Local parking guide

Parking in Bristol

What a parking ticket costs in Bristol, what it costs to park, who enforces it and how to challenge one.

Bristol City CouncilCity of BristolEngland

Bristol charges you simply to drive a non-compliant vehicle into the city — £9 a day for a car, £100 for a lorry, bus or coach — whether or not you park. Not every English city works that way: Birmingham charges £120 for a Clean Air Zone penalty on top of its parking one, and Greater Manchester has no clean air charge at all. That daily charge is the thing to understand about driving here. It is not a parking charge and it is not a fine: pay it and nothing else happens. Ignore it and you get a separate penalty on top. Residents' permits are priced by CO₂ band, as Glasgow's are, and a second permit at the same address costs more than the first.

Bristol City Council City of Bristol England

£2.50–£4.50/hourOn-street tariff

Bristol publishes its residents' parking schemes individually rather than as a count, so we do not state a total.

What a ticket costs in Bristol

Bristol does not publish the amount of a parking penalty charge — not on the pay page, the appeal page or the parking hub. The only published figure is for moving traffic contraventions, which is a different contravention, so we will not infer it. The amount is on the notice itself.

Clean Air Zone: class D

A class D zone charges buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, vans and cars. Anything not on that list is not charged for entering the zone at all.

A class D zone may also charge motorcycles and mopeds, but that is left to the council — so class D on its own does not tell you whether a motorcycle pays.

Ultra low emission vehicles with significant zero emission capability are exempt from charges across all classes.

GOV.UK, Annex A to the Clean Air Zone Framework for England

Other charges you can get in Bristol

Not every notice you get is a parking ticket. These are issued under different powers, and some of them cost more.

ChargeAmountIf paid earlyNotes
Clean Air Zone daily charge — car, taxi or light goods vehicle £9 Payable for each day a non-compliant vehicle is driven in the zone. Not a penalty: pay it and there is nothing further.
Clean Air Zone daily charge — heavy goods vehicle, bus or coach £100 Same rules, eleven times the price.
Residents' permit, first vehicle — CO₂ bands A to K £129 A year. Vehicles with no band, or registered before March 2001, pay the same.
Residents' permit, first vehicle — CO₂ bands L and M £193 A year.
Residents' permit, second vehicle £233 A year, whatever the emissions band. A third permit is £581.
Residents' permit in the Central Parking Zone £250 A year, flat, and only one permit per eligible property in the zone.
Visitor permit, one day £2.50 £2.50 in Clifton Village, Clifton East and Kingsdown; £2.00 in other zones. Households also get between 50 and 70 free visitor permits a year depending on the area.
Moving traffic penalty charge £70 £35 Halved if paid within 21 days, and £105 once a charge certificate is issued after 28 days. This is the moving traffic charge, not the parking one.

Paying by phone

Bristol City Council accepts RingGo. Check the sign in the bay for the location code before you start a session — it is the code, not the street name, that decides what you are charged.

On-street tariffs

AreaPer hourMaximum stayNotes
One hour zone £4.50 1 hour 8am to 6pm. The evening rate from 6pm to 10pm is £3.50, and parking is free from 10pm to 8am.
Two hour zone £3.50 2 hours 8am to 6pm. £2.50 an hour from 6pm to 10pm, free from 10pm to 8am.
Four hour zone £3.50 4 hours 8am to 6pm. £2.50 an hour from 6pm to 10pm, free from 10pm to 8am.

Park and ride

  • Bristol park and ride sites — £0 · There is no charge for parking at Bristol's park and ride sites. You pay the bus fare instead. Site locations are published on the Travelwest map rather than by the council.

Who enforces, and where to appeal

Bristol City Council enforces on-street parking, bus lanes, moving traffic contraventions and the Clean Air Zone. Four kinds of notice, and the amounts are not the same.

Bristol is outside London, so appeals go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal after the council has rejected your representations. Clean Air Zone penalties go to the same tribunal but under their own process.

How to challenge a ticket, step by step →

Related rules

Other cities

Common questions

Do I have to pay to drive into Bristol?
Only if your vehicle does not meet the emission standards. Euro 4 petrol from around 2006, Euro 6 diesel from around the end of 2015, electric and hydrogen vehicles, and all motorbikes pay nothing. A non-compliant car pays £9 for each day it is driven in the zone, and a lorry, bus or coach pays £100. Check the vehicle before you assume.
Is the Clean Air Zone charge a fine?
No, and the distinction matters. The daily charge is a charge: pay it and the matter ends. The penalty for not paying it is a separate notice on top. Bristol's zone started on 28 November 2022.
How much is a parking ticket in Bristol?
We cannot tell you, and we are not going to guess. Bristol does not publish the amount of a parking penalty charge on its website — the pay page, the appeal page and the parking hub all describe the 50 per cent discount without ever giving the figure it applies to. The amount is printed on the notice itself. If you want it in advance, ask the council in writing.
Why does my neighbour pay less for a permit?
Because Bristol prices the first permit by CO₂ band: £129 a year for bands A to K, £193 for bands L and M. A second permit is £233 regardless of emissions and a third is £581, so the cost climbs steeply with the number of cars rather than with what they emit.
Is park and ride free?
The parking is. There is no charge to leave a car at a Bristol park and ride site; you pay the bus fare. That makes it the cheapest way to reach the centre by car, and it also keeps you out of the Clean Air Zone if your vehicle is not compliant.

Sources

Figures last checked 8 September 2026