Welcoming the new environmental initiatives in Budget 2009, Friends of the Irish Environment has suggested that the proposed parking levy on car park spaces should be charged according to use and not as an annual levy.
A spokesman for the environmental group said “there are a number of ways in which this charge could be levied. Many cyclists, walkers and public transport users bring a car to work some days, and this scheme will work best if companies collect the levy based on the use their employees make of parking spaces.
In practice employers will set up simple systems to pass the charge on, such as a euro per space per day. This gives very real incentives to cycle, walk or take public transport, and it avoids the pitfalls of an annual charge. For example, with an annual levy of €200 the cyclist or pedestrian only using the space 30 or 40 times a year would feel very hard done by.
“With transport it’s important to avoid the ‘I paid for it; now I’m going to use it’ pitfall”, the spokesman said. “We need to reward occasional cyclists and pedestrians for switching away from car use. Charging by use is the best way to do that.
Friends of the Irish Environment is a member of the Irish Environmental Network, an Umbrella group for national environmental NGOs. The network welcomed the focus on cycling in Budget 2009 saying the €1,000 per employee scheme to buy bikes and related equipment would see commuters look at cycling in a new light and help to reverse the decline in bike shops seen in recent years.
In practice employers will set up simple systems to pass the charge on, such as a euro per space per day. This gives very real incentives to cycle, walk or take public transport, and it avoids the pitfalls of an annual charge. For example, with an annual levy of €200 the cyclist or pedestrian only using the space 30 or 40 times a year would feel very hard done by.
“With transport it’s important to avoid the ‘I paid for it; now I’m going to use it’ pitfall”, the spokesman said. “We need to reward occasional cyclists and pedestrians for switching away from car use. Charging by use is the best way to do that.
Friends of the Irish Environment is a member of the Irish Environmental Network, an Umbrella group for national environmental NGOs. The network welcomed the focus on cycling in Budget 2009 saying the €1,000 per employee scheme to buy bikes and related equipment would see commuters look at cycling in a new light and help to reverse the decline in bike shops seen in recent years.
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