In March 2025, parking tariff charges in Milton Keynes city centre are due to change for the first time in nearly a decade.
Milton Keynes City Council plans to align the cost of parking closer to that of bus travel as part of wider work to encourage more passengers onto public transport, and for bus operators to invest in popular services. The city council will also consider bus franchising to improve service sustainability.
For most journeys in Milton Keynes the bus fare to the city centre is £2.00 for a single trip.
In a decision next week, the city council is set to change parking tariffs as follows:
- Two-hour minimum stay period in standard (purple) bays becomes £2.00 (currently £1.00) with the hourly rate thereafter changed unchanged at 50p per hour.
- One-hour minimum stay period in premium (red) bays becomes £2.50 (currently £2.00) with the hourly rate thereafter unchanged at £2.00 per hour.
- E1 employee permit daily charge becomes £3.00 for a whole day (currently £2.80) or £2.00 for five hours (currently £1.40).
- Remove the car share permit and hotel permit due to their limited use. Car share permit applications have fallen by nearly 90% in the last five years.
Drivers will remain able to switch off an optional 20p convenience fee for text notifications from provider RingGo.
The proposed tariffs remain comparable to commercial parking in the city centre, and to nearby places such as Northamptonshire or Bedford, where it’s £2.00 per hour to park.
The city council is committed to becoming net carbon zero by 2030 with an objective in its Council Plan to increase greater use of sustainable transport.
In a separate decision next week, the city council plans to recommission its demand responsive passenger transport service, MK Connect, as the current contract is due to end in March 2025. MK Connect ensures residents have a public transport option, even if they are not located near a bus stop. It transports riders who are heading in the same direction and connects them to existing bus routes where available.
Around 500,000 MK Connect trips will be made this financial year, which is around 6% of all public transport journeys in MK; double since the service was introduced four years ago.
Last year the city council introduced longer minimum stays for both premium and standard car parking but did not increase the hourly tariff for parking in the city centre.