£30m council parking income queried by RAC Foundation
Welsh councils made a profit of almost £9m on car parking last year, according to new research.
The RAC Foundation says accounts show a total of £30m was raised by the 22 local authorities through parking schemes - charges, resident permits and fines - of which £8.7m was profit.
It said the aim should be managing congestion not raising cash.
A Welsh Local Government Association spokesman denied profiteering and said millions more were spent on roads.
"Parking must always be about managing congestion, not raising money," said RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister.
The Welsh Local Government Association, which represents councils, said: "Councils have been reviewing all charging policies as a result of continued austerity measures."
|Council||Income from parking charges||Profit|
|Neath Port Talbot||£1.7m||£247k|
|Rhondda Cynon Taf||£1.3m||£478k|
|Vale of Glamorgan||£318k||£238k loss|
|Torfaen||no info||£39k loss|
|Blaenau Gwent||no info||£311k loss|