Park and ride bus services in the United Kingdom are bus services designed to provide intermodal passenger journeys between a private mode of transport and a shared mode bus. The common model of bus based park and ride model is transfer from a private car to a public transport bus, although schemes may also be used by pedestrians and cyclists.
"Park and ride" commonly refers to permanent schemes operated as part of the public transport system, for onward transport from a permanent car park to an urban centre. ‘Park and ride bus’ can also be used to describe temporary and seasonal schemes, services operated for private or specialised users, and services that do not necessarily serve an urban centre. Bus services can be permanent, seasonal, or only operate on specific days of the week, or for specific events.
Permanent public transport based park and ride sites are predominantly constructed, administered and financially supported by one or more of the local public authorities, although partial private funding also occurs, usually in partnership. Since bus deregulation in 1986, the actual bus service for particular schemes is currently operated by one or more private bus operators, or stand-alone companies, with the contract to operate the bus service being put out to commercial tender. An exception is Northern Ireland, where the state concern Translink promotes and operates all public transport park and ride schemes.
Schemes are often specially marketed with a specific brand separately from other standard local bus services. Public transport schemes mostly operate at a net loss, with the budgetary cost justified by the reduction in traffic congestion and reduced need for central parking spaces. The net benefits of park and ride schemes to the environment have been questioned in studies examining the effect of schemes on overall vehicle mileages and passenger travelling behaviour.
Implementation of public transport park and ride bus services in the UK accelerated through the 1980s and 1990s, although some schemes have failed or been scaled back due to lack of use. Permanent schemes range in size from an allocated area with provision of less than 10 cars, to multiple dedicated sites catering in total for nearly 5,000 cars. Schemes predominantly serve a single town or smaller city, while rail based mode, where it exists, is the predominant implementation for the larger metropolitan areas. Larger regional bus schemes exist, such as at Ferrytoll in Fife, Scotland and in Northern Ireland.
History
Permanent bus based park and ride schemes are most often found in the UK in historical towns and cities where the narrow streets mean traffic congestion hits hardest and streets cannot easily be widened. An example is Oxford, which operated the first scheme in the UK, initially with an experimental service operating part-time from a motel on the A34 in the 1960s, and then on a full-time basis from 1973. Large scale adoption in other towns then continued from the 1980s with increased car ownership. As of 2005 there were 92 park and ride sites across 40 locations in England.
Permanent schemes
Implementation
Permanent park and ride services are predominantly intended for used by car driving commuters and their passengers, with shoppers being the next largest user, although it is also often targeted at day-trippers and tourists visiting by car., Retrieved on 29 November 2017 As well as car drivers, park and ride bus services may also be used by pedestrians and cyclists. Several schemes offer bicycle lockers to allow use of the bus by cyclists. For foot passengers, although the journey may be quicker than regular bus services, the fares may also be higher.
For ease of access by car, a common arrangement for a permanent park and ride is a site or sites located on the outskirts or outer suburbs of a town or city, with the aim of providing a short onward trip by bus into the centre. Sites are usually located near to the major approach routes to the centre, usually near to motorway junctions or beside the main arterial routes. Some sites, such as the village on Ellon, Aberdeenshire, are located some distance from the central destination, but the site is located on a main arterial approach route. Larger regional sites exist, with longer journey times, such as Ferrytoll in Fife, Scotland. In larger cities, space permitting, sites may also be located at transport hubs or interchange stations further inside the urban area.
As well as stand alone sites, permanent daily public transport park and ride car parks may also be operated adjacent to or as part of the car park of another facility, such as Basingstoke (a Leisure Park), Doncaster (a cinema) and Derby (a retail and leisure park). Some sites utilise football stadium car parks, as they are not usually in use on working daytimes, as happens in Brighton, Reading, Dorchester and Derby; and also horse racecourses as in Leicester and Cheltenham, although these services may not be available on match/race days.
Many sites are operational five or more days a week. Some schemes are often supplemented using additional sites with car parks normally used for other purposes during the week that only operate as park and ride on a Saturday or Sunday. These sites include the local County Hall or Town Hall car parks, or University car parks. Examples include Southport and Leicester.
As of 2008, permanent bus based park and ride schemes are generally implemented in small to medium-sized towns and cities, with larger conurbations such as London, Birmingham and Manchester operating rail-based schemes. Edinburgh was the largest city with a comprehensive bus-based park and ride scheme, until replaced in part with the Edinburgh Trams network in 2014. In Manchester, the local transport authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, does not believe that park and ride systems achieve the main aim of reducing car based mileage, stating that when implemented, most passengers are drawn from people who would otherwise have used existing bus services, or cycle/walk, with only 1 in 5 spaces on average being filled by people who did not previously use public transport.
Site facilities
Purpose-built park and ride sites generally consist of a car park and adjacent bus-boarding facility within walking distance. Large sites may feature covered multi-story parking, and covered waiting areas or passenger facilities akin to a small bus station. Bigger car parks may feature more than one bus stop to limit the distance users have to walk. Smaller sites may feature just a bus stop and cabin for an attendant. For sites used as bus termini, the site may also feature bus stands.
The location of park and ride sites is usually predominantly sign posted to assist car drivers, and sometimes there may exist electronic signs giving current information about parking availability. Many sites feature a controlled perimeter, entry/exit barriers, CCTV and supervision by an attendant.
Planning issues
The location of sites is often restricted due to planning issues and land availability. The location of potential sites may conflict with the desires of other development aims. Some local authorities introduce new schemes as part of wider developments by stipulating as part of the planning permission approval that a private developer may only proceed if they include a suitable scheme in their development proposals.
The advent of Local transport plans enacted by the Transport Act 2000 in England has allowed park and ride usage to be a material consideration in planning matters in England.
In 2005 the Campaign to Protect Rural England called for a review of park and ride development expressing concern too many sites were being built on green belt land.
In 2008, a scheme proposed by North Yorkshire County Council for a site for Whitby on green land within the North York Moors National Park was rejected by the park planning committee on grounds of its proposed location, within the park, despite claims by the borough council that no suitable alternatives existed, and traffic was an increasing issue in the town which threatened the prospects of economic growth.
In 2008 in Truro, Cornwall, a scheme was launched aiming to be complementary and integrated with the rural environment, marketed as a "park for cars" rather than a car park, with features such as natural building materials, solar power and waste water managementCornwall County Council Park for Cars concept explanation page
Bus operators and vehicles
To comply with UK competition legislation, contracts for the bus operation aspect of schemes supported by local authority finance must be put out to commercial tender, although minimum quality conditions are often stipulated as part of the contract. Some bus operating contracts are awarded on the basis of a formal Quality Contract between authority and operator. For reasons of practicality and logistics, the winning bus operator is usually an operator already based in the local area.
Dedicated park and ride bus services are usually provided using public transport buses. Depending on the passenger numbers, service may be provide with a combination of midibuses, single-decker buses, double-decker buses. In some schemes such as in Bristol (Bath Road), articulated buses are used. As of 2008, the Optare Solo is a common type of midibus found on smaller schemes.
As with standard public transport bus services in the UK, as of 2008 the responsibility for operation of the buses for park and ride schemes is dominated by the major transport groups, either in part or full, with FirstGroup involved with 12 locations, Arriva and Stagecoach Group involved in 7, Go-Ahead Group in 6. Despite this, operation by small groups or independent operators forms a significant aspect of UK park and ride operations, such as Johnsons Excelbus (Stratford upon Avon) and Bennets Coaches (Cheltenham). Some municipal bus companies operate their town's service, such as Edinburgh (Lothian Buses), Nottingham (Nottingham City Transport), Swindon (Thamesdown Transport), Reading (Reading Buses), although the November 2008 transfer of the Ipswich operation from Ipswich Buses to First Eastern Counties demonstrated that council owned bus companies are not necessarily given favourable status in the awarding of council park and ride contracts.
For large schemes, park and ride bus fleets used are usually of a higher and/or different specification to the predominant public transport bus fleet. Fleets are often purchased new in whole or in part for the award of a new contract, meaning low floor buses are increasingly common.
In the Plymouth scheme, the buses are of an extremely high specification compared to regular public transport buses, being equipped with high backed leather seating, television screens, and individual radio/CD sockets for each seat.Alexander press release detailing the specification of the Plymouth park and ride buses . Alexander-dennis.co.uk. Retrieved on 4 January 2012.
While dedicated park and ride fleets generally contain some of the newest vehicles in a bus company's fleet, in some areas this does not occur, for example, the award-winning operator in Derby, Trent Barton, defers operation of the park and ride to its Wellglade group sister company Notts & Derby, using vehicles older than that of the Trent Barton main fleet.Fotopic image of an R registration Notts & Derby park and ride bus photographed in 2008Fotopic image of a Y registration Notts & Derby park and ride bus photographed in 2006
Success and failure