Pay to reserve free parking

Parking

Transport for the West Midlands is to trial charging motorists for pre-booking a parking space at rail stations. 

TfWM provides 8,805 parking spaces at 67 stations, almost all of which are free to use. 

On weekdays, spaces are generally fully occupied by 8am, with the exception of Bescot and Bescot. 

TfWM launched a free reservation trial in 2017 in collaboration with app developer Accelogress. Thirty-five spaces at four stations are available via the Save-a-space app. Almost 1,200 people signed up for the trial but only 200 were admitted, leaving about 1,000 on a waiting list. 

The booking service will be extended to Stourbridge Junction and Whitlocks End stations this month, and the number of  reservable bays will rise to 79.

TfWM now wants to test if people are willing to pay £3.60 to reserve the spaces. It also plans to trial reservable spaces in Bromsgrove station car park, where parking charges already apply.