Warwick to consult students and staff on postponed parking charges

The University of Warwick will consult students, staff and campus visitors on evening and weekend car parking prices, following the postponement of the planned charges. 

A £2.00 charge for parking after 6pm and an all-day parking ticket at weekends costing £2.80 were set to be introduced on 1 October.

The planned charges will now be deferred to January 2020 “in order to take time this term to consult with staff, students, and visitors to the campus” after they asked the University to take more time in assessing the new prices.

According to the University, the new charges were going to be introduced in order to “help directly discourage car use”, while contributing to investing in sustainable transport such as cycling, shuttle buses and buses.

“Warwick, like many other organisations, has declared a climate emergency. To help us reduce our emissions, and achieve our carbon reduction goals, the University had announced that it would introduce charges for weekend and evening car parking on the campus,” they said.

Students, staff and campus visitors subsequently requested for the University to take longer in considering how Warwick can help through sustainable transport, as well as the impact the charges could have on public engagement and work with the local community.

Earlier this month, changes to charges at car parks across Warwick campus were announced with increased hourly rates.

Currently, to park at car parks on a weekday from 6am to 6pm, costs range from £1.20 for up to two hours, £2.40 for up to four hours and £5.00 for the whole day.

From the start of October, the rates at General Pay and Display car parks will increase to £1.30 for up to two hours, £2 for up to three hours and £2.60 for up to four hours. The all-day parking charge will increase to £5.50.

The price of Flexi-Pay scratch cards will also increase from £50 to £55 for a book of 10 scratch cards, and will only be valid in General car parks and additional parking areas marked ‘F’ at Gibbet Hill campus.

The Flexi-Pay scratch cards will still be able to be purchased with an Eating at Warwick card, which reduces the price of the scratch cards by 10%.