The South Glos Post

South Gloucestershire commuters can ‘dial and park’ for a special discount price at the new park & ride facility off Hunts Ground Road in Stoke Gifford (close to Bristol Parkway Station).

During September, all commuters who use their mobile phone to pay for parking will be charged just £2 per day, plus normal text charges – a saving of £3 on the normal daily rate.

The facility is the first of its kind in South Gloucestershire and gives residents the opportunity to leave their car behind before transferring to a train or local bus for onward journeys into Bristol and other parts of South Gloucestershire.

The park and ride is also on the route of the proposed North Fringe to Hengrove rapid transit network, which the council hopes to gain funding for from the Department for Transport later this year. If the bid for funding is successful, it would provide links to Cribbs Causeway, Aztec West, UWE and Emersons Green, and to Bristol city centre and on to Hengrove.

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Work was due to start yesterday (Monday 19th July) on South Gloucestershire’s first park and ride at Hunts Ground Road, Stoke Gifford, near Bristol Parkway rail station.

The site will provide extra parking for commuters using train services at Parkway Station and will also serve the regular bus services that call at Parkway.

Its location also means that it is well-placed to serve the proposed North Fringe to Hengrove rapid transit scheme.

The location is just off Hunts Ground Road, approximately 400 metres east of Parkway Railway Station and will hold 200 car parking spaces including provision for disabled car parking and motorbikes. Parking at the site will cost £5 a day in the week and £3 a day at weekends.

The estimated construction period is 32 weeks, and completion is expected to be in March 2011.

The site will include lighting and a CCTV system and the gates will be locked at night and opened early in the morning to enhance security. The payment machines will be by credit/debit card only.

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From Monday 14 December capacity on the peak morning service from Yate to Bristol Temple Meads will increase by 50 per cent.

South Gloucestershire Council has been working with First Great Western to increase the number of carriages for commuters from two to three, to help relieve some of the overcrowding caused by the popularity of the service.

Councillor Brian Allinson, executive member for planning, transportation and strategic environment, said: “This extra carriage should bring much needed additional capacity on what is already a hugely overcrowded peak service from Yate.

“This is a welcome step in the right direction and goes some way towards addressing commuters’ concerns, but we will continue to work positively with First Great Western to tackle the remaining issues that local rail passengers raise.”

He added: “We are also working on achieving extra capacity on other local rail services to alleviate overcrowding and also getting improvements at Bristol Parkway Station.”

Linda Swainger, manager at Bristol Parkway and Yate station, said: “There are some days when commuters cannot get on to some services – such is their popularity. We have listened to passengers and are pleased to be able to increase the capacity on this particular peak service.”

Julian Crowe, regional manager for the West of England for First Great Western added: “We are delighted to provide this additional carriage to serve the residents of Yate. This is a very popular service and hopefully the additional carriage will provide a more pleasant journey for existing commuters and attract even more people to make the switch to rail.”

The extra carriage coincides with the annual timetable change which comes into effect from Sunday 13 December.

Source: South Gloucestershire Council