Commuters are slowly seeing the benefits of Park and Ride
More and more commuters are taking advantage of Stratford Park and Ride’s ‘free before 9am’ return service.
The free service was launched last summer in a bid to try and attract more commuters onto the service and reduce the rush hour queues into and out of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Prior to the free scheme being launched six months ago an average of just 28 people each day used the buses before 9am, however, the latest figures for December reveal that an average of 73 people each day have been using the free service from the Park and Ride site based off the A46 at Bishopton.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “I’m delighted to see more commuters using the service, removing cars from the peak travelling ours in the day. This service could save commuters an awful lot of many, providing them with free return travel into town without the hassle of looking for parking spaces and then having to pay each day.”
The Park and Ride generally is continuing to grow with more than 9,000 people using the service during December, with the average number of people using the service each day up from 307 people a day in December 2006, to 379 people a day in December 2007.
Even the free service offered on five Thursdays before Christmas from 4pm until 9pm, did relatively well considering the car parks in the town centre were offered for free on the evenings – with 368 people using the buses.
The Stratford-upon-Avon Town Management Partnership working with the Stratford Christmas Festival Committee sponsored the free Christmas shopping service.
Stratford Park and Ride forms a key element of Warwickshire County Council’s Local Transport Plan which, over the next five years, seeks to improve people’s access to services and facilities while managing the impact on society, the environment, our economy and resources.
The county council’s Local Transport Plan specifically links Park and Ride with its Decriminalisation of Parking scheme in Stratford. This is because similar schemes operating in Cambridge, York, Nottingham, Chester, Oxford and Coventry have delivered a shift from vehicle congested urban centres to sustainable public transport. In achieving this they have also created a better, safer, cleaner environment for everyone to enjoy.