UNDER-FIRE council chiefs today defended their policies on parking charges and tickets after an exclusive Evening Press investigation revealed it was raking in £20,000 a day.

Coun Steve Galloway, City of York Council leader, said subsidised bus services and investment in improving the condition of the city's highways network had been funded by revenue raised from parking.

Coun Galloway was responding after the Evening Press revealed how the staggering £20,000 a day pours out of motorists' pockets and into the coffers of City of York Council through parking charges and tickets.

We used Freedom of Information laws to reveal that nearly £7.5 million a year was raised through charging drivers.

Protesters who supported the Evening Press Stop The Highway Robbery Campaign branded that as "obscene".

But Coun Galloway said parking charges paid for important city services - and said tourist numbers and bus passenger journeys in the city were both up.

"The council directly subsidises bus services on a significant number of routes, which would not otherwise be commercially viable," he said.

"This gives access to essential services for residents, many of whom do not have access to a car and rely on their local bus service. It also subsidises the Dial-A-Ride Service, now operated by York Wheels, which provides essential transport for disabled people to get to the city centre and out of town supermarkets from across the area. In addition, the council's concessionary travel scheme for older persons far exceeds the national minimum required by government."

Coun Galloway said parking income had allowed the council to invest in the quality of its car parks and insisted that "every penny the council receives from parking is re-invested in transport in the district".

He said: "There is clear evidence that retail spend is down, but this is true nationally, and the reasons are far more complex than the simple comparison with car parking charges.

"Bus passenger numbers are well up over the last few years, with two million more bus passenger journeys over the last 12 months. Park&Ride alone saw over a 20 per cent increase during the last year.

"In terms of visitors, room and bed occupancy are up and the visitor attractions are mostly showing a month- on-month increase over previous years."

Coun Galloway said the council would be endeavouring to improve the viability of the city centre by putting cash into a "City Centre Partnership" that would work with traders, and other city groups, to address problems and promote York.

He said the council had an on-going relationship with city centre retailers who were all working together to make York more attractive.

"It is only by working in partnership and getting the message out that the city centre is a great place to visit and do business, that we will be able to buck the national retail trends."

But Graham Audus, of the Fossgate Traders' Association, said: "I don't think anyone is disputing that there should be an income from parking. There just has to be a limit.

"Should motorists who park in the city centre pay for bus services? Why doesn't Park&Ride help to fund these services?"

Updated: 10:08 Friday, April 29, 2005