Driving to Gatwick

In message <R6MO$kYKnQjGFwbh@yewbank.demon.co.uk>, at 16:10:02 on Thu, 5
Jul 2007, Clive. <clive.RemoveThis@yewbank.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>In message <1i0pwv4.ye5crk1ghgz5sN%%steve%@malloc.co.uk>, Steve Firth
><%steve%@malloc.co.uk> writes
>>Don't know. At other (some) other airports entering short stay and
>>leaving within 15 minutes is free. Check the Gatwick webshite?
>You get 15 minutes free at the drop off in Newcastle.

A measly 10 minutes at East Midlands. The issue at the moment, however,
is how far you can get in 10/15 minutes if every single car that's
dropping off is also competing to get in and out of the short-stay.
People were talking about 45min at Glasgow, for example. I spent at
least 10 minutes (I'd paid for an hour) getting out of the East Midlands
short-stay the other week, simply because of the queues at the exit
gates. On the other hand, the queues at Birmingham short stay (before
this latest scare) were always negligible, but no free period from what
I can recall.

--
Roland Perry
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

Graculus wrote:
> Does anyone have the actual low-down on exactly what restrictions there
> are for driving into London Gatwick (North Terminal to be specific) to
> drop off or pick up passengers? BAA's web site is pretty hopeless, just
> talking about "restrictions" and urging to use public transport.
>
> I am flying from LGW on Sunday, and am assuming these restrictions will
> still be in place (as we have to be seen to be doing something, no
> matter how futile). Getting there by public transport is easy if you're
> coming from London or Brighton, but to get there from nearby, e.g. East
> Grinstead, that just doesn't work.
>
> They are talking about encouraging people to use the short stay car parks.
> (a) Is this "encouraging" or "forcing"? From the incomplete news reports
> I hear, private cars are not allowed on the departures ramps, though I
> have no confirmation one way or the other.
> (b) If you aren't allowed to do anything but go through the car park,
> even if you just drive through and drop someone off, will they still
> demand £2.40 off you for 30 minutes "parking"? If so, that's surely
> exthortion.
>
> As I said, I have just pieced this together from what I can find out
> from web sites and news bulletins. Does anyone out there have more than
> just speculation, i.e. actual facts about the situation. Has anyone been
> through in the last couple of days?

I don't know whether this comes too late for you, but I returned via
Gatwick last night.

Private cars can no longer drop off outside the terminals (ie, where
the car-park courtesy buses stop). They have to be taken into one of
the car-parks (the short-term ones being more convenient - just across
the road). I suppose a fit passenger could be dropped at the side of
the road some distance short of the terminal and walk the rest of the way.

The problem with the short-term car-parks is that unless there is a
Stansted-style free first half-hour, there is always a charge - in
effect a charge for dropping someone off.

We left last Tuesday. On our return last night I saw that there are
now substantial blocks of concrete at the terminal kerbsides (and
arranged so that they cannot be outflanked), presumably to prevent
Glasgow-style ram-bombing.
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

In message <dLKdnd0zafBTSAnbnZ2dnUVZ8qSnnZ2d.TakeThisOut@pipex.net>, at 14:06:39 on
Wed, 11 Jul 2007, JNugent <not.telling.TakeThisOut@noparticularplacetogo.com>
remarked:
>I don't know whether this comes too late for you, but I returned via
>Gatwick last night.
>
>Private cars can no longer drop off outside the terminals

At the south terminal the original drop-off is the far side of the
railway line from the terminal proper. I suppose they've blocked that
off as well, even though it's not the actual terminal.

>The problem with the short-term car-parks is that unless there is a
>Stansted-style free first half-hour, there is always a charge - in
>effect a charge for dropping someone off.

Is there still as much as half an hour free at Stansted? I thought it
was down to about ten minutes since they rearranged the short stay
parking area about a year ago.
--
Roland Perry
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

Roland Perry <roland DeleteThis @perry.co.uk> wrote:

> Is there still as much as half an hour free at Stansted? I thought it
> was down to about ten minutes since they rearranged the short stay
> parking area about a year ago.

There was in January, haven't been back there since then.
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

Steve Firth wrote:
> Roland Perry <roland RemoveThis @perry.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>>Is there still as much as half an hour free at Stansted? I thought it
>>was down to about ten minutes since they rearranged the short stay
>>parking area about a year ago.
>
>
> There was in January, haven't been back there since then.

I haven't been to Stansted since Sept last year. The half-hour free
still applied then. Don't know about these January changes.
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

JNugent <not.telling.RemoveThis@noparticularplacetogo.com> wrote:

> Steve Firth wrote:
> > Roland Perry <roland.RemoveThis@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Is there still as much as half an hour free at Stansted? I thought it
> >>was down to about ten minutes since they rearranged the short stay
> >>parking area about a year ago.
> >
> >
> > There was in January, haven't been back there since then.
>
> I haven't been to Stansted since Sept last year. The half-hour free
> still applied then. Don't know about these January changes.

Sorry, I meant that there was still half an hour free parking in
January, but I've had no reason to go there since January so I cannot
give more recent information. Not that there were changes in January.
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

In message <1i14zy3.vxozash1ll52N%%steve%@malloc.co.uk>, at 12:06:15 on
Thu, 12 Jul 2007, Steve Firth <%steve%@malloc.co.uk> remarked:
>> >>Is there still as much as half an hour free at Stansted? I thought it
>> >>was down to about ten minutes since they rearranged the short stay
>> >>parking area about a year ago.
>> >
>> >
>> > There was in January, haven't been back there since then.
>>
>> I haven't been to Stansted since Sept last year. The half-hour free
>> still applied then. Don't know about these January changes.
>
>Sorry, I meant that there was still half an hour free parking in
>January, but I've had no reason to go there since January so I cannot
>give more recent information. Not that there were changes in January.

The changes to the carpark geography were longer ago than January, I
think. I just remember dropping someone off (probably just before Xmas)
and thinking that the free time I was allowed wasn't enough to help them
with their baggage to checkin, as well as just being a taxi driver.
--
Roland Perry
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <1i14zy3.vxozash1ll52N%%steve%@malloc.co.uk>, at 12:06:15 on
> Thu, 12 Jul 2007, Steve Firth <%steve%@malloc.co.uk> remarked:
>
>>> >>Is there still as much as half an hour free at Stansted? I thought it
>>> >>was down to about ten minutes since they rearranged the short stay
>>> >>parking area about a year ago.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > There was in January, haven't been back there since then.
>>>
>>> I haven't been to Stansted since Sept last year. The half-hour free
>>> still applied then. Don't know about these January changes.
>>
>>
>> Sorry, I meant that there was still half an hour free parking in
>> January, but I've had no reason to go there since January so I cannot
>> give more recent information. Not that there were changes in January.
>
>
> The changes to the carpark geography were longer ago than January, I
> think. I just remember dropping someone off (probably just before Xmas)
> and thinking that the free time I was allowed wasn't enough to help them
> with their baggage to checkin, as well as just being a taxi driver.

My thoughts exactly (when dropping off some Italian friends there last
year).

Glad to see that it is likely that the free half-hour still applies
there (an hour - or even 45 minutes - would be more reasonable).
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

In message <GYqdnY08R5AMtwvbnZ2dnUVZ8tXinZ2d RemoveThis @pipex.net>, at 14:20:36 on
Thu, 12 Jul 2007, JNugent <not.telling RemoveThis @noparticularplacetogo.com>
remarked:
>>I just remember dropping someone off (probably just before Xmas)

[at Stansted]

>> and thinking that the free time I was allowed wasn't enough to help
>>them with their baggage to checkin, as well as just being a taxi
>>driver.
>
>My thoughts exactly (when dropping off some Italian friends there last
>year).
>
>Glad to see that it is likely that the free half-hour still applies
>there (an hour - or even 45 minutes - would be more reasonable).

East Midlands is as little as 10 minutes (which at some times of day is
the time it will take to queue at the exit barriers!) I'm sure it was
longer a year ago (half an hour, perhaps). Enough time to park the car
and go inside and wait for someone whose flight just landed, while they
clear immigration and customs - you just can't do that in 10 minutes. I
have no idea how they expect people to do pickups.

I also have a bone to pick with them over mid-term parking (I often do
day trips which involve parking for 13-14 hrs). Short term charges are:

up to 12 hours £18.00
up to 24 hours £25.00
up to 2 days £50.00

While Mid-term is a minimum of £20 for two days.

There's no such thing as a one-day mid-term tariff at (say) £10, and £25
for 14hrs obviously exceeds the 2-day charge in mid stay.
--
Roland Perry
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:41:22 +0100, Roland Perry
<roland DeleteThis @perry.co.uk> mangled uncounted electrons thus:

>In message <GYqdnY08R5AMtwvbnZ2dnUVZ8tXinZ2d DeleteThis @pipex.net>, at 14:20:36 on
>Thu, 12 Jul 2007, JNugent <not.telling DeleteThis @noparticularplacetogo.com>
>remarked:
>>>I just remember dropping someone off (probably just before Xmas)
>
>[at Stansted]
>
>>> and thinking that the free time I was allowed wasn't enough to help
>>>them with their baggage to checkin, as well as just being a taxi
>>>driver.
>>
>>My thoughts exactly (when dropping off some Italian friends there last
>>year).
>>
>>Glad to see that it is likely that the free half-hour still applies
>>there (an hour - or even 45 minutes - would be more reasonable).
>
>East Midlands is as little as 10 minutes (which at some times of day is
>the time it will take to queue at the exit barriers!) I'm sure it was
>longer a year ago (half an hour, perhaps). Enough time to park the car
>and go inside and wait for someone whose flight just landed, while they
>clear immigration and customs - you just can't do that in 10 minutes. I
>have no idea how they expect people to do pickups.

That *was* a rhetorical question, wasn't it? (But in case it
wasn't - they expect you to pay...)

Anything to raise a bit more cash from the hapless traveling
public...

Martin D. Pay
Currently avoiding flying due to silly 'security' measures...
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

In message <370d939fqpkcgh0q6mr89s07msk5jnbnlm.TakeThisOut@4ax.com>, at 20:32:19 on
Thu, 12 Jul 2007, Martin D. Pay <martin.TakeThisOut@starship-excalibur.co.uk>
remarked:
>>Enough time to park the car and go inside and wait for someone whose
>>flight just landed, while they clear immigration and customs - you
>>just can't do that in 10 minutes. I have no idea how they expect
>>people to do pickups.
>
>That *was* a rhetorical question, wasn't it? (But in case it
>wasn't - they expect you to pay...)

Heh
--
Roland Perry
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <GYqdnY08R5AMtwvbnZ2dnUVZ8tXinZ2d DeleteThis @pipex.net>, at 14:20:36 on
> Thu, 12 Jul 2007, JNugent <not.telling DeleteThis @noparticularplacetogo.com> remarked:
>
>>> I just remember dropping someone off (probably just before Xmas)
>
>
> [at Stansted]
>
>>> and thinking that the free time I was allowed wasn't enough to help
>>> them with their baggage to checkin, as well as just being a taxi
>>> driver.
>>
>>
>> My thoughts exactly (when dropping off some Italian friends there last
>> year).
>>
>> Glad to see that it is likely that the free half-hour still applies
>> there (an hour - or even 45 minutes - would be more reasonable).
>
>
> East Midlands is as little as 10 minutes (which at some times of day is
> the time it will take to queue at the exit barriers!) I'm sure it was
> longer a year ago (half an hour, perhaps). Enough time to park the car
> and go inside and wait for someone whose flight just landed, while they
> clear immigration and customs - you just can't do that in 10 minutes. I
> have no idea how they expect people to do pickups.
>
> I also have a bone to pick with them over mid-term parking (I often do
> day trips which involve parking for 13-14 hrs). Short term charges are:
>
> up to 12 hours £18.00
> up to 24 hours £25.00
> up to 2 days £50.00
>
> While Mid-term is a minimum of £20 for two days.
>
> There's no such thing as a one-day mid-term tariff at (say) £10, and £25
> for 14hrs obviously exceeds the 2-day charge in mid stay.

Gatwick seems to be something of a bargain, then: £56 for eight days
(or portion thereof).

The worst I've ever paid was Ashford International Station (for
Eurostar): £9 a day or portion thereof. And that was a few years ago -
it'll be more now.
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick 

JNugent <not.telling.DeleteThis@noparticularplacetogo.com> wrote:

> Gatwick seems to be something of a bargain, then: £56 for eight days
> (or portion thereof).

It is, last time I used Stansted it cost me £85 for eight days. In fact
Gatwick was a real bargain last time I used it, because they let me park
in short stay for less than the cost of parking in long stay, which
meant I only had to walk a few hundred yards to departures.
 >> Stay informed about: Driving to Gatwick