Everything, Everything

It seems that Berkshire is one of the cheapest places for parking in this country. Of course, this isn't of much use to most people across the UK, especially those of you that park in central London. Both the cheapest and most expensive car parks are owned by a private company, National Car Parks (NCP), who declined to comment on the charges. Mind you, I don't think they should have to answer to anyone (except their shareholders). They're a company that owns land in some very convenient locations, and they can charge people whatever they like for the privilege of parking there. If the price is too high, people will vote with their feet. If competition is high, prices will have to be lower (short of any price fixing conspiracies). Where space is a premium, prices will be significantly higher (bear in mind that the land is typically very expensive). Is it fair? Not really, but that's life. If you want to pay the same price no matter where you park, you'll need to nationalise car parking. Or get McDonalds to run it, their prices and menu are fairly consistent across the UK. Of course, you might not be allowed to park in certain places before 10:30AM. Do you want fries with that parking space?