Proposals to introduce park and ride charges in Fife have been scrapped after Stagecoach stepped in to cover a £260,000 funding shortfall.
The bus firm and Fife Council reached an agreement on Thursday which means the local authority will no longer need to recoup charges from Ferrytoll and Halbeath park and ride sites by implementing a £1 fee.
Although details of the deal are subject to commercial confidentiality, The Courier can reveal Stagecoach offered to make up the authority’s £260,000 funding gap in full.
The agreement was reached after months of negotiation and it is understood a previous lower offer by Stagecoach was turned down by the council.
As the main bus operator in the region, Stagecoach could have seen its profits hit by the introduction of park and ride charges.
Paul Thomas, managing director for Stagecoach East Scotland, said: “We were aware of the impact that any proposed parking charge could have on our customers, so we were glad to be able to work with the council to reach an agreement which could stop this going ahead.
“As the main operator at the park and ride facility we were keen to do what we could for our customers.”
David Ross, the Labour co-leader of Fife Council, denied the authority had performed a u-turn in response to criticism over the proposals, which were first mooted as part of budget discussions in February.
“Let’s be clear that our budget challenge is very real and this deal wouldn’t have been reached if the council had not been prepared to go ahead with the imposition of a charge,” said Mr Ross.
“This is the best outcome for users of the park and rides and for the council. It means we won’t have to impose a parking charge on the facilities but the council will still be able to make the required saving in its budget.”
Craig Walker, convener of the asset, property and facilities committee, said councillors were “well aware the proposed charge was an unpopular move”.
He added: “The fact is the facility costs us a lot of money to maintain and run.
“In the current financial climate the council could no longer afford to absorb these costs.
“However, we understand the importance of these sites in helping us to meet our sustainable transport and climate change targets so we continued to search for a way to offset some of the costs.
“When Stagecoach indicated a willingness to work with us and explore alternative options to parking charges, we were happy to pursue that option. Councillors on the committee today have now agreed that those discussions can progress to allow a formal agreement to be put in place.”
