Parking fee changes at Preston Bus Station

The price of parking at Preston Bus Station is to increase by 20 percent.

The hike is the first rise in fees at the 600-space multi-storey car park in nine years.

Lancashire County Council’s cabinet approved the move – which will affect both pay-and-display charges and pre-paid permits – in order to fully recover the costs of operating the facility.

Cabinet member for highways and transport Warren Goldsworthy said that the bill for running the car park “increases each year”.

He told the meeting at which the price rises were given the green light that they would also bring the fees “back into line” with those elsewhere in the city centre, whilst “maintaining a competitive pricing structure”.

The new £1.90 charge for a two-hour stay – up from £1.60 – is still cheaper than the multi-storey car parks at St. George’s Shopping Centre and on Syke Street in Avenham by 10 and 30 pence, respectively; while the new fee is a respective 10 and 90 pence less expensive than the surface car parks at the Fishergate Shopping Centre and Hill Street.

However, up to four hours of bus station parking at the new £3.90 rate – an increase from £3.20 – is now 40-90 pence more costly than at St. George’s and Fishergate, but remains 10 pence cheaper than in the Avenham multi-storey and £1 less than on Hill Street.

County Cllr Goldsworthy said any revenue received after running costs had been accounted for would go into “the council’s highway budget”.

During the 2024/2025 financial year, the car park was used for just over 129,000 parking ‘sessions’, generating almost £436,000 in income.

The authority says it will not be converting the pay-and-display machines at the bus station car park – which are currently cash-only – to enable them to accept card payments, because a card option is available to motorists if they use the RingGo app to pay for their parking.   County Hall said it “cannot justify the cost” of upgrading the kit in that context.

A report presented to members said that the council would also take the opportunity to “tidy-up and formalise” the parking bays reserved for blue badge holders, parents with young children travelling in a child or booster seat and electric vehicles being charged while parked.

As the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed earlier this year, that will involve a more than doubling of disabled spaces from 16 to 37.

There will be no change to the three-hour free parking entitlement for vehicles bearing a blue badge – with any parking over that time being charged at the full rate. A ban on returning to a free disabled parking space within eight hours of leaving will, however, be introduced.

Twenty parent-and-child bays will remain in place, while a tightening up of the traffic regulation order covering the car park will ensure enforcement action can be taken against drivers improperly occupying those or any of the six electric vehicle charging points.

A public consultation into the changes was carried out earlier this year – with only one objection being received.  No date has been given for when the price increases will come into effect.