THE new council staff tasked with tackling illegal parking in Newport will receive free bus travel around the city as they go about their work.
Newport Transport has reached out to Newport City Council to support its takeover of civil parking responsibilities from Gwent Police.
Both authorities hope the clampdown will encourage more people to leave their cars at home and use public transport instead.
Badly parked cars have made it difficult for bus drivers to navigate certain areas, and Newport Transport say these roads could be freed up by greater enforcement.
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Morgan Stevens, the firm’s operations director, said: “As significant road users ourselves, we understand first hand the difficulties inconsiderate parking creates for other road users.
“Public transport can be part of the solution to lessen congestion and improve air quality in the city.”
Newport Bus provides more than 40 routes in and the city and plans to have 15 new zero emission electric buses on the roads by Easter 2020.
The company’s backing of the council’s #ParkRight civil parking awareness campaign has also been welcomed by Councillor Roger Jeavons, cabinet member for city services.
He said: “For years residents have complained both to us and Gwent Police about the lack of enforcement on the streets where motorists were blatantly ignoring the rules of the road, causing problems for pedestrians and other drivers especially in the city centre.
“We know bus drivers also had a lot of problems negotiating roads around the city because of badly parked cars so we welcome the offer by Newport Transport to help in this way.
“We have spent months reinstating or refreshing traffic orders and putting up new signs so people are in no doubt over parking rules.”
Anyone found illegally parked in Newport could be fined between £25 and £70 depending on the severity of the offence and the length of time taken to pay.
All income from parking tickets will be diverted back into the council’s coffers to improve the city’s transport network.
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