No to "Mad" motorcycle parking fees in London
Mass ride out Tuesday 31st march 2009 - Ace cafe to Trafalgar Square or meet Trafalgar Square. Details here: Protest Ride
Concerned bikers are descending en-mass in London today in order to protest against new bike parking charges that they see as an unnecessary tax and an encouragement to pollute in cars.
Councillors in the borough of Westminster have introduced an "Experimental" bike parking charge for motorcyclists using the motorcycle bays in the local area they control.
Moped riders, scooter owners and bikers of all sorts of machines now have to pay £1.50 per day in order to park where once it was free.
Bikers have reacted with a combination of amazement and frustration to what is seen as a backwards step of unnecessary revenue collection that will discourage a green method of transport that directly attends to the problems of parking in the capital city.
Councillors in Westminster responded by saying that they have created 44% more parking bays for motorcyclists and that the introduction of an “Experimental traffic order” was necessary due to the increase in demand for motorcycle parking since the introduction of the congestion charge for cars.
Those campaigning against the charge say that up to 8 motorcycles can park in the same space that a car can and that the green footprint of a two wheeler is up to 40 times less that a car. Parking should remain free for powered two wheelers to encourage green transport and to reduce congestion in London.
Bernard Adams of Camrider motorcycle training states: “To create a charge or tax on people taking single occupant transport in such a green manner as a scooter is environmental madness”. “Particularly when hybrid cars such as Lexus SUVs are exempt from the congestion charge, but still pollute many more times than that of a moped”.
Camrider supports the campaign against the charge and have a large group of riders going along on the protest ride on 31st March to meet at Trafalgar Square in London.
Controversy has taken place in that the Council has accused campaigners of “Bullying” and “Intimidation” when bikers turned up to a council meeting for a peaceful protest earlier in the year.
Organisers and supporters of the campaign against the bike charges respond by stating “Bikers are quietly attending council meetings and ride outs as a peaceful protest, this is our democratic right that we will not give up – peaceful protest is not intimidation, it is a British right to express views against legislators when laws are unfair or unwise”
links:
No to bike parking fees web site
Westminster council re bike charges
