£1 drop-off charge for cars to start from October

[Oglet Lane Banjo Player]

Edinburgh is the first Airport to charge for Drop-Off in the UK,its taking the Idea from Belfast Usure if its Aldergrove or City Airport.

It's BFS but either way Belfast is in the UK.

C

Either way Luton and East Midlands also levy a charge for their "Rapid" drop off areas.

[Porrohman]

I would imagine that it would work something similar some city centre car parks operate just now. On entering you either press the button to get a ticket and pay at a machine before leaving or you insert your bank card and it takes the fee off.

This would presumably increase congestion at the drop-off area because, as well as dropping off their passenger(s), each driver would need to pay for their parking at a ticket machine. If it takes, let's say, 2 minutes per drop-off at the moment and it takes, let's say, 2 minutes extra to buy a parking ticket, then the drop-off area would need to double in size because each car would be there for twice as long. Cars would be left unattended while drivers buy parking tickets and this would increase the security risk. At the moment the police don't tollerate unattended vehicles in the drop-off area.

The drawbacks of the pay as you enter and the numberplate recognition / pay later schemes have been pointed out by others in this thread.

It'll be interesting to see how this idea is implemented and what effect it has on congestion and security. I suspect that congestion will increase and the solution will be to increase the drop-off charge.

I suspect the bottom line is that BAA would rather that people used the short term car park when dropping off.

[Porrohman]

Raising £1 drop-off fee can't be ruled out - airport chief;
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Raisi ... 6415327.jp

The new drop-off zone will be on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park.

[ezydriver]

I live in Fife and work in Gatwick now.

My wife has to drop me off and pick me up every week at EDI. I will not benefit from the tram, there is no direct train or bus for me especially at silly o'clock in the morning!

I have just left my thoughts about this on the feedback section of BAA Edinburghs' website, I suggest everyone else who is sick of being abused because they have a car do the same. BTW Glasgow only charges for pick up, drop off is free.

When you leave the A8 and see the 1970's road entrance that we share with Ingliston it is a disgrace to be charged for this.

It is greed. The fact that the airport is also draped in our nations disgrace ( RBS ) logos' only makes this move worse!

ED

[Callum Johnstone]

Well, I think the public - and media - reaction to this charge has bordered on hysterics. You'd think it was the end of the world.

But far more amusing than that was the official line of Her Majesty's Scottish Government, as reported by the BBC today:

Ministers against Edinburgh Airport £1 drop-off fee

Scottish government ministers are not supporting Edinburgh Airport's plans to charge £1 for dropping off passengers at its terminal building by car.

Instead the Scottish government has said it wants to "encourage" drivers to leave their car at home and use public transport instead.

full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-e ... e-10633477

This surely cannot be the same Government whose manifesto for public transport improvements in Edinburgh consisted of nothing but "mair buses". They are spinning a completely contradictory line. On the one hand the Nats rail and carp against the trams, giving the clear impression that, if they could, they would drop them in an instant. But here they are now proudly boasting of their rail/tram interchange at Gogar as the solution to improved public transport access to Edinburgh Airport. Sorry, Nats, you can't have it both ways. If you're so anti trams then why have you made them the centrepiece of your surface access strategy for the airport?

[Porrohman]

This article in the Guardian includes an open letter from Gordon Dewar explaining the rationale for the drop-off charge; http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh/201 ... n-campaign

[Clive]

This article in the Guardian includes an open letter from Gordon Dewar explaining the rationale for the drop-off charge; http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh/201 ... n-campaign

Yes, Mr Dewar talks nothing but sense. I love the bit about EDI no longer being a small local airport (as I've been saying in other threads - that's what it was in the not too distant past) but having grown into a major, competitive player on the European stage. That's what we all want, right? Or do some of us prefer the tranquility of the quaint facility of the 1990's?

C

[Porrohman]

Yes, Mr Dewar talks nothing but sense. I love the bit about EDI no longer being a small local airport (as I've been saying in other threads - that's what it was in the not too distant past) but having grown into a major, competitive player on the European stage. That's what we all want, right? Or do some of us prefer the tranquillity of the quaint facility of the 1990's?

C

So, the choice is either a fee for the short term car park, a fee for the new drop-off zone or, for those that want don't want to pay, use the new free drop-off point at the Long Term car park and get a free bus to the terminal. The latter will add 5 or 10 minutes to the time taken to reach the terminal so you pay your money (or not, as the case may be) and you take your choice. I can see the rationale for the charge and I also predict that it won't change many people's mode of travel. As a result, I fully expect the charge to rise to £2 before long. From my perspective, the charge is not going to change the way I get to and from the airport whether travelling myself or picking up / dropping off others.

[Clive]

"A contractor for the work has been appointed and is currently preparing for the necessary works to have the facility ready for an October opening.

"This includes placing orders for barrier and payment equipment, new signs and LED lights."
full story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-10802309

C

[cabot]

Away for the day ? Why not park for FREE up at Ingliston park and ride.Walk down to the terminal building and save putting parking charges / drops off in to BAA's coffers

[Oglet Lane Banjo Player]

Away for the day ? Why not park for FREE up at Ingliston park and ride.Walk down to the terminal building and save putting parking charges / drops off in to BAA's coffers

Just make sure it is for the day. Overnighters and long stayers have been known to be towed at which point the long stay becomes a more economic option.

[BigD]

I still don't see the merit in their argument that it's because Edinburgh is expanding that this new "Premium" drop off facility is needed.

I've travelled through a fair number of major airports & I can't recall any of them operating a "Premium" drop off spot. Most of them had the foresight to extend the roof of the terminal out over the multi-lane drop off zones to save their passengers from getting wet etc. when they built the terminal.

AFAIK, NONE of these airports are running a premium, additional cost drop off zone:- LHR, LGW, STA, IAH, JFK, EWR, YYZ, YHM, AMS, SIN, BKK, CDG, FRA, AUH & DXB. Does this mean that they are all poky wee provincial airports with no thirst for future expansion?

Then again, I can't say that I've seen a premium zone at places like OSL, TRF, SVG, PVD, YYC, YLL, YQA, YYB (You may recognise this one), RTM & TBU.

I'm not claiming to have flow out of all of the latter group, some of them I only drove to to pick up spare parts & other kit for work that had been couriered out to me.