Park and Ride Great Britain
Press Information
16 March 2007
New TAS Report Highlights Park And Ride Success
Park and ride using bus or light rail is a growing and successful component in UK transport policy, according to a new study undertaken by leading passenger transport consultants TAS.
The research has identified 117 full time, year round bus based Park and Ride sites in Great Britain and a further 18 served by light rail. TAS estimates that, between them, these 135 sites supply around 70,000 parking spaces, use about 400 buses each day and account for over 46 million passenger journeys a year. Revenue is estimated at around £40m a year.
The sites serve 60 towns and cities, and between them remove some 34 million single car journeys a year from our congested town and city centres.
The report recalls that the Government’s ten year plan set a target of 100 new sites by 2010, and notes that a total of 51 new sites have opened since 2001. Capital spending over that period now totals over £130m.
If the Government target is to be reached, therefore, it will need between 12 and 13 new sites a year to open for the next four years. The report’s editor, TAS Associate Director Paul Turner, commented: “This will be a tall order: authorities have only once managed to deliver more than ten new sites in a year, in 2005.” Nevertheless 27 sites have opened since the last TAS report was published, in 2003.
The research is reported in Park and Ride Great Britain 2007, the fourth edition of a best-selling series of reports dating back to 1997. This new edition runs to 193 pages, and contains:
· a detailed commentary and research analysis
· a series of case studies looking in detail at projects in nine different towns and cities around the country.
· a 130 page scheme listing section, containing detailed information on all 60 towns and cities, including site provision, charging systems, opening hours, security measures and bus or light rail service provision.
Turner highlighted the regional variations in the provision of park and ride. “The geographical analysis shows that park and ride schemes predominate in the south of the country,” he commented, “with 50 of the 135 sites located in the South East and South West regions.” A further 17 were located in the East of England, he continued, with Yorkshire & the Humber and West Midlands on 15 each, the North West eleven, followed by Scotland and the East Midlands with ten each. Wales had just four sites. “Perhaps surprisingly, the North East of England has the lowest provision, with just three sites,” he concluded.
ENDS
For further information, contact Chris Cheek on 01729 840756 or Paul Turner on 01772 204988.
NOTES TO EDITORS
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TAS Publications & Events is the publishing arm of The TAS Partnership. Founded in 1989, TAS has since grown to become the UK’s leading specialist public transport consultancy. Its recent clients include the Department for Transport, the Commission for Integrated Transport, and devolved governments, as well as local authorities and transport operators throughout the country.
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Park and Ride Great Britain 2007 is a 193-page report, available price £49 as a download from the TAS on-line shop. Hard copies are also available, price £59 + P&P. Ring 01729 840756 for details.
- Other regular reports include the acclaimed Monitor series reporting on performance in the bus, rail and light rail industries.