Sep 2009 15

Perks for Parking Tickets8

It would appear that taxpayers are footing the bill for yet more benefits for public sectors workers. This time it's free gifts, paid lunches and afternoons off work for traffic wardens who obtain the most revenue from parking penalties.

The bonus system came to light after a briefing was leaked by Bristol City Council. The “performance-based” scheme finds a loophole from parking regulations, which stipulates that councils are prohibited from handing out cash bonuses to traffic wardens. Instead teams of traffic wardens who issue the most parking tickets and generate the most money from penalties are rewarded with buffet lunches and afternoons off work. Also the individual within the team who successfully makes the most money from issuing parking tickets is given a gift pen.

This naturally raises questions over the very premise of such a scheme – it potentially incentivises traffic wardens to be overzealous in issuing parking tickets in order to get a free lunch and then go home for the afternoon.  Bristol City Council argues that this is not the case, stating the system is designed to reward good service and not increase the number of parking tickets. A spokeswoman said:


“The scheme is aimed at improving the quality of the service. The team is rewarded for compliments, courtesy and punctuality.

“The finger buffet lunch – £50 for the entire group – held at our operational base, is a working lunch where issues such as team morale and service improvements are discussed.”

However the statements contain a complete contradiction, with Bristol City Council arguing that the scheme rewards traffic wardens who generate the most revenue and also aids the council in improving parking services.  What is more worrying is that the scheme goes against the basis on which parking enforcement was granted to local authorities. The Road Traffic Act of 1991 permitted local authorities to apply for legal powers to take over parking enforcement and retain the revenue generated from parking tickets.

However it was promised that with local authorities obtaining this extra revenue, council tax would decrease.  Of course, council tax has continued to rise and it would appear that surplus from parking penalties is going towards showering traffic wardens with benefits.  Once again the taxpayer is the loser, with high council taxes and an increased likelihood of being slapped with a parking penalty from predatory traffic wardens.

Related Posts

  • david b

    Presumably poor-performing wardens are discriminated against by being excluded from these team morale building/service improvement extravaganzas.

  • Paul

    It would be interesting to see a copy of the agenda and minutes from the “working lunch”!

  • Hardeep Singh

    There you go now the government has got the traffic gestapo working for them too. It’s just a cosy arrangement to get a “cut of the action”. All it does is bring further misery to people not to mention the shock of the whole sorry experience. When confronted by a criminal/mugger on a late night you still have the law on your side but when someone in a uniform who’s authorised to mug you in public well what can I say… next step East German secret police to help raise more revenue for the government!
    Disgraceful they people should work and pay their way, it’s not for the innocent taxpayer to fund these organisations as some kind of “help yourself to our open wallet”.
    Sod off and get a more respectable job like grave robbing.

  • Nice Boy Nigel

    Are they secretly painting double yellow traffic lines whilst you are doing you’re shopping? Perhaps they quickly erect a parking meter whilst you nip in the bank to pay a bill? Or perhaps not. If you don’t want to pay towards these “benefits”, then simply obey the parking regulations that are in force.
    Always works for me.
    PS – I recently got a £60 fine for doing 35 in a 30. Do I rant about it being a stealth tax? No. I was speeding. Not excessively, but speeding nonetheless.
    To suggest that the next step is the East German Police (even, presumably, in jest) is frankly pathetic and offensive to the people thay suffered under that oppressive regime. I dare say that “The Live of Others” would not have been the triumph that it was if it had depicted state snoopers being over zealous with regard to parking fines….

  • Steve Robson

    yes Hardeep rather misses the fact that people who park illegally are not “innocent”. Like you, Nigel, I have had fines for not complying with traffic regulations over the years and once for having the wrong train ticket. All these fines were quite justified in my view, but clearly supporters of the TPA should be exempt and equate enforcement to graverobbing. Without traffic regulations, we would have anarchy and mayhem with many deaths, can anyone explain to me how that is a good thing?

  • Hardeep Singh

    I am in in way exempting myself or anyone else for that matter. I am simply implying that the government wishes to raise more and more revenue through so called enforcement. When speeding why not fund more speeding workshops rather than flat out fines? Why not have an increased reliance upon a penalty points system or at the very least a choice between these options. I doubt any British citizen is going to complain when it’s a fair cop that’s just our nature but we do get hot under the collar when the government are attempting to punish people for being half an inch over the white line or in some cases inadvertently parking in the wrong only to realise their mistake and move immediately, why can’t they be afforded the grace for that?

  • Steve Robson

    Mine have all been clear cut, I don’t believe these people who claim it was only half an inch etc; funny how they all read the mail and vote Tory or worse.
    I’d rather pay a fine than go to a workshop; I thought the one thing we agreed on was not liking nannying by the state; a course would be that with spades; horrendous. I had a friend in the States who had to go on such a course for drinking too much, they all went for a beer (or six)afterwards. A fine is a financial reminder to obey the law.

  • http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_and_money/story/0,,952455,00.html Patrick Cullinane

    Hardeep, is Steve Robson and Nice Boy, traffic wardens? Or do they work for Bristol City Council?
    Always beware of the False Flag comments my friend! Do not be fooled!