A NEW parking and bus ticket could be trialled in Oxford as part proposals to encourage people to use public transport.

Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach have developed proposals to make the Park & Ride services “more attractive”, including the creation of a new combined parking and bus ticket for all Park & Ride sites in and around the city.

Drivers would be able to buy a combined ticket covering both parking and return bus travel at a rate of £4.00 for a car with only one driver, and £5.00 for a car with two or more people.

Currently, other than a combined £6.80 family ticket, drivers pay separately for both parking and bus travel. The ticket would be available at the parking machine, or via the RingGo parking app.  

The trial is expected to take place from September 30 to March 31 next year with an initial review of to be conducted after the first three months.

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Councillor Louise Upton, cabinet member for health and transport at the city council, said: “Buses, especially Park and Ride services, are crucial for people travelling into our city for work, leisure, and tourism.

“We want to ensure that our services are easy to use and affordable for as many people as possible, which is why we are proposing a combined ticket and updated parking tariff to make it simpler and cheaper.

“We hope that these measures will encourage more people to use Park & Ride when they come in to Oxford.” 

Councillor Andrew Gant, cabinet member for highways management at the county council, said: “This new deal will make it cheaper and more convenient for many people to use the Park and Ride services instead of driving all the way into Oxford city centre. More people on the buses will reduce car use and cut congestion and pollution.”

Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company interim managing director, said: “The Park & Ride service has been a crucial part of Oxford’s transport infrastructure since 1973 and now needs support to help it fully recover from the impact of the pandemic.

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“The service is integral to helping Oxford achieve its net-zero ambitions and it’s great to see all parties working in partnership to introduce changes that we expect will make the Park & Ride more attractive and easier for customers to understand.”

 Rachel Geliamassi, managing director, Stagecoach, said: “We are looking forward to getting behind this campaign and trial to encourage more people on to the park and ride services we operate from Thornhill and Oxford Parkway.

“We want to work together to keep things simple and reduce the number of single occupancy car journeys on the roads.”

 

 

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

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