When the train you are picking someone up from is delayed ...

[whole diary]

[grahame]

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/man-fumes-after-hefty-parking-9564345

Man fumes after hefty parking fine after 'train was late'

The train he was waiting for was delayed which meant he overstayed the 20 minute waiting time at the station car park

A visitor to Yeovil Junction train station was shocked recently when he received a hefty parking fine after the train he was waiting for was delayed. Giles Richards was driving from London to Devon and stopped off to pick up a passenger at Yeovil.

The train he was waiting for was delayed which meant he overstayed the 20 minute waiting time at the station car park, which is run by national company APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) parking.

[Phil]

This tale of woe makes it sound like the driver had no choice, whereas to the best of my knowledge Yeovil Junction car park has over 200 spaces, including a long-stay area (£2.30 for 24 hours). So what the driver actually means is, he couldn't be bothered (or was too tight) to move from the clearly marked 20 minute short stay area to somewhere that the car could be left for hours on end. Guilty as charged and no case to answer in other words. Next?

[ChrisB]

And these days it's just too easy to discover that it is late before timetabled arrival, so really no excuse.

[grahame]

I'm rather more sympathetic than the previous contributors, having on numerous occasions collected people late in the evening from in the 20 minute limit car park at Chippenham.   Often people in the area for the first time, not knowing their way who I have never met before.

If tracking the train and it's know to be late, yes, pull up ahead of getting there (easier at Chippenham than at Yeovil Junction) but that requires pre-expertise and thinking ahead, and doesn't always work if there's an issue with a door not closing properly at Swindon or something.

I have a philosophy that the parking is there for train drop offs and pick ups, and to be fit for purpose it should be available for none-penalised parking from 15 minutes before train is due until 5 minutes after the train actually arrives.   It should not be beyond the wit of their programmers to write code for this (if it is - please subcontract to me or ask me to teach them) but it may be beyond the business plan of the parking companies who rely on fines.

Our members here are very well informed and can plan to make use of the current setup fine free - other are just as bright as we are, but have a different knowledge and experience base, and can be more easily caught.  That said, we don't know the gent in question nor the balances between a mistake at one extreme and a try-on at the other.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Fair comments, grahame: I step back from my previous stance. 

[Phil]

Nope, sorry; I stand by what I said. The visitors who are "not knowing their way who I have never met before" are a red herring here. The only person of note is the car driver, who has a responsibility to make her or himself aware of where it is safe and legal to park at all times. There is clear signage at these locations indicating that the waiting limit is 20 minutes. Towards the end of that 20 minutes, you either move your car, pay the fees and take yourself off to stand where your passengers will see you, or you risk incurring a fine. That's your choice, but you don't go bleating to social or mainstream media if you get it wrong. You gambled and you lost. Tough.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, when you put it as eruditely as that, Phil - I'm rather more inclined to re-agree with you and ChrisB. 

[Phil]

Well, when you put it as eruditely as that, Phil - I'm rather more inclined to re-agree with you and ChrisB. 

[Ralph Ayres]

Nope, I'm with the fuming man.  The 20 minute restriction is - or should be - to stop people parking there and travelling elsewhere, rather than a way to catch people out and charge a penalty fee.  If someone is picking up a rail traveller who is delayed by the railway then it's legitimate to remain in the space until they arrive.  Even if I choose to move the car to a different parking area to leave the pick-up zone clear for other drivers with passengers arriving on a different train, I certainly wouldn't expect to pay for the privilege.  The car park may be run by a separate parking firm, but they are operating on behalf of the rail company whose delayed train was the only reason for the parker to exceed the waiting time.

No vested interest here - if I'm meeting someone off a train it's invariably on foot or by bike!

[Chris from Nailsea]

... and then Ralph Ayres posts a very good reason as to why I am still wrong.

In my own locality (Nailsea & Backwell station), in such circumstances, I would simply park my car alongside a pavement in Moor Lane - literally just around the corner from the station and their 'charged for' car park.  I would then walk back around to the station to flag down, eventually, my delayed passenger.

In years gone by, I have indeed done most of that - for the benefit of a member of this forum. 

CfN. 

[grahame]

Filling in with some background to Yeovil Junction, I remain of the opinion that for the pick up and drop off area to be fit for purpose the time should be measure from when the motorist arrives if within 15 minutes of a train being due until 5 minutes after that train has graced the station with its presence!   I am not commenting on the individual case.

Yeovil Junction has an awful record for trains being delayed:


The approach road is not welcoming:


Nor is the lane from the city of Yeovil:


I had been alerted to the dangerous nature of this lane for pedestrians when I made the walk on Saturday morning this summer - with the caution of wearing Hi-vis.  I would not recommend the walk to others.

There IS a bus every hour.  The train I caught that Saturday arrived into Yeovil Pen Mill on time at 10:10.   The hourly bus to Yeovil Junction left (I presume - I didn't see it) also on time at 10:10.  A classic case of public transport not joining up.

Yeovil Junction Low Level Platform on the way south from Yeovil Pen Mill towards Dorchester would make sense.

[GBM]

Yeovil Junction has an awful record for trains being delayed:

There IS a bus every hour.  The train I caught that Saturday arrived into Yeovil Pen Mill on time at 10:10.   The hourly bus to Yeovil Junction left (I presume - I didn't see it) also on time at 10:10.  A classic case of public transport not joining up.

Agreed, but.
If a bus is timed to wait until the train has departed, how log should the bus wait if said train is running late?
Busses also have a schedule to run to.
A delayed train, a further delayed bus run, which then starts its next run even more delayed.

[grahame]

Agreed, but.
If a bus is timed to wait until the train has departed, how log should the bus wait if said train is running late?
Busses also have a schedule to run to.
A delayed train, a further delayed bus run, which then starts its next run even more delayed.

It's the same issue whether it's on steel wheels or rubber tyre!   The factors into the calculation algorithms to optimise it will differ though.