Nottingham City Council instituted the Workplace Parking Levy Scheme: a fee per parking space for employers, generating revenue to expand the city’s tram system, create a new bus network and build a multi-modal transportation hub. The initiative improved the connectivity of the city using sustainable modes of transport and reduced congestion, making it easier for residents to get to essential destinations.
Traffic congestion in Nottingham created difficult driving conditions, generated air pollution and cost commuters and businesses money. Prior to the project’s interventions, 45% of households in Nottingham did not own a car, and a lack of citywide public transportation isolated residents from other parts of the city, ultimately reducing access to employment opportunities.
- Established a fee program that charged employers £424 annually for every parking space provided to employees
- Used funds from the fee program to:
- Expand the tram network, especially in the south of the city, creating 17.5 kilometers of new track and 28 new tram stops
- Create the Linkbus network that connects areas of the city that were not fully served by other modes of transport
- Redevelop Nottingham Station into a transport hub where travelers can easily transfer between different modes and services including trains, trams, buses and bikes
- Create a 24-hour bike service, Citycard Cycle
- Expanded Nottingham’s tram network, increasing service to ~20 million passengers annually
- Increased bus service to 8 million passengers annually via creation of the Linkbus network
- Improved access to, and connection between, sustainable commute options: Upwards of 8 million passengers pass through the redeveloped Nottingham Station per year
- Bridged connections between employment hubs, residential areas and public spaces
- Established bike lanes and encouraged the development of additional biking infrastructure, so cyclists can share the benefits of improved access
- Generates ~£10 million per year, which is used to fund additional public transit services, routes and infrastructure
- Projected to remove 2.5 million car journeys per year from Nottingham’s roads
- Increased attractiveness of Nottingham as a livable and sustainable city, leading to more investment in the city and a higher employment rate
- Prioritized city land for uses other than parking, such as green space, housing and retail
- Reduced traffic congestion
