UKFrance: Westminster Council will face the bikers on Appeal next month: Another five weeks to go and the thousa... http://bit.ly/gnpNHb over 1 year ago via twitter

Demonstration - Trafalgar Square this evening: 17:30-20:00 today: Procession against Westminster Council motorcy... http://bit.ly/fg0WuA over 1 year ago via twitter

BBC New summarise various actions agains Westminster: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8551184.stm about 2 years ago via web

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP4AutJ0LGQ over 2 years ago via web

I use my scooter or bike for occasional trips to London and, when I park, I discover I am expected to pay. To make payment I have to use my phone, at my expense whilst listening to a bunch of options. Trying to block out the noise from passing traffic whilst on the phone is just another aggravation and if I get it wrong I have to repeat the process. What a waste of time and money! Pity the guys who have to do this every day. over 2 years ago via web

Why should motorcycles park for free when cars have to pay.

Arguing that some other section of road users have to pay and therefore all road users have to pay is an argument with possibly no end. Continue down that line and you have to argue that cycles, pedicabs, electric vehicles, even pedestrians, should have to pay. And delivery vehicles (dispatch riders); Why should they be allowed to load and unload for free when they are part of commercial enterprises.

Congestion easing
Bikes do not cause congestion, in fact they help to ease a city's
roads, which is probably why it is the Conservative Party's policy to encourage the use of PTW's not discourage them. Yet just before the introduction of the congestion charge, Westminster Council wanted bikes and scooters to pay the charge.

Impact on public transport
For those that can't avoid Westminster, discouraging PTW use is encouraging increased use of an already over stretched public transport system. Westminster Council say that around 16,000 M/C's come in to central London each day, do they really want us all to switch to public transport, it cannot cope as it is.

Pay-by-phone security
As you may be aware Westminster have now gone to a Verrus supplied
cashless pay-by-phone parking system. This was designed only for use by car drivers, as one of the benefits of the system was that car drivers could pay from the comfort and security of the vehicles. With M/C's, riders are expected to stand outside after what may have been a freezing cold journey with a mobile phone and credit card in their hands. It is for that reason the Metropolitan Police are now investigating why Westminster City Council are encouraging this behavior.

Adequate provision
Over a year after the experimental scheme to charge M/C's to park, riders are still having to jam their bikes into overcrowded bays which often leads to damage to their vehicles. There is no sign of additional security devices, and there is not likely to be. So what have riders been given for their now £100 per year parking, I can't think of anything myself.
But do you think for one moment that car drivers would put up with
regularly having to replace damaged parts on their cars. Or that car drivers would expect to regularly have to lift other cars out of the way just to be able to drive away. The Council have been asked why they cannot provide secure designated bike bays as they do in Paris (which are free). The Councils answer was that they will not provide designated bays as they wish to maximise M/C space. Yet they are many car bays which are marked out to designate a space for each car.

Because of Councillor Chalkley's determination to push through
charging for bikes, which even at the reduced fees is estimated to
make a surplus of £2 million pound in the next year (last year was 4 million profit), it has caused riders to research the Council's
procedure of tendering and awarding contracts.

Other greedy councils around the United Kingdom are watching what happens in Westminster, charging scooters and motorcycles to park could soon be coming to your town. over 2 years ago via web

With the news today of petrol hitting the £5 a gallon mark, mostly due to a small group of city speculators, basically rich men and women who want to be even richer men and women, making money off the back of most of the general population of this country, Westminster are just imposing a totally unjust stealth tax on powered two wheelers (P2Ws), motorbikes and scooters, which were a relatively cheap, hassle free and much more environmentally friendly form of transport as they keep moving, so pollute much, much less than other forms of travel particularly in the capital.
I urge everyone to get involved, even people, like me, who hardly ever ride into Central London, unity is strength. over 2 years ago via web

Seeing as how this whole scheme was solely introduced to pay for a few extra bays, I propose that Westminster council should total the amount of money they've raised (I'll save them the trouble; it's about £4 Million,) and see if that's enough to cover their expenditure. The extra bays cost £23,000.

I propose the charging of P2Ws to park is stopped on the grounds that the object of the scheme has been accomplished. over 2 years ago via web

This scheme is only experimental and has not been made permanent yet and the good folks at notobikeparkingfees.com are doing a great job at challenging this. There's been a lot of shady dealing between councillors and the private firms who run this scheme, apparently.

In case you get a ticket you may like to know that your first one is automatically cancelled. over 2 years ago via web