Shrewsbury’s Meole Brace Park and Ride service secured for the next three years
Shropshire Council has confirmed that the Meole Brace Park and Ride in Shrewsbury will continue operating from 1 November [2026], following a review of the service and identification of additional funding.
The service has been awarded to Hotspur Buses for an initial three-year period, providing certainty for passengers while the council develops a longer-term strategy for the future of Park and Ride across Shrewsbury.
From 1 November, buses from Meole Brace will operate every 20 minutes, Monday to Saturday, with the first bus into Shrewsbury town centre at 7.20am and the last bus leaving the town centre at approximately 6.20pm.
Additional income raised following changes to parking charges last November will in part be used to support transport projects and the delivery of highways services in the county, including the continuation of Meole Brace Park and Ride.
Improvements to Oxon and Harlescott Park and Ride
Meole Brace will form part of a wider three-site Park and Ride offer alongside the Oxon and Harlescott services, which will continue to provide frequent connections into Shrewsbury, All Shrewsbury Park and Ride services will be operated by Hotspur Buses from 1 November 2026.
Oxon and Harlescott will retain their enhanced daytime frequencies, with buses operating every 12 minutes at peak times. Both sites will also benefit from new evening Park and Ride services from 1 November 2026, extending the availability of Park and Ride later into the evening.
The evening service will operate every 20 minutes, Monday to Saturday, with the final journeys from Shrewsbury town centre at around 10pm. Building upon the success of the night bus trial earlier this year, the evening journeys will also operate as stopping services, providing additional opportunities for passengers to board and alight along the routes.
Investment in Oxon and Harlescott will also continue, strengthening the facilities available to passengers as part of Shropshire Council’s wider work to improve public transport in Shropshire.
Rob Wilson, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for transport and regeneration, said:
“I’m pleased that we have been able to find a way forward which keeps Meole Brace Park and Ride operating from November.
“We know how strongly many people value this service, particularly those travelling into Shrewsbury from the south of the town and the wider county.
“Keeping Meole Brace open, alongside frequent services from Oxon and Harlescott and new evening journeys, gives us the opportunity to look properly at what Shrewsbury needs from its Park and Ride network in the longer term.
“The next three years give us time to monitor how people are using all three sites and develop a sustainable strategy that supports Shrewsbury town centre, provides a genuine alternative to driving into town and makes the best use of the funding available to us.”
From 1 November 2026 Shrewsbury Park and Ride will operate as follows:
• Meole Brace: every 20 minutes, Monday to Saturday. First bus into town at 7.20am and last bus from town at approximately 6.20pm.
• Oxon and Harlescott: enhanced daytime service retained, running every 12 minutes between 8am and 5pm
• Evening services: Oxon and Harlescott will receive new evening journeys every 20 minutes from 5pm, Monday to Saturday, with final departures from town at around 10pm. These journeys will also operate as stopping services, providing additional evening travel opportunities along both routes.
