Car park charges to increase for 2024/25
18 July 2024
Campus car parking charges will increase for many colleagues in 2024/25, as we look to enhance green transport options.
The increase for staff is between 3-4%. It is being applied incrementally this year, with a larger increase for those in higher pay grades and no increase for Grades 1-3 to avoid a disproportionate impact on these colleagues.
This year’s price increase has been kept to a minimum in recognition of ongoing cost of living pressures, and follows prices being frozen for three of the past five years.
Colleagues facing the highest increase will pay the equivalent of around 3p more per working day, or £1 more per month.
The increase comes into effect on 1 August 2024.
Staff parking charges 2024/25
|
Pay grade |
New annual fee |
Increase |
Additional annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Grades 1-3 |
£53.04 |
0% |
£0 |
|
Grades 4-5 |
£109.32 |
3% |
£3.24 |
|
Grades 6-8 |
£136.56 |
3% |
£3.96 |
|
Grade 9 |
£220.68 |
4% |
£8.52 |
Prices will also increase for students and visitors. Students will be charged £35 per semester and pay and display rates will increase from £1.50 to £2 per hour, and from £10 to £12.50 per day.
Our new Travel Plan
The price increases will address rising inflationary costs for the University, with income used to maintain the car parks and fund sustainable travel initiatives.
The latter is especially important this year, with our new Travel Plan due to be published this month.
One of the main ambitions outlined in the Travel Plan’s is to reduce car journeys to campus, particularly those in single occupancy vehicles.
We recognise that colleagues and students often have good reasons for choosing to drive to work and are less able to choose other travel methods.
However, commutes by car remain one of our biggest sources of carbon emissions as an institution – more than the emissions of all the gas we use across our entire University estate. Reducing this is therefore absolutely critical to our environmental sustainability strategic ambitions, including our aim to be carbon neutral by 2030.
To support colleagues in exploring low-carbon travel options, our Sustainability team is working with Reading Buses to introduce new and improved services.
Bike storage on campus is also being improved, with shelters being enhanced and made more secure this summer.
More details will follow this summer on the Travel plan, as well as new and existing sustainable travel options.