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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why disabled parking should be free

140 replies

Lilaclion · 10/08/2011 19:38

My local council is considering making blue badge holders pay to park which has caused a certain amount of controversy, but personally I don't see why they shouldn't pay to park just like everybody else? The blue badge parking system is there to ensure an ease of access, it has nothing to do with finances.

OP posts:
knittedbreast · 10/08/2011 19:40

i think its because many disabled people dont work and so have less money?

miniwedge · 10/08/2011 19:41

Oh dear. Where to start??

deemented · 10/08/2011 19:41

Disabled parking isn't free where i live, although it is reduced.

ProfessionallyOffendedGoblin · 10/08/2011 19:42

Because many disabled people don't have the choice of not using a car and using their legs instead?
Or parking further away and walking a bit?
Or using P&R?
Of course you don't see a problem, but then you aren't a blue badge holder are you?

StrandedBear · 10/08/2011 19:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HairyJo · 10/08/2011 19:42

it's one of the perks innit

BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger · 10/08/2011 19:42

If I don't want to pay for parking I walk or use public transport. I don't think this is an option for many blue badge holders Hmm

GlitterySkulls · 10/08/2011 19:43

perhaps because disabled people have enough going on, free parking is a nice concession?

plus, some people might need specialist equipment to help with day-to-day life, which can be really expensive- so they don't have a lot of money to spare?

Original poster
Lilaclion · 10/08/2011 19:44

i think its because many disabled people dont work and so have less money?

But if that was the case then people on low income would be entitled to free parking but they're not.

OP posts:
Fiendishlie · 10/08/2011 19:45

It takes me a lot longer to shop so a discounted rate seems fair. It is not free in the majority of private car parks and in Council car parks it depends on the area.

Salmotrutta · 10/08/2011 19:45
SecretNutellaFix · 10/08/2011 19:46

Disabled people are less likely to have jobs. Therefore, less cash.
The Motability scheme, which provides disabled drivers with cars, is paid for by removing the mobility element of DLA, thereby reducing their income by approximately half.
Parking meters are usually situated in the stupidest fucking places and are at a height wheelchair using drivers may not be able to reach
Half the time, non disabled people are parking in the blue badge spaces because they are lazy fucks.

Original poster
Lilaclion · 10/08/2011 19:46

Of course you don't see a problem, but then you aren't a blue badge holder are you?

True, I'm not...but my sister is, she is also very able to afford parking charges, as are many other blue badge holders.

OP posts:
AMumInScotland · 10/08/2011 19:47
  1. disabled people are less likely to be able to use public transport or to walk
  2. disabled people even after they park in their "convenient" spot, are llikely to take longer to get to the shops and back

Charging them for parking would mean making them pay more to be able to do ordinary every-day things for themselves than it would cost able-bodied people.

knittedbreast · 10/08/2011 19:48

lion, i was thinking that the very poor able bodied people might not have cars whereas someone who was disabled might need one to get about at all?

birdsofshoreandsea · 10/08/2011 19:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lou33 · 10/08/2011 19:51

It isn't always free. It depends on the area you are parking in. Today I parked in a disabled bay and paid the full charge. The other day I parked in another town and it was free.

ProfessionallyOffendedGoblin · 10/08/2011 19:51

Yup, I knew the response to my statement would be something along the lines of
'My brother's sister's third cousin's nephew's dog has a Blue Badge and manages.'
For a huge majority of car users, it is a useful extra tool that stops you having to think of alternative ways of getting where you want to be and back again. For many disabled people it is an essential, a necessity.
They have no choice, and so parking should be free. That is, however, only my opinion. I am sure that your council are in agreement with you, and that the 'considering the option' is purely a token gesture.

unpa1dcar3r · 10/08/2011 19:56

I have always thought this OP, flame me if you want but I think that if there is a parking charge it should be for everyone so we are all, you know, equal

Oh ok so you also work 24/7/52 for £2,400 per annum? Or to break it down £55.55 per week. Or to break it down further 30p per hour- or if you care for more than one divide that by the number (e.g for 2, 15p per hour)
Oh that's good then, just for a minute I thought disabled and carers were hard up, silly me! This is of course if you're the driver for disabled.
Tut what am I like, there's me thinking that despite being 'equal' financially that we also had to fork out thousands extra every year for extra things that other people don't have to buy.
Oh Of course some disabled people get Disability Living allowance of varying levels which must surely amount to an 'equal' decent wage too.
Mustn't they???? Hmm

Ok so disabled people and their carers often live in poverty, have pretty shitty lives, no social life, isolation, loss of friends, unemployable due to either disability or caring commitments but, hey ho, at least they get Free parking. Woopidydoodah.

For what it's worth I'd gladly pay for a bit of parking if it meant my kids could be 'normal' for want of a better description.

Hope that helps!

bubblesincoffee · 10/08/2011 19:58

Yanbu, but it should be means tested. There could be a little yellow square on the blue badge if they don't have to pay.

Plenty of disabled people have massive insurace payouts after an accident that made them disabled, or recieved hunderds thousands in compensation after an accident. I don't see why those people shouldn't have to pay, they have been given money to pay for the charges that being disabled incurs.

PrincessScrumpy · 10/08/2011 19:58

I think it's wrong to assume disabled people are poor - both my grandmothers have / had badges but both were also wealthy. It wasn't about cost for them it was about needing to be close where they needed to go.

I used to work in the town centre and the hours I worked meant that public transport wasn't an option (I'm not in London so it's not so easy), therefore I had no choice than to drive and pay for parking. DH works an hour away, on public transport it would take him 2 hours so would be travelling 4 hours a day - our cars are essential!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 10/08/2011 19:59

What a horrible thread

ProfessionallyOffendedGoblin · 10/08/2011 20:00

When I couldn't drive, I picked jobs I could get to, or moved to a place nearer.
I don't think any family should have two cars, it damages the environment.

manicinsomniac · 10/08/2011 20:01

In some ways I agree with you.

"Disabled people have no choice but to use the car." - often true but not always or we wouldn't have threads about disabled spaces on buses. Also, countless other people have no choice either. I live in the middle of nowhere and we're not on a bus route so a car is a must for most places.

"Disabled people take longer in the shops" - very true.

"Disabled people are likely to earn less money" - good point but in that case parking should be means tested not able bodied tested.

However, even the bits of me that agree with you don't care about one small perk to make the lives of disabled people that bit more comfortable.

devientenigma · 10/08/2011 20:01

good post unpa