Transport User Voice – December 2020 – Do you know about park and ride?

30 November 2020

A nice way to avoid traffic

Do enough people know they can use park and ride?

Our latest research has revealed many are unaware that it’s an option.

Our survey Park and ride for Highway’s England’s roads: a solution to congestion? looked at how people felt about using park and ride in Oxford and Doncaster. We also got some non-users to give it a go and report back.

We found that the overwhelming reason for people not using park and ride was a lack of awareness. There were gaps in understanding of key aspects such as ticketing and frequency of buses.

But those who did know about it were happy with it – 98 per cent of those using park and ride locally were very or fairly satisfied with 86 per cent for longer distance journeys.

We found those using park and ride found it made travelling easier, was less stressful and offered good value for money.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, said:

“People who use park and ride like it, which is a great starting point.

“Our research shows what Highways England could do, in partnership with local authorities and bus companies, to make park and ride a more attractive option than driving all the way.”

To get more people using park and ride the watchdog recommends that Highways England should work with transport companies and authorities to promote the service and raise awareness of the benefits. It should also ensure the customer experience remains positive by making continued improvements.

Some of the feedback we got from people trying it out for the first time:

“I was surprised at how much cheaper it was than the train. Food for thought there.”

“I’ll admit I was wary, basically of the bus not coming. I left enough time that I could have got back in the car and driven if I had to.”

“Overall, I expected there to be plenty of buses and there were, and I expected the parking to be an issue but it wasn’t.”

“On the outward journey to Sheffield I only had to wait 5 minutes for a bus, that was a nice surprise. The journey itself was pleasant too, it was nice to just sit back and relax.”

 

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