Could paid parking be the answer?
IF THERE’S one thing that’s guaranteed to get most islanders hot under the collar, it’s trying to get them out of their cars.
Which is why any attempt to emulate Jersey in boosting bus usage by introducing paid parking is unlikely to prove popular with the general public in Guernsey.
It came dangerously close to being introduced back in 2014, when the States approved plans to charge 60p an hour for long-stay parking in St Peter Port, as well as making the bus service free.
But it was not to be. Following petitions and protests, deputies got cold feet and the transport plan was torn up.
Quite what impact it might have had if it had made it through, we’ll never know.
But the concept of paid parking could be back up for discussion, with it being credited as one of the potential reasons for Jersey’s higher bus usage, despite charging more than double the cost of a Guernsey bus ticket.
For years the island has avoided dealing with increasing congestion and pollution, which is only likely to get worse, particularly in the most populated parts of the island such as St Peter Port and the northern parishes.
Paid parking has proved a political hot potato in the past, but with this week being Alternative Transport Week, it seems as good a time as any to reconsider the alternatives.