The future of six coach parking bays in Tothill Street in Westminster is under threat if drivers continue to idle engines there, industry representative bodies have heard from Westminster City Council (WCC).
In a meeting on 19 June that also involved Transport for London, it was outlined that the spaces will be removed if the issue is not stamped out, with Confederation of Passenger Transport Coaching Manager Phil Smith noting that there have been complaints for some time from residents and organisations about the matter.
It is not the first time that WCC has raised severe consequences of coach engine idling. In early 2020, complaints about the practice at Horseferry Road led to threats of removal, with a representative saying that the local authority would take “drastic action” if needed.
“The council is asking the coach sector to do something about this and require that its drivers turn off engines when they are parked in Tothill Street,” says Mr Smith.
“Idling has become a big issue there. If we cannot get drivers to turn off engines when parked, we are going to lose these bays.” He adds that no date has been given by WCC for when the problems needs to have been put right, but that significant pressure is being exerted by parties local to Tothill Street.
In the earlier case of idling coaches in Westminster, the council claimed that its efforts to work with the industry were “ignored” by some operators and drivers. Mr Smith adds that drivers should turn off engines at any parking location in central London if a spread of the issues in Tothill Street is to be avoided.
He says that there “is now a real worry” that WCC will come good on its threat and remove the bays in question. Trade bodies have previously lobbied for more coach parking in Westminster, but one said earlier in 2023 that problems with idling are “difficult for us to defend.”
