Letter: Park & Ride Buses Could Further Improve Local Transportation Services

Published on: 22 Sep, 2019
Updated on: 22 Sep, 2019

From Harry Eve

In response to: Feasibility Work Is Required Before We Can Decide Whether to Reintroduce a Shuttle-Bus

My thoughts on the Park & Ride service are similar to those of Julian Lyon [see comments below story] and are based on the version that operates through Winchester. This operates between Park & Ride car-parks on opposite sides of town stopping at various points along the route including the station and the hospital.

Clearly, regulations do not prevent that so perhaps what Cllr George Potter refers to are local and could be changed. The Spectrum and Royal Surrey Hospital are important destinations so I would suggest two services, between Artington and the Spectrum and between Merrow and the hospital.

The buses would stop in the same area of the bus station which defines where they go next. This would not require additional buses and ticketing could be arranged so they can be used on any P&R service. Additional stops in town are certainly possible; the Merrow service has two now. Doubtless, there are other problems but perhaps another resident or councillor will see a possible solution.

One issue would be overcoming any obstacle that exists to taking the P&R service to the hospital (instead of or in addition to the Onslow P&R site). Two possible undesirable consequences would be an adverse impact on local operators and too much demand for the available Park & Ride sites.

The first could be solved by a shared Park & Ride service and the second by improved bus services from the outlying areas that reduce car usage in the first place.

Responses to Letter: Park & Ride Buses Could Further Improve Local Transportation Services

Maurice Barham Reply

September 22, 2019 at 5:10 pm

In Cambridge, Park & Ride buses routinely run from one P&R site to another at the opposite side of the city. There is no reason why this could not happen in Guildford as Harry Eve suggests.

A route running along Guildford Park Road would allow passengers access to the railway station which is not convenient at the moment. It should also be easier for the operator, as it gives them a terminus at each end of the route, rather than hovering around the bus station.
Mike Forster Reply

September 23, 2019 at 9:49 am

Seems like a perfectly sensible suggestion and one that ought to be seriously considered as a matter of urgency. The improved facility and environmental gains make this a “no brainer”. I hope that needless objections by those in authority do not scupper a good idea.
Wayne Smith Reply

September 24, 2019 at 11:40 am

By all means, bring back some form of shuttle-bus, and finding a means to make better use of the Park & Ride busses seems a good option. But it should be done for the right reason – to improve access to the town centre for the less mobile.

We should not kid ourselves that it will save the High Street retail businesses because if that was the case every town in Britain would be introducing a shuttle bus. Our High Streets are undergoing a change, more of a revolution in fact, and a shuttle bus won’t stop it – electric or not.