**BREAK EVEN? READ ON...**

Bristol City Council says its proposed Residents’ Parking 'pilot zones' would only break even and not make a profit. We've looked carefully at the figures and here's why you should be wary:

Parking tickets. The Council's figures assume each Parking Attendant would issue just one ticket per day. Taking the national average of 7 (and, given Bristol's reputation for vigilance in this area, this still probably isn't enough) would give the Council a further £600,000 per year - from each 'pilot zone' 

Permits. The Council's forecasts don't include anything for 2nd or 3rd permits. What is going on here?

Permit price increases (1). The Council says 'Permit costs to be held for the first 3 years of the scheme, after which a small increase will be made to cover costs of inflation.' You might (not unreasonably) think this means prices would be held for 3 years and then increased (or decreased!) thereafter by inflation. What it actually means, according to the Council's figures, is that prices would be held for 3 years and then increased by 3 years' worth of inflation! A gold star if you spotted this one.

Permit price increases (2). Take a look at what has happened to parking costs in Bristol and around the country. Bristol City Council has just increased evening parking charges in the city by more than 50%! It is hard to believe that captive residents would not be seen as a cash cow.

Visitor Permits. The figures assume that less than half the permits available to purchase are actually bought. Given that no-one would be allowed many visitors anyway, does this seem right to you?

Set-up costs. Each year for the first 10 years the Council has to repay £60,000 of set-up costs for each 'pilot zone'. But after that, there's another £60,000 profit every year!

We expect there is more that we haven't spotted hidden in the figures somewhere. Either way the Council is set - just from 2 'pilot zones' - for a £1million plus profit - every year!