I can?t recall any mention of Park and Ride facilities in the backroom before.
We have moved to the West from Norwich which boasted more P&Rs than any other English city. The Norwich services were pretty good and well located on major routes around 10 ? 15 mins from the city centre and protected by bus lanes. At most times of the day it was quicker to P&R than it was to drive into the city centre.
Although SWMBO regularly used the Norwich P&Rs, I admit that I rarely used them as I had an office parking space. Now that I?m commuting into Bristol, a place twice the size of Norwich, I?m wishing that the facilities were better. They only have 3 P&Rs and the one I use (the Portway) can take 30 mins into the city centre. It?s only the cost of city centre parking that stops me from driving right the way in.
Interested to hear the views of the backroom. Are your local P&Rs any good? Under what circumstances do you/would you use them? Surely, if councils are serious about reducing congestion they must provide decent alternatives such as these.
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IanS
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Park and Ride has certainly been discussed in the forums in the past, in fact I recollect stating that the seaside town in which I live almost certainly invented the idea...:-)
It began from small beginnings in that one particular December many years ago, it was decided that one Saturday before Christmas a car park would be provided on an area near the beach and a bus service provided to the town centre enable people to go shopping.
The scheme proved so successful that the following year it was extended to all Saturdays before Christmas - within a year or so after that it became a permanent daily service and there are now several park and ride areas offered, with another one due to open shortly.
Other local councils observed the P and R success and inaugurated their own schemes.
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PS
None of the current P and R areas are more than five minutes by bus to and from the town centre - the new one will be about twice the time because it is right on the outskirts to try and alleviate traffic congestion into and out of the town centre.
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Our P&R in Southport is pretty good. Access is easy off the A565 & coastal road bypass.
It costs £1 for the full day, compared to on street parking P&D at 60p per hour.
The buses are new, clean and regular, and they stop 4 times along the main shopping street, so you can get off at one end and back on at the other.
There's a second P&R that opens in summer only (overflow) and they are currently building a third P&R by the A570
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It's the Southport scheme that I'm referring to...:-)
I used to work in Preston and its P and R scheme began in 1994 - it was started a considerable time after that of Southport.
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Local one that serves Cheltenham works very well. Although if they continue to raise the price it will spoil an otherwise excellent service. Every 10 mins for £2.00 (was 1.60 last year). I think the local councils need to think of them as a
loss making/cost covering service that keeps car numbers down and town centres less congested.
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The free P & R in Aberystwyth is right next to the ordinary carpark where you pay. Both are are a very short walk into the town centre, so not surprisingly lots of people working in Aberystwyth just use it as a free car park. There is a pointless bus service if you want to hang about waiting for it, but it's quicker to walk.
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Free??
Bristol P&R peak (before 10 am) prices are £3 per day which scale down to £2.40 with a 20 journey season. Up to 3 children under 16 can travel with each fare paying adult so that would be £6 per day for 2 adults in the same car.
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there is a good one in york
and the bendy buses are very frequent
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Excellent P+R facilities in Cambridge. I only use one but there are 3 around the city. £1.50 to park and the return bus to and from the city centre. Good value as Cambrifgr parking is expensive and hard to find a space.
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You obviously don't use them that frequently though, it's £2 now!
If you've mor than 2 adults in the car it's cheaper to drive into the town centre and park there for a few hours.
The Cambridge Council were suprised when they lost revenue at the car parks (about £6m in one year) because of the success of the P & R, so they put the price of the P & R up to compensate!
Work out the logic of that then!
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CC, I read what you write re charge for P/R now being £2 each but how much is it to park in Cambridge from 10am to 5 pm, if you can find a space?
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Free - but then I have an 'enlightened' employer
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CC I read what you write re charge for P/R now being £2 each but how much is it to park in Cambridge from 10am to 5 pm if you can find a space?
You need to get there early and if you only stay for 3 hours or so then it's cheaper than the £8 for the P&R (4 adults in the car)
Yes, incredibly expensive, the Council need their £6m back. So, who do they get to pay for their cock up?
It seems that the motorist can't win either way. Park in town and we'll rip you off, use the P & R and we'll still rip you off!
What gets my goat is the number of car parks that are owned by University Colleges and empty at week ends.
Welcome to Cambridge!
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My wife uses the Portway P&R every day and - as you say - more for cost than time savings. You may be aware that there is a plan to incorporate a rail stop (the railway line passes directly alongside the carpark) and whilst this will probably cost more then the (£2.40 IIRC) bus fare it will undoubtedly be quicker.
There is also a plan for another P&R to be built north of Bristol by the M4/M5 Almondsbury interchange.Latest plan is to build on land adjacent to the A38...........this has been "on the cards" for a number of years but South Gloucestershire and Bristol councils have spent so long bickering over the exact location that the project has been delayed for years - meanwhile the travelling public suffer the congestion whilst at the same time being urged by those same councilors to "get out of our cars".
Jacks
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I've used three - York (loads of times), Cambridge and Chester once. All three offered plenty of parking and reasonable charges (only two of us so £3-4 to pay). But all three are let down by one aspect - deidicated bus lanes to speed your transit to the centre, which should be one of the big incentives to get people to use P&R.
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They're a good idea, but they need decent security. The ones in Oxford used to be magnets for scrotes who would watch a car park up, the owners get on a bus into town, and have a good hour plus to help themselves.
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Jacks, interested that they are looking at a rail line. Would be tempted to use if quicker.
I did use the Long Ashton P&R initially as I travel up from Devon but to get to it from the M5 you either have to travel across country or have to go halfway into the Bristol traffic system.
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Edinburgh Park & Rides are all free, and with1 exception (which has a crap train service to town so is hardly used) all have a £1 flat fare bus (with bus lanes) to the city centre. The ones served by buses are well used, since most workers in Edinburgh live out of town.
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