I know this has been mentioned before, but now its only weeks before the pleasure of giving Westminster Coincil £1.50 per day to park in certain areas.
Now we will see either:
a) deserted bays in the middle of summer or
b) fights breaking out in the summer heat as people park miles away in free bays and walk to work in their motobike gear.
c) motorcycle cover / fake plates etc to get away with ithttp://www.westminster.gov.uk/transportandstreets/parking/wheretopark/vehicletype/motorcycle/chargingintro.cfm
[quote]
City Boy (24/07/2008)
I know this has been mentioned before, but now its only weeks before the pleasure of giving Westminster Coincil £1.50 per day to park in certain areas.
Now we will see either:
a) deserted bays in the middle of summer or
b) fights breaking out in the summer heat as people park miles away in free bays and walk to work in their motobike gear.
c) motorcycle cover / fake plates etc to get away with ithttp://www.westminster.gov.uk/transportandstreets/parking/wheretopark/vehicletype/motorcycle/chargingintro.cfm[/quote]what about: (d) people paying the £1.50, because it’s STILL a lot cheaper and better than going on the tube. My bike “paid for itself” from new over a couple of years, compared to travelcards, and I live in zone 1 so my travelcards aren’t exactly the most expensive.TBH, every other (motorised) road user pays for parking. Don’t you think it’s a little bit OTT for bikers to throw their keys out of the pram about limited charging in central london? Sure, I know that we, as a nation, are parking obsessed (compare the UK with most other places in Europe, for example), and I’m not overly keen to pay for something that was previously free, but you could look at the other side of the coin and be thankful that it was free for so long.
Lots of revenue generated by people not knowing what to do and getting tickets.If you pre-regsiter now then you get free parking over August.
It is only during the ‘controlled hours’ so guessing before 8:30am and 6:30pm it is OK to park in bays (as it is with single yellows, etc)
They are rolling it out over a number of ‘Zones’, some are only starting charging at the third week of august.Also electric bikes are free.
I cant help thinking that it wont stay at £1.50 for very long. Before you know it it’ll be £2, £3, £4!!! At that price I’d expect somewhere to loop my chain around.
Wasnt there talk of demonstarting against this fee?
Fear you may be right BB, £1.50 seems on the borders of reasonable, but for how long.
It is a rip off too be honest, I think that for £1.50 we should be given the ability to chain bikes to something. The council need to give and take too, and I’d be ok paying £1.50 to park if there were ground anchors and CCTV on bike bays… but bike theft is low on the councils list of priorities me thinks…
I agree with your man above that before we know it, it will be £2, then £3… and so on… leading to us paying congestion fees…
Will we get a refund if we’ve paid in advance but can’t find a space- i.e. anytime after 9am on a sunny day? :ermm:
no as you are able to park in any bay… so just go look for one!! 
nice legal loophole!
Well I have to admit I think this is a complete tax on us! However, at £150 for the year, which I can claim on work expenses its not so bad
BUT I have not seen one of these so called ‘new’ bays in London, its still almost impossible to find a spot in the West End during the week!!! so where are they then???
AND They described them as ‘secure’…again I have seen no evidence of these new security measures being deployed!
FINALLY as you have to register your bike to your pass, does this mean you need more than 1 pass if you have multiple bikes? If so its surely a tax on motorcycling rather than a parking fee
Like it matters anyway, as a group, English motorcyclist suck when it comes to these things, we all just nod and agree and get on with it, bit like we are doing nothing about the bus lanes.
If we were French :blink: we would simply say non and bring Paris to a complete standstill until the idea is thrown in the bin, then park on the pavement and go drink a coffee inside a cafe smoking a fag. 
I have seen a lot more parking bays around where I am (W1K) Its now very easy for me to park whenever.
does anyone know?(sorry if I haven’t read the notice carefully enough) but now that we have to pay for parking, are they going to provide bars like they do in cycle bays so we can chain the bikes up?
They are on ‘trial’ which basically means it will be in some bays but not in others.
There are several new bays and extended bays in WC2, However ,the “security” is useless - a large bent bar designed for chaining a bicycle to that is too far away from the bay, and not even available for the full length of the bay.
The thing I think is poor is that unlike cars which are charged but guaranteed a space for their vehicle that is a standard size and not usable by other vehicles, motorcycles will still get jammed into bays even whe nthere is no room and there is nothign to stop your bike being moved out of a bay which is still an offence if you have paid.
guess it’s a start - thanks
Re the multiple bike issue - each permit is tied to one vehicle, but you can have multiple vehicles registered under one account. Whilst this might mean you would need more than one permit if you have more then one bike, it looks like you can change the registration number of the vehicle covered by the permit instantly online so if you are only using one bike at atime you could get away with one permit.
Errr…I don’t know where you park but try getting a space ANYWHERE within a mile of, say, Berkeley Square after 9.30- it’s just not possible. There are quite a few bays round there but they are ALL RAMMED by mid morning. Oh yeah and I’ve not seen any bays with posts or ground anchors (they are pointless anyway) and no new bays round where I work a bit further North in W1 …and believe me I know all the nearby bays from accumulated hours of circulating trying to find a space.
Rubbish idea Westminster.
when i used to work just off carnaby street i hired a private garage spot on hanover square only cost me £30 a month and it was gated the lot shame that’s now closed.
that was my point exactly (guess the “angry” smiley didn’t out that across well)
i am sure that they don’t care if you pay and cant park.
I am really surprised that a group hasnt been organised to object to this… (in mainland Europe we protest - strike for peanuts!) UK is becoming like Japan (soon we’ll strike while working)
atleast have people sent a letter or filled in the onlineform?
[quote]
Benelli Boy (24/07/2008)
How about <E> People who have there parking places at work and dont have to pay!!! :w00t::w00t::w00t: Only Kidding, Im in the same boat!
One point is that on the bays on trial (like the one I used today) has a small notice that says you have to pay as of 18/Aug. It looks like planning permission that peeps just ignore.
A lot of bikers will just park and not know. The notice should be written in a big red sign preferably with blood…just image those just coming into Westminster and not realising as they don’t pay anywhere else and never paid in Westmin before.
A lot of PCN I guess.