Park and ride buses take the festive strain
The number of people using Hereford’s Christmas Park and Ride scheme, set up by Herefordshire Council, topped 4,200.
The figures, which have just been compiled, show that this Christmas’ Park and Ride has been the most popular since the scheme was first introduced in the run up to Christmas 2001.
The two sites – one at the Grafton Road car park on the A49 in the south of the city, and the other on the Denco car park on Holmer Road, in the north of Hereford – offered shoppers a frequent shuttle service running at 15-minute intervals, into the city centre.
“This is great news. Every family making use of the park and ride facility meant one less car in the city centre,” said Stephen Oates, Herefordshire Council Head of Highways and Transportation.
“Over the years this facility has become more popular and the reports we’ve had back are that the shoppers who used the facility found it clean and easy to use,” added Stephen.
The figures show that around 2,800 people used the park and ride in the north of the city, while a total of 1,400 used the facility in the south of the city.
The Council is developing longer-term plans for all year round Park and Ride services for Hereford as part of its Local Transport Plan.
“The success of the Christmas scheme demonstrates that high quality bus services can provide an attractive alternative to the car for city centre trips,” added Stephen.
