Cardiff Bus secures Park and Ride contract
Cardiff Council has awarded Cardiff Bus the contract to operate the Cardiff East (Pentwyn) Park and Ride service from 26 January 2014. The municipal operator was the preferred bidder on the basis of quality and cost. The three year contract will see it manage both the seven day a week bus service and the site itself. Buses will run to and from the city centre from the site every 15 minutes. Cardiff Bus plan to improve the service by extending the route, which currently ends at Dumfries Place, to Churchill Way. It also plans to further extend the service to David Street by the Motorpoint arena and St David’s Eastside once the roadwork in the area is complete. On alternate journeys, it will also extend the route beyond the Park and Ride site to Pontprennau and Cardiff Gate Business Park. The company will bring in its new m-ticketing payment option for the service, which costs £3 or £1 if the passenger parks before 08.30. The new contract adds to Cardiff Bus’ other Park and Ride service it currently runs from Cardiff West Park and Ride at Cardiff City Stadium.
Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Highways and Transportation, Cllr Graham Hinchey, said, ‘Since its launch in 2009, the Cardiff Park and Ride service has continued to grow in popularity, with the volume of cars and income more than trebled in recent years. In the lead up to Christmas over 700 cars have being using this service per day. The new arrangement with Cardiff Bus will help the council save £430k in the next financial year. Given the financial pressures faced by us and every other local authority in the UK it’s important that we look to new ways of working. The new arrangement with Cardiff Bus secures the East Park and Ride service whilst making much needed savings. Plans are underway to add additional services on site, such as car valeting.’
‘The site will also act as a strategic staging post for Rapid Bus Transit services into Cardiff City Centre. It demonstrates the Councils commitment in supporting a modal shift to sustainable transport, giving more choice to people who live and travel in from the East and North East of the City. This facility will also compliment and support our Local Development Plan (LDP), allowing new transport options in and around the new strategic housing sites and employment areas in Cardiff Gate.’