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Last autumn, whilst on vacation in the USA and visiting New York, I stayed at a great little hotel on 44th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. The cost of parking up my hire car in one of those New York auto-dungeons was $34 for 24 hours. This is right in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. The previous week, in Washington DC, I’d paid about $20 a day.
The New York cost of $34 comes out at around £15 which is exactly what I would have to pay to park my car for 24 hours in the Mayday NHS Hospital car park in Croydon, which is where the photo was taken. I have never been to a Mayday Healthcare car park but that’s probably a good guide to most hospital car parking fees in England. According to this mornings Daily Telegraph, some English hospitals charge up to £4 an hour which makes parking in Croydon quite a bargain.
Hospital car parking costs have been a contentious issue ever since they were introduced and I’m sure that the vast majority see them as outrageous, especially as more and more hospitals are being sited outside of town and city centres with sketchy public transport links. I know I can drive to my local hospital in about 10 minutes. If I use a bus I have to allow at least an hour, possibly more, am taken several miles in the wrong direction and have to change buses mid-journey.
So, the news that things are to change is a welcome relief to all those people who need to make hospital visits on a regular basis. The Welsh Assembly has announced that they are to make all hospital car parks in Wales free over the next few years – with those that are contracted out to private enterprise being made free on the contract expiry. Free! Wonderful! In Scotland too the whole issue is under review by Ministers and, in the meantime, hospitals have been ordered to limit charges to £3 per day. They will almost certainly follow the Welsh lead however and add free hospital parking to free university tuition fees, free prescriptions, free care for the elderly and all the other services the Scots enjoy.
And in England? Well. You know the rest don’t you. And you know who will be footing the bill that will allow the Welshman and the Scotsman to stick their respective two fingers up at all the stupid people who live on the other side of their border.
Typical at the moment of the Nu Labour,reforms with no mandate only a ancient formula which is being abused all directions in the name of Barnet,(the car parking is not really connected BUT) to this damn crappy system ,which nu labour hatched .The old cunning 70s plan kept in the draw so long………. until the time was right Labour & there little communist/celtic MPs rubbing the hands,every time the goose lays a golden egg,wheres your equality now,wheres your fairness, Discrimination you dont know the meaning of the word, shame on you !……..Politicians…..Englands day will come im sure we can devise some paperwork in the future.Blair & Brown the Discriminators!
In the last twenty years of travelling to and fro to
America I have never had to pay for parking anywhere 9including hospitals) I,m sure its not just because of the space either..I think Americans understand that freedom of movement is freedom to trade….not something our present govt gives a damn about.
How much more do you reckon the 50 million are going to take before they’ve had enough? Are they sticking ‘compliance drugs’ into the water or what?
Alfie the OK: This is the BIG question really isn’t it? If politics was an honest profession, Cameron’s Conservatives would be leading the charge and whipping up public awareness and until one of the two main parties actually start to get their priorities right – and let’s face it, it ain’t going to be Brown’s Brood – then the vast majority of the English haven’t wont put two and two together as they are still being brainwashed into thinking that anyone promoting England is an extremist. Personally I loathe the idea that the Tories may be the only hope but I think that is where the pressure has to be applied.
The day MIGHT have arrived,
Scotland The Government has denied reports that the Prime Minister has ordered a review of the funding formula that allocates money to Scotland. The Daily Telegraph said Gordon Brown had ordered a review of the Barnett Formula aimed at meeting concerns from English constituencies about the funding mechanism. But the Scottish Secretary, Des Browne, told MPs: "We all know that the Barnett formula had delivered stable and transparent settlements for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales for about 30 years now. "Despite the lurid headlines that there were in some newspapers this morning there are no plans for any review of the Barnett formula." from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/3188796.stm
now we all know that "not up for discussion " is the pre-cursor to "we need an enquiry" which is the first step on another media lead circus… but at least it’s in the news..
Malc: I think this comes under the heading of ‘throw them a crumb…’