New Shrewsbury Park & Ride service proving popular

An improved Park & Ride service that began in Shrewsbury on 2 November 2015 is proving popular with visitors to Shrewsbury town centre.

The new service began after Shropshire Council awarded a new five-year contract to manage Shrewsbury’s Park & Ride service to Arriva Midlands.

Under the new contract, the current three Park & Ride sites at Meole Brace, Harlescott and Oxon have been retained. The fares have remained unchanged, and bus pass users will continue to get a 50% discount.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“The improved Shrewsbury Park & Ride service began on 2 November and is already proving popular with people who use the service to visit the town centre.

“With buses running every 20 minutes, and timetables now available for the first time, we now offer a more reliable and punctual service – and feedback so far has been very positive. The set 20-minute departures give much greater certainty on travel times for users, but also means we can provide a more efficient and financially-sustainable service.

“Park and Ride is a really important service for Shrewsbury, offering an affordable alternative to on and off street parking within the town, and helping to reduce congestion around Shrewsbury’s historic streets.

“I’m really pleased that the council and Arriva will continue to work in partnership for the next five years to maintain an attractive, reliable and high-frequency service for workers and visitors to the town.”

Arriva have refreshed each of the three car park sites, including updating the publicity and promotional material – and will soon introduce a new service that provides real-time departure information via a Smartphone app.

The existing Park & Ride vehicles will be used until the end of October 2017, when they will be replaced by Wrightbus Streetlite Micro Hybrid vehicles.

Pictured are (left to right):
Steve Howson, Shrewsbury depot manager, Arriva Midlands
Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport
Rob Cheveaux, Area Managing Director for Arriva Midlands