RECENTLY we were going to a performance at City Screen which started shortly after 6pm.

I arrived at the Union Terrace car park shortly before six, naively intending to take advantage of the £2 evening parking, to find the ticket only covered parking until six.

Apparently if I had paid at one minute to six it would still only have covered me until six (£2 for a minute's parking).

When you park during the day, if you pay for an hour you get an hour's parking, but if you pay late afternoon you can only get until 6pm. If you want to park in the evenings you have to appear at 6pm and not a minute before.

This creates problems for me, and no doubt many others. Evening public transport from my village is non-existent; if we want to attend anything in York we have to drive. But if an event runs over 6pm (as at City Screen) or if it begins after six we are not going to be able to attend because we have to be at the car park at six.

One solution would be to buy an all-day ticket at £9.50, but I am not that rich. The best solution is not to come into York in the late afternoon or evening.

I noticed that after 8pm the car park was nearly empty. Is the cash generated worth the inconvenience caused (I suppose someone has to be employed to check that everyone has paid)? Or, perhaps, many are like me and are not bothering to come into York in the evenings any more, and the city loses out.

J R Tench,

Grey Close,

Sutton-on-the-Forest, York.

Updated: 10:50 Wednesday, January 19, 2005