New park and ride's a hit say council

Almost 2,500 people have used the new Cardiff East Park and Ride service since it opened for business on Monday October 19.

On both Saturdays it has been in use over 300 cars have used the site and on average, 245 made use of it every day during its second week of service, from Monday October 26.

The figures, which run until 5:30pm on Sunday November 1, show a steadily increasing popularity and are expected to rise further as we approach the festive season.

The new Park and Ride is part of Cardiff Council’s Sustainable Travel City initiative, which is partly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. It provides a frequent, convenient service that travels directly to Dumfries Place, adjacent to Sainsbury’s.

There are 340 spaces in total, including 19 disabled spaces.

The current amount of spaces is to be extended to 1100 in phases two and three. In addition, there will shortly be free parking to allow local residents to link to adjacent walkways and public space.

There is a Park and Ride bus every fifteen minutes for maximum efficiency, ensuring a quick and reliable journey for commuters and visitors alike. From Monday to Friday the service operates from 7:00am until 8:30pm and 10:30pm on Thursdays.

On Saturdays buses run from 9:00am to 7:00pm and on Sundays from 9:00am until 5:30pm. The service links in with the ‘Free B’ shuttle bus, which launched on October 12. This free service assists in transferring people between key points in the city centre, with a bus every 10 minutes.

Executive Member for Transport Councillor Delme Bowen said: “I am delighted to see the large numbers of people using the new park and ride service since its opening. With Christmas fast approaching I hope as many people as possible take advantage of its benefits.

“At £2.50 the service is competitively priced and as we enter phases two and three of development we will also be encouraging more car-sharing from the site. With this in mind I am confident Cardiff’s first purpose built park and ride will continue to be a huge success.”