Doubling the parking fee

in the CBD of this city is not going to encourage more people to come into it and it is not going to encourage people to return to work in the office.

Middle Cat's partner long ago gave up taking his vehicle to work on days he knew he would not need it. Even with a designated parking place he dislikes the waste of time involved in traffic. Middle Cat would drop him off before she took the two boys to school - a school not within safe walking distance. That ceased when the boys ceased needing "Mum" to take them to school.  Middle Cat would then drop him at his parents place first thing in the morning. He kept his pushbike there and would ride in to work. It took less time to ride on the bike path than it did to take the car.

When he moved to another job he went on riding his bike on the days he could. He has a designated parking space on the days he needs it (he shares it with other staff on a "need" basis) but if that ever changed his firm would have to reconsider their arrangements. Yes, he knows he is one of the lucky ones. 

I know a lot of people who don't actually need their cars during the day but they drive to walk. It's so easy. They simply walk out the door of the house in the morning, get in their car and go. They don't do it because they need to drop their children off at school or because they are going to the gym after work. They simply like being able to sit in their car and drive to work. They are also prepared to pay the parking fees and use their work time to move their cars around if there are set limits in the area. 

Of course there have been parking issues before now but the last few years seem to have increased them. Now people are also saying they don't want to use public transport "because of Covid". (And what about the Common Cold and Influenza? They have been a danger for years before Covid.)

The City Council (which sets the fees) is saying the extra money is needed for repair work not done during Covid. Perhaps it is. I know nothing about that. Certainly there are likely to be some problems if nothing has been done for three years.

Doubling the price of parking is going to hit the genuinely less mobile hard. The Council is going to have to face some anger over that. What interests me however is how long the almost certain upsurge among the more mobile in the use of public transport will last. How long is it going to take some people to revert to their habits of convenience?