Should you take your car to University? Well if you do, here's 5 ways to park for free when at Uni!
Know where you can park
Download the handy park right guide (PDF) and get to grips with the often complex parking rules of the road to see where an where you can't park. Take advantage of restrictions that may not apply when you need to park: For example, single yellow lines may only be in force at rush hour so you're fine to park there during the day!
Use shop car parks
Take advantage of supermarket or retail car parks that are almost always free to use. Some may have maximum stay limits (but these will probably still be many hours long) however others will be completely unrestricted.
Move the car
Get around maximum stay restrictions by moving the car to a different spot throughout the day. Just be wary of what the sign says about returning and whether or not it applies to just that parking spot, the whole street or an entire parking zone.
Avoid fines… and challenge unfair ones
Whether it’s for speeding or your bad parking, avoiding fines is a sure way to go to reduce your costs, especially in the cities where fines can now exceed £120. Make sure you’re up to date with the Highway Code when it comes to the rules of the road, as it does change from time to time and some parking restrictions can become rather complex.
If you do get parking fine, explore your options before paying up: There are several guides on appealing parking tickets from both councils and private companies, and the Pepipoo forums will allow you to get advice for free on your case.
Ditch your own car and join a car club
Most big cities nowadays have so called 'car clubs'. You pay a small membership fee (e.g. £60 a year) and get access to a fleet of vehicles which you can pick up and drive around. You only pay for as long as you use the car, with prices as low as £4 an hour.
Car clubs not only reduce your motoring costs but also make driving so much easier: You don't need to worry about MOTs, Insurance, tax or even petrol. The only downside is that there may be age restrictions so if you're under 21 you'll possibly be out of luck.