Kingston students could be forced to fork out £100 a year to the University to use campus car park spaces that are currently free of charge.

Roehampton Vale, Kingston Hill and Knights Park campuses all have free parking that would be affected by the introduction of a fixed fee to get staff and students out of their cars and onto greener, public transport.

Susan Afra of Buchanan Transport Consultancy, the group drafted in by the University’s Sustainability Team to promote alternatives to car use, said: “Kingston University has too much free parking.  It discourages staff and students from using more sustainable forms of transport, like bikes, buses, or walking, to get to University.”

The most recent University Travel Survey showed in 2006 walking and cycling levels among staff and students had increased since 2000. Local students already make use of the free inter-campus service, but many others, often seeking cheaper rents, live too far off the route.

One 22 year old motor sport engineering student, who did not want to be named, commutes to Roehampton Vale from South East London, 14.5 miles away, because she cannot afford Kingston’s high rents. She rides a motor bike to campus, which she says is cheaper than bus fares: “If they charged motor cyclists £100 for a permit they’d complain as you don’t have to pay in public car parks. Anyway look around the car park here, its full of Jaguars and 4x4’s, expensive cars with big engines. It’s all staff. None of the parking at Roehampton is for students.”

Full-time students are eligible for a 30 per cent discount on public transport in London by applying for the Transport for London (TfL) Student Discount Oyster Card.

Ricky Mehta, 19, a civil engineering student who drives to Kingston Hill from North West London said: “I could come by train but it takes forever. Charging an extra £100 a year for parking is a bit of a piss take; I pay £3000 for the course already. A parking fee wouldn’t stop me – I’d just spit my dummy out about it.”

One of the ways drivers could avoid paying a parking fee is by car sharing. Lorena Mamendyi, 18, an international business management and Italian student at Kingston Hill, said: “I wouldn’t mind bringing others in with me, but £100 won’t make me give up my car.”

Dr Chris Ince, Head of Kingston University Secretariat which manages University policies, said: “A flat fee for car parking is just one of the options. We will be consulting with both Kingston council and Wandsworth Council, which covers the Roehampton Vale area, over the results of the travel survey and any planned implementation measures and targets. We are also in contact with TfL about the services they cover. The contract for our own inter-site bus service has been extended until summer 2009 and we will be reviewing its future operation as part of the exercise.”

Picture credit: KPA/Zuma/Rex Features