A coach operator has urged other companies to advise their drivers to take care when parking at Welcome Break’s Peartree Services near Oxford if they are to avoid a penalty charge notice (PCN) for overstaying the maximum time allowed.
45 minutes’ parking is available free of charge at Peartree, although five minutes’ grace is given and enforcement does not start until the 50 minutes threshold is broken. However, that period is measured from the time of entry to the site until the time of exit.
Greg White, Director of Whites St Albans, has raised with Welcome Break that such a window of tolerance may be insufficient to park, ensure passengers are safely disembarked, take a statutory break and leave again without attracting a PCN.
In an email seen by routeone, the site’s Operations Manager says that the steps have been taken as a result of locally based coaches hogging the limited number of bays, and because of coaches visiting Oxford that use Peartree as a parking area for long periods.
The Operations Manager adds that those issues were “constant” and that they were preventing legitimate use of the bays at Peartree Services. She adds that if coaches with passengers aboard exceed the 50-minute limit under unforeseen circumstances, the company will try to help where possible.
routeone has contacted Welcome Break to query whether the policy is exclusive to its Peartree site or if it is in force at other locations.
