New cheaper short-term car parking introduced at 31 Greater Anglia station car parks

April 12, 2022

Greater Anglia has introduced a new pay by hour tariff for 31 of its station car parks, so people have a cheaper option if they’re not planning to park all day.

The new hourly tariff will give people the option to park for up to four hours at for £1 an hour – perfect for shorter trips or for visiting places near stations. There is no change to other tariffs and prices, which have been frozen since 2020.

Stations to get the new hourly charge are: Audley End, Billericay, Bishop’s Stortford, Broxbourne, Cambridge North, Chelmsford, Cheshunt, Colchester, Diss, Ely, Harlow Town, Hatfield Peverel, Ingatestone, Ipswich, Kelvedon, Manningtree, Mark Tey, Rayleigh, Shenfield, Whittlesford, Wickford and Witham. All of these stations have Automatic Number Plate Recognition, making it easier and quicker to pay up to 24 hours after parking.

In addition, the company is also introducing an hourly tariff at Hockley, Lowestoft, March, Prittlewell, Rochford, Stowmarket, Waltham Cross, Ware and Wivenhoe stations, where customers will be able to pay for parking using Pay By Phone.

Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia Asset Management Director, said: “By introducing a new cheaper short-stay hourly tariff at our car parks, we hope people will consider taking the train for short trips to nearby towns such as between Ipswich and Colchester, or Diss and Norwich, or even Cambridge North to Cambridge.

“Replacing a car journey with a train journey is better for the environment by cutting potential carbon emissions and reduces congestion on our roads and in our towns.”

This latest station parking innovation follows Greater Anglia introducing a flexible parking season ticket last autumn for commuters travelling into the office two or three times a week. The flexible parking season ticket, available at all the ANPR stations listed above plus Cambridge, gives eight parking sessions which have to be used within 28 days of purchase – matching the new Flexi Season ticket which was launched last summer. Flexible parking season ticket prices vary from station to station and offer savings of up to 12.5 per cent compared to daily peak time rates.