Drivers could be charged £20 per week to park at their workplace in Bristol city centre

The workplace parking levy would raise up to £10m a year, which would be spent on improving public transport.

The levy would affect roughly 9,000 employees who can currently park at their job for free.

Bristol City Council would charge every business that currently has free parking for its staff, and the business would then likely pass on that cost to employees.

Exceptions could be made to disabled people who rely on private cars, hospital workers and other groups.

The levy is expected to take about three years to introduce, and councillors on the transport policy committee will approve the beginning of the work on Thursday, September 12.

A committee report said: “The parking places may have been free of charge to the employees for some time previously.

“The aim is also to encourage employers to manage the number of free workplace parking places that they provide, while promoting the use of sustainable transport.

“The introduction of a levy has other benefits associated with the reduction in car use and increase in alternative modes such as walking, cycling and public transport, such as improvements to health and the environment.

“Essentially, workplaces with parking places would face an annual charge per parking place and the employer would decide whether to pass that compulsory charge onto the employee or not.”

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A workplace parking levy was included in the Green Party’s manifesto, ahead of the local elections in May this year.

A similar charge was rolled out in Nottingham in 2012, which has since raised £83 million to be spent on upgrading public transport such as the city’s tram network.

According to the report, multi-storey car parks owned by the council have annual season tickets costing between £54 and £72 a week.

The cost of an annual First Bus Bristol Zone pass is £841, or £16 per week.