Commuters ‘deserting’ public transport, says parking firm

Commuters are ‘deserting’ public transport, according to new research from an online parking platform.

YourParkingSpace.co.uk, which manages more than 65,000 parking spaces across the UK, has discovered a clear drop in bookings for parking at train stations. In contrast, spaces near to offices and places of work have been in demand, which suggests that more commuters are choosing private transport to reach their workplaces.

The website has seen a 46 per cent decline in bookings at train stations across the country, while those in city centres have risen by 19 per cent during September compared with pre-lockdown levels in February.

Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: “Historically, train stations are one of our most popular locations but our research indicates a shift away from these as bookings for empty parking spaces has declined significantly.

“However, this is in stark contrast to empty parking spaces in town and city centre locations, which show a considerable rise in demand, most likely as more people now drive to their workplace.”

Parking space bookings at Ebbsfleet International Station in Gravesend, for example, are down by 56 per cent, while those at York Station have fallen by 36 per cent too.

In contrast, bookings for spaces in the centre of Brighton are up by 96 per cent, or 43 per cent and 28 per cent for Edinburgh and London respectively.

A recent poll of 3,000 people also found that half of the respondents were less likely to use public transport now, with four-in-ten admitting that they were now more likely to drive instead.