DRIVERS forked out almost £9million to park on Glasgow streets last year.

Figures obtained by the Evening Times show motorists are paying out £24,000 a day to park on city streets.

Between April 2013, and March this year, motorists in the city paid a total of £8,922,718.42.

Our investigation reveals that on-street parking charges have generated an average daily income of more than £24,000 for Glasgow City Council.

It comes after we revealed the price of parking for an hour in one of Glasgow's busiest streets rocketed by 300%.

Motorists who park on Kilmarnock Road in Shawlands are now paying 80p for an hour instead of the previous 20p for an hour.

Parking fees also increased in 30 city streets, including Paisley Road West, Duke Street, and Great Western Road.

Neil Greig, director of policy at the Institute of Advanced Motoring, stressed that parking should be a "service", not a money-maker for council bosses.

He told the Evening Times: "Paying for parking is inevitable in any city.However, if the council are increasing the price, then the service should be improved.

"I'm not aware of anything that has been done to improve the service.

"If you take money out of drivers' pockets, you have to make improvements."

The figures, released under Freedom of Information, show a steady rise in the amount Glasgow City Council has earned from parking fees in the past five years.

In 2009/2010, the council made a total of £7,947,567.97 and £7,995,409.28 the following year.

The amount increased again, to £8,080,418.32 in 2011/2012 and last year, the council made £8,245,968.22 from on-street parking fees alone.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: "Parking charges in many areas of Glasgow have not increased for a number of years.

"The range of parking controls in use, and the facilities we invest in, are in line with our Local Transport Strategy, which seeks to support greater use of public transport.

"However, it is also realistic about current car use and supporting businesses.

"We have established an annual review of tariffs in response to inflationary demands, market conditions and as an effective means of traffic management control.

"In areas, such as the city centre, parking bays are available for short term parking for those who require access to specific locations.

"And on-street tariffs are set to allow this, with car parks available for longer stays."

rebecca.gray@eveningtimes.co.uk