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A mini-thread on how the debate about NHS staff parking shows a/ how the transport narrative is dominated by an assumption of driving as the norm, and b/ more widely, how debates on universalism tend to be driven by the needs of better-off, more vocal groups.
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I& #39;m not going to re-hash the particular NHS parking debate – I& #39;ll say only that it& #39;s much more complex than billed – but whenever it does come up on Twitter, it& #39;s striking how many people assume driving is the only method of travel outside cities, even for the poorest-paid.
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But that& #39;s not true. 46% of the lowest-income quintile of households don& #39;t have a car or van. Poorer households drive far less, on average, than richer ones. Yes, many less well-off people drive, but that& #39;s often a huge financial strain, and due to a lack of options.
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When you point this out, many people say, & #39;Oh, well, of course there should be much better public transport to hospitals!& #39; But oddly, I never received streams of unsolicited, outraged tweets about public transport. It& #39;s always about parking, and always from drivers.
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This same bias goes into political discourse. It was assumed by pundits that Keir Starmer would mention free NHS parking at PMQs yesterday, as it was an & #39;easy win& #39;. He did. But when Jeremy Corbyn devoted a PMQs a while back to buses, much of that same punditocracy laughed.
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And thus you get an argument about universalism where proponents argue on the basis of fairness - & #39;What about low-paid NHS staff who drive?& #39; – but it disproportionately helps the better-off, and excludes those on the lowest income. This happens elsewhere, eg higher ed.
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Thus, with higher education, there& #39;s endless debate about abolishing university tuition fees, but the much-less middle-class terrain of FE colleges and other non-university further education is barely given air time.
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Higher education isn& #39;t a precise parallel, in that in general, it& #39;s a societal good for more people to go to universities; not so for more people to drive, particularly shorter distances. But you get the idea.
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Overall, parking is an interesting example of a thing claimed as an obvious, case-closed public good, which is often nothing of the sort. For now politicians still buy into this fantasy, mainly as parking fans are so noisy and well-connected. But it should be challenged.
ends/
ends/
