Heathrow Terminal 5 pick up
Discussion
For years I have waited at the departures drop off area and been picked up there.
I know it is against the regulations for a driver to stop/park and they risk a ticket.
Last week I noticed there are new signs saying a £40 fine for waiting drivers.
Has anybody experienced a problem since these signs have been put up?
Is it still Ok to wait at the departures area, get in the car when it arrives and drive away?
I've been told there are cameras that detect cars driving into the drop area with only a driver who is then sent a fine. This sounds like a urban myth/pub story. Can anybody confirm?
I know it is against the regulations for a driver to stop/park and they risk a ticket.
Last week I noticed there are new signs saying a £40 fine for waiting drivers.
Has anybody experienced a problem since these signs have been put up?
Is it still Ok to wait at the departures area, get in the car when it arrives and drive away?
I've been told there are cameras that detect cars driving into the drop area with only a driver who is then sent a fine. This sounds like a urban myth/pub story. Can anybody confirm?
I can't confirm they have these cameras - how would they detect that there is only a driver on board?
But I can confirm the fact they want everyone to use the short stay for money making purposes, rather than security, as otherwise they would do what several smaller airports do and offer 30 minutes free parking.
But I can confirm the fact they want everyone to use the short stay for money making purposes, rather than security, as otherwise they would do what several smaller airports do and offer 30 minutes free parking.
Centurion07 said:
Airport parking charges are obscene.
Luton and Stansted are even worse, charging to drop-off!
Stansted do have a free option... There's a 1 hour car park at the midstay car park and you use the shuttle (every 10 minutes I think) . It works pretty well, as it's carnage outside the terminal at the moment. Luton and Stansted are even worse, charging to drop-off!
It's part of a push to get Private Hire and Uber off all the surrounding road network. They've (we, I work there) converted the old T1 business car park to a Private Hire / Uber waiting area. The local authority are ticketting the waiters still using the back streets where illegally parked.
As for being picked up from departures, I couldn't possibly comment ;-)
As for being picked up from departures, I couldn't possibly comment ;-)
Drivers waiting to pick up outside the terminals in the drop off zones are a problem that should have been dealt with a long time ago.
T3 would often result in traffic queuing back through the tunnel to drop off because most of the drop off spaces were filled by waiting drivers.
How long now before the introduction of congestion and drop off charges there and Gatwick as well?
T3 would often result in traffic queuing back through the tunnel to drop off because most of the drop off spaces were filled by waiting drivers.
How long now before the introduction of congestion and drop off charges there and Gatwick as well?
mybrainhurts said:
Shakermaker said:
they would do what several smaller airports do and offer 30 minutes free parking.
Eh? What airports are those, then?Earlier this year a colleague dropped a friend of his off at a roundabout at Birmingham airport, got a ticket in the post. The picture showed a car coming around the roundabout therefore colleague had to give way and stop. He sent a template letter found with 5 minutes googlefoo and added in the bit about he was obliged to stop to give way yada yada and the end result was they dropped the fine. So yes the cameras do "work" and they must have someone monitoring the CCTV ready to pounce.
Southend is 15 minutes free parking and it takes about a minute to walk to the terminal.CoolCurly said:
Short stay car park is your only option now.
Two reasons for this.
Traffic flow and security.
The fact the car park makes a stash of money from you could be classed as a third reason.
I used the T5 car park last year and the charge never appeared on my card. Just that once though... Always charged other times.Two reasons for this.
Traffic flow and security.
The fact the car park makes a stash of money from you could be classed as a third reason.
toohuge said:
Stansted do have a free option... There's a 1 hour car park at the midstay car park and you use the shuttle (every 10 minutes I think) . It works pretty well, as it's carnage outside the terminal at the moment.
Jakg said:
Luton has a £2 "drop off" area by the terminal, and a free 30 minute parking area available with a (short) shuttle bus.
They do indeed. However, I don't think my taxi passengers would be too impressed having paid to be driven door-to-door, to find themselves dropped off in a car park having to wait for a shuttle bus. 
Forcing people to use the short-stay car park, whilst bloody annoying and money-grabbing, at least has the logic of stopping drivers hanging around for 10/15 minutes waiting for their passengers to turn up to support it; charging to stop for 30 seconds to let your passengers out is just plain outrageous.
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