows for a car to park without the 'ride' option. This comes in handy for attending matches at the Western Homes Community Stadium as it is £3 to park in the P+R compared to £8 for the stadium carpark.

NBLondon

patman99 wrote: »

I find it quite odd that they offer a return ticket.

Really - I would have thought it the norm. Drive to Car Park, Bus to City Centre, Return to Car Park, Drive Home.


Depending on how big the town/city is and how far to destination - singles might makes sense for Drive to Car Park, Walk to City Centre, Buy Heavy Item, Bus to Car Park, Drive Home or Bus to City Centre, Walk Back via Various Shops to Car Park.