Park & Ride expansion is still on the cards:
Plans for a new park and ride service to serve Plymouth and the new town of Sherford remain on track. The scheme is part of the refreshed Plymouth Bus Service Improvement Plan which is under scrutiny this week.
The plan aims to deliver bus services that 'people need, can be proud of and enjoy using'. The vision is to create a thriving bus network with services that are frequent, reliable, fast, affordable, safe and clean, which will also help Plymouth to achieve its net zero goals by 2030.
As part of that plan, an expansion to the existing park and ride provision serving Plymouth is in the cards. In addition to the existing sites at Coypool, The George, and Milehouse, a fourth site, to the south of the A38 and west of Deep Lane junction, is planned.
Outline planning permission for the scheme was granted in 2013 as part of the Sherford new community. This site will initially have 500 spaces, increasing to 1000 spaces later during the development, with the initial phase due to be complete ahead of 1,100 occupations
In relation to park and ride, the Bus Improvement Plan says: “Whilst the level of service currently provided meets demand, given the planned expansion of the George Park and Ride site, and our longer term proposal to expand the Coypool Park and Ride site, as set out in our delivery plan, we want to improve our park and ride offer to a seven day week operation at a 10 minute frequency so that passengers know they can just turn up and go.
“A further P&R site, to the south of the A38 and west of Deep Lane junction, was granted outline planning permission in 2013 as part of the Sherford new community. This site will initially have 500 spaces, increasing to 1000 spaces later during the development, with the initial phase due to complete ahead of 1,100 occupations.”
The proposed creation of the public transport hub in and around Sherford would help to unblock roads around the eastern corridor and serve commuters living in Plympton, Chaddlewood and new town Sherford, offering them an alternative way to get to work that doesn't cause gridlock.
The outline plan for the Deep Lane Park and Ride site added: “The potential for a Park and Ride site at Deep Lane on the A38 has been identified as a core requirement in association with the Sherford development. No constraint has been placed on the capacity at Deep Lane within the modelling exercises, with the forecasting being used to determine the likely demand for the site.
“The site will also represent the initial terminus for the high quality public transport service in the eastern corridor, retaining the potential to extend services to Langage. However, the site should not be promoted as a service for employees of Langage,when more conventional bus services already exist to this site.”
It continued: “The BRT service assessed within this study operated at a frequency of 12 buses an hour, with a return journey time of 50 minutes. This would require a bus fleet of 11 vehicles.
So
Do we think we will ever get this? It sounds good but we have had decent quality Park & Ride before and now look at it. Decent Park & Ride requires money and genuine commitment to the service from the council. Hopefully we will get the latter but we will get the money? will we get 11 decent buses for the service? and more importantly will we keep them. We had an excellent service with very high quality buses in a decent livery which was instantly recognised as being the park & Ride. Over the year these buses were replaced with newer but less luxurious buses in a plain bland livery. These days we have standard buses operating a standard bus service that pretends to be a park and ride service. Now is a good opportunity to prove that Plymouth can lead the way again. will we take it?
What do people think? will we get it, do we need it?
The vision is to create a thriving bus network with services that are frequent, reliable, fast, affordable, safe and clean https://t.co/zgsr4Ot5hZ
— Plymouth Live (@Plymouth_Live) September 12, 2023
As I read it the buses will travel through Sherford and join the traffic jams on Laira Bridge. It will likely be a stopping service, so what's the point. The whole idea of P & R is fast, frequent, reliable, and reasonably priced. The service needs to run down the A38 with maybe a stop at Marsh Mills, it should use Gdynia Way, the Viaduct and Royal Parade, travelling the Mayflower Street, Western Approach loop although giving more access also puts more chance of delays on the service. PCC always seem to miss the boat with their efforts at P & R. The idea of a hub is good and Express services should call there avoiding the need to drag in and out of the City Centre. Could save 40 minutes off a journey from Penzance to London.
ReplyDeletecant disagree with most of that! The only bit I am not sure would work is the transport hub so that coaches etc would stop at this new park and ride to save coming into the city centre. I am sure similar schemes have been looked at before and found that passengers want to go to the city centre. Its like the Falcon calling at the Park & Ride instead of going into Exeter. Its just a pain having to get off and then onto another bus to reach your destination. Did it once - and haven't bothered going to Exeter since! I dont think I am alone in thinking like this!
DeleteI think Plymouth needs to look at Oxford, where the Park & Ride sites aren't just for that but also hubs for other buses too. Also they go across the city from one P&R to the other, whereas Plymouth's used to be split to two routes with the George one being far more frequent. Maybe the 25 service should be merged to provide links to the Barbican, Aquarium etc.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago the 25 Hoe service was merged into the Milehouse Park & Ride. My memory might not be totally accurate but I am sure it wasn't that successful and was soon separated out again. I am sure it was when they service was run by the horrible Dodge bread vans - green I think or it might have been in the awful grey livery
DeleteThey did, am I right in thinking that the 25 when they had the X~~~ CDV small darts they went down to the Barbican also? Until they lost the contract to First.
DeleteIt’s only just clicked for me that the City Council contracted the P&R to First in 2006… despite still owning CityBus! That seems an incredibly bizarre thing to have done, surely they should have just run the services themselves with their own bus company like they had done before!
DeletePretty sure that there were rules which mean that the service had to go out to tender and I guess First put in the best tender.
DeleteWell… Thats an interesting article. Lets be real Stagecoach scratched the 101 and only care about the 1/1A so thats the least of what we need. Milehouse isnt exactly a P&R anymore. The loss of the 101 and having to rely on a infrequent and often over-packed 34 journey is just pure hell
ReplyDeleteagreed.
DeleteThe Milehouse P+R is just for Argyle these days, the 60/61 serve as routes into town but you’re better off just coming into town at this point.
Deleteyup but the 60/61 are only single decker routes and aren't designed for it.... from someone that lives in the Milehouse area and used to get the 101 a lot to/from town - I don't bother at all.
DeleteThose really were stunning buses (now with First Essex without the working tech of course!) but it's ironic that we now have even worse buses operating than those - nearly 20yrs later
ReplyDeleteEven the 69 plate E400's aren't that nice - they just feel cheap
They themselves at 56 plate have replaced 13 plate single deck volvo on the chelmesford-basildon-lakeside corridor amongst over things
ReplyDeletePlymouth City Council have reworked the BSIP and sent it to DFT for funding approval. The last one failed. If this one gets approved, does that finally mean that Plymouth could see a brand new integrated transport network... Imagine a scenario like Cornwall... could it really work for Plymouth?
ReplyDeletePlymouth would need considerable funding to do a 'Cornwall', is there a new government BSIP third round then or is this just for its successful smaller BSIP+ second round allocated funding approval of ambitions?
DeleteNo chance of that I am afraid. Milehouse Park and Ride is dead. 61 is not a service at all really. Coypool 200 is subsidised to keep it going. Only 1 doing ok is the George which still gets its 10 minute frequency Monday to Saturday via the 1 and 1a. The Mutley route and not Milehouse being what makes it viable. Just before it got axed a Stagecoach driver told me that near 90% of 101 passengers were boarding Crownhill and Derriford areas to city with hardly any along Outland Road. Stagecoach do good along Mannamead Road so commercially 1a replacing 101 names sense
Deletesaw this the other day, lost all upper deck windows and the entire frame of the bus is bent - could well end up a write off
ReplyDeleteWhat's this referring to Anon 19 Sep @ 13:29? Can't see any image on my device?
Deleteadditionally, very lucky nobody was on board, could have been a very bad accident otherwise, seeing the way the roof has seperated from the main body of the bus.
ReplyDeleteprobs a write off to be honest - it's an 06 plate (probably already knackered) - and we don't exactly need another open topper
ReplyDeletelet me guess this bus will be replaced by a much nicer bus from the PCB fleet - being robbed again by GCB!
ReplyDelete@Graham - are you able to do a full fleet update soon? And potentially updated photos of Milehouse Depot / gravel pit as I'm not in the city at the moment
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to fairly soon although I havent been out that much for any photos!
ReplyDelete