News from Peterborough City Council

 

Peterborough City Council's free park and ride scheme is proving to be a big hit with shoppers.

 

Since this year's service was launched on Saturday 1 November 2008, a total of 1129 cars have parked at pick-up points in Lynch Wood and the Eastern Industry area -  an increase of nearly 50 per cent on last year's total of 758 during the same period.

 

The city council's Cabinet member for the environment Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald said: "It is great to see so many residents and visitors to Peterborough embracing this free seasonal service, These excellent figures illustrate what a fantastic service park and ride provides.

 

"People have the opportunity to enjoy a hassle-free journey into the city centre without experiencing the aggravation of traffic queues and the frustration of finding somewhere to park. Last year, that equated to 6,057 cars being kept out of the city centre and more than 17,000 passengers climbing aboard the buses. We hope the park and ride service will once again make it easier for residents and visitors to beat the queues and enjoy a stress-free shopping experience."

 

The service allows motorists to leave their cars at specific sites and travel into the city centre by bus. The Saturday service will operate until 27 December 2008, while a Sunday service, which began on 30 November 2008, will run until 21 December 2008, helping to ease city centre congestion further.

 

Peterborough City Council's passenger transport contracts and planning team manager Cathy Summers said: "This is an excellent start to the service, however we hope more people will continue to switch to park and ride when travelling to the city centre, reducing congestion leading up to the busy Christmas period."

 

The Saturday park and ride service buses run from the Diligenta car park, in Lynch Wood, and Perkins car parks, in Oxney Road. At Lynch Wood, the first bus will leave at 8.05 am and the last bus from Queensgate back to Lynch Wood will be at 6.12 pm. There will be buses every 12 minutes. The first bus at Perkins will set off at 8.09 am and the last bus will return at 6.14 pm and buses will be run every 8 to 12 minutes.

 

On Sundays, buses will run every 12 minutes from Lynch Wood, starting at 10.05 am, and the last bus from Queensgate will be at 5 pm. The first bus from Perkins will set off at 10 am and the last bus will return at 5.01 pm.

 

The service is free, and all buses feature low-floor vehicles allowing easy access for wheelchairs and buggies. Security will also be provided at both car parks.

 

For further details about this year's park and ride, please telephone (01733) 747474, or visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/parkandride or www.travelchoice.org.uk.