Case study: Nottingham
Nottingham introduced Europe’s workplace parking levy in 2012 as part of their effort to reduce traffic congestions in the city.
They estimated that commuters driving to and from work made up about 70% of peak time traffic in Nottingham. Since then, Nottingham saw a cut in road journey times during rush hour due to reduced congestion, even before the pandemic.
The city also found more commuters using the new public transport infrastructure which was part-funded by the levy.
Read more about the successes of the Nottingham WPL scheme in their ten year impact report.
Nottingham’s workplace parking levy is based on maximum vehicle occupancy, not on the number of parking spaces.
Their WPL is not paid by employers providing ten or less workplace parking places liable for WPL under their scheme do not pay. It is also not paid on
- motorbike parking
- parking at hospitals
- emergency services parking
- parking places occupied by vehicles used by occasional business visitors
An “occasional business visitor” refers to customers or people who are contracted to work for the employer for a limited time, so the workplace is not seen as their regular place of work.
Nottingham’s WPL has raised funds that has allowed the city to invest in their public transport infrastructure. This includes
- more than doubling the size of the city’s tram network
- improvements to the bus fleet
- redeveloping Nottingham’s Railway Station.
Nottingham has also distributed over £1 million in grants direct to employers to support and encourage sustainable travel decisions.
Nottingham City Council has supported businesses to manage their car parks and travel plans. They have also made sure sure that costs are fairly passed to workers. Not all liable workers pay the cost of the levy in Nottingham. Before the pandemic, they reported that only 53% of people parking in places liable for WPL paid some contribution to the cost of the levy.