Car parking charges increased at Southeastern stations

Southeastern has been accused of ‘ripping off’ passengers by increasing car parking charges on top of the fare increases introduced earlier this month. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) union argues that this is just another way to raise prices, even though regulated fare rises are capped at 1% plus RPI. Daily car parking charges at Kidbrooke in south east London increased from £3.50 to £4.50 and in other stations charges were increased by 50p a day. TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Southeastern are ripping off commuters who are now paying as much as £4,000 a year for their annual season tickets. “Car parking increases of almost 30% simply cannot be justified when inflation is 5% and wages are only rising by 2%. They are squeezing the squeezed middle until the pips squeak. Rail companies are now treating car parking charges as another revenue stream which they can simply turn on when they want extra cash.” A spokesman for Southeastern said: “The vast majority of car parks remain unchanged while some have been reduced by as much as £1 a day. A small number have gone up but none more than 50p a day.” Tell us what you think at opinion@railtechnologymagazine.com