Call for better public transport in Peterborough as electric car drivers will have to pay to charge and park vehicles for first time

The Green Party in Peterborough has called for better public transport in the city after the city council announced drivers will have to pay to charge and park their vehicles in public car parks for the first time.

While the cost for charging and parking an electric vehicle (EV) has not yet been announced, Cllr Marco Cereste, Peterborough City Council cabinet member for climate change, planning, housing and transport, said the new bill was needed because of the cash strapped authority’s financial position.

Currently drivers of electric cars do not have to pay for parking or charging at city council car run parks.

"Electric cars will still be far more efficient and cost effective for drivers”

However, following the announcement, cllr Nicola Day, leader of the Green Party in the city, said more needed to be done to make environmentally friendly transport a better option in Peterborough.

Cllr Day said: “Electric cars will still be far more efficient and cost effective for drivers. However, the council needs to invest in the future network and with the council being in a difficult financial position it is hoped that investment will come via these charges. The Greens would like to see cheaper EV parking charges compared to petrol and diesel cars to help incentivise the take up of electric vehicles.

"What we would also like to see is better public transport that is affordable for all.

"Whilst EV will help with the reduction of carbon, replacing all cars with EV is not the answer in terms of tackling the climate crisis. We must look to reducing the number of individual vehicles people own and get people using public transport.”

Stagecoach have recently announced a series of cuts to bus services in Peterborough and across Cambridgeshire

The city council said free parking and charging for EVs was ‘no longer affordable’, and the money raised from the charges will help the council mitigate the surging cost of electricity prices and allow for future investment in the city’s charging network, which includes plans for a new substation at the Car Haven Car Park near the Town Hall and residential charging points.

“We are not immune to the national rise in energy prices"

Cllr Cereste said: “We are fortunate in Peterborough to have a large network of both public and private electric vehicle charging points, and we have plans to expand this to encourage greater take-up of EVs which is crucial in helping us tackle the climate emergency.

“However, we are not immune to the national rise in energy prices, while we also have our own financial challenges. We have little choice but to introduce fees for charging which we will keep as low as possible and which we expect will be cheaper than using private charging points. By doing this now, it will also mean we are able to afford to invest in our network in the future.

The changes will also affect taxi and private hire drivers.

The exact charging cost and start date will be announced shortly.

A full list of the council's public charging points can be found by visiting: https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/residents/parking/car-park-locations#electric-charging-points.