Plymouth Park & Ride - The First Era. Service history

First bus won the contract to run the main park & Ride services from February 2026 after a Christmas service the previous December. 

16-Dec-05	PH0004983/276	PR6	Service registered for pre-Christmas operations connecting The George Park & Ride site with Royal Parade (running on selected days in December with flat return fares of £1.10, or 80p on Thursday evenings).
13-Feb-06	PH0004983/278	PR1	Initial registration effective for service between The George Park & Ride Site and Plymouth (Royal Parade), operating Monday to Saturday approximately every 10 minutes (06:30 to 19:45).
27-Feb-06	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable variation amending the service commencement date to 27 February 2006.
06-Mar-06	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable variation further amending the commencement date to 6 March 2006.
28-May-06	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable variation.
28-May-06	PH0004983/294	PR2	Initial registration effective for Monday-to-Saturday service between Coypool Park & Ride Site and Plymouth City Centre.
13-Jun-06	PH0004983/294	PR2	Timetable amended.
17-Jul-06	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable amended.
15-Oct-06	PH0004983/294	PR2	Timetable amended.
16-Nov-06	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables amended for both the PR1 and PR2 services.
23-Apr-07	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable revised to provide additional stopping places.
01-May-07	PH0004983/294	PR2	Special additional service operated between Coypool Park & Ride and Home Park for an event/match, with return journeys dictated by demand and police requirements.
19-Jun-07	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Special additional single-day event journeys operated for PR1 and PR2 (serving Home Park).
20-Jun-07	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable amended.
13-Aug-07	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable amended.
15-Nov-07	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables varied for both PR1 and PR2.
07-Dec-07	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables varied to provide additional late-night Park & Ride journeys.
06-Apr-08	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable amended.
11-May-08	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	One-day-only (11 May 2008) route, stopping place, and timetable amendments for both PR1 and PR2.
27-Jun-08	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable amended for 27 and 28 June 2008 only.
12-Aug-08	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables varied for PR1 and PR2 (varied for 12 & 13 August).
28-Oct-08	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable amended.
14-Nov-08	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables varied to provide extra late-night Christmas shopping services.
01-Feb-09	PH0004983/294	PR2	Timetable amended to add an extra morning journey from the city centre.
17-Jun-09	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route amended on Plymouth University open days (held annually in June and October).
02-Jul-09	PH0004983/294	PR2	Route and timetable amended.
26-Jul-09	PH0004983/278	PR1	Revised routing introduced at Milehouse Park & Ride for times when the service road was inaccessible due to Plymouth Argyle matches or concerts.
11-Aug-09	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Special timetables provided for the British Fireworks Championship on both PR1 and PR2.
12-Nov-09	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables varied for PR1 and PR2.
10-Aug-10	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables varied for PR1 and PR2.
18-Nov-10	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional Thursday evening journeys introduced for pre-Christmas late-night shopping on PR1 and PR2.
05-Dec-10	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Peak Monday–Friday variations introduced; PR1 Saturday frequency reduced and PR2 city terminus formally noted as Royal Parade.
24-Jul-11	PH0004983/278	PR1	Special Sunday timetable operated for one day only for the IBSA conference.
16-Aug-11	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional evening journeys provided for the British Fireworks Championships (16 & 17 August) on PR1 and PR2.
17-Nov-11	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional Thursday evening late-night shopping services reinstated until Christmas for PR1 and PR2.
01-Apr-12	PH0004983/278	PR1	Timetable revised.
19-May-12	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Special additional journeys operated for the Olympic Torch event on PR1 and PR2.
22-Jun-12	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable amended for the ISBA conference (22–24 June 2012).
30-Jun-12	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional journeys operated for Plymouth hosting Armed Forces Day on PR1 and PR2.
14-Aug-12	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional journeys for British Fireworks Championships (14 & 15 August) featuring an 'on demand service' after 22:10 on PR1 and PR2 (PR2 18:30 journey re-routed via Exeter St).
19-Sep-12	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional evening shuttle journeys operated for the Olympic Homecoming Parade on PR1 and PR2.
05-Nov-12	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional evening journeys operated for the Fireworks / Bonfire display on PR1 and PR2.
22-Nov-12	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional journeys provided for the Plymouth Christmas Lights switch-on on PR1 and PR2.
21-Jun-13	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable amended for 21–23 June 2013.
26-Jun-13	PH0004983/278	PR1	One-day route diversion in Plymouth city centre to operate to Plymouth Pavilions.
13-Aug-13	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional services operated for the British Fireworks Championships on PR1 and PR2.
27-Oct-13	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables revised for PR1 and PR2.
15-Jul-14	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Special additional journeys operated on 15 July 2014 for PR1 and PR2.
07-Sep-14	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetables revised to add two extra evening journeys on PR1 and PR2.
27-Oct-14	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable revised.
05-Nov-14	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional evening journeys operated for Plymouth City Council bonfire and fireworks.
24-May-15	PH0004983/278	PR1	Route and timetable revised.
27-Jul-15	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Timetable variations introduced due to roadworks for PR1 and PR2.
18-Aug-15	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Additional journeys operated for the British Fireworks Championships (18 & 19 August) on PR1 and PR2.
06-Sep-15	PH0004983/278, PH0004983/294	PR1, PR2	Registrations for both PR1 and PR2 were officially cancelled, marking the end of First South West's operational era on these Park & Ride routes.

Key Highlights 

Pre-Christmas Pioneer (PR6): First South West's involvement with Plymouth Park & Ride began in December 2005 with a short-lived festive shopper service (PR6) connecting The George with Royal Parade

Long-Term Dual Operators: First South West ran both PR1 (The George)  and PR2 (Coypool)  continuously for over 9 years, from early 2006 until September 2015

Major Event Shuttles: First South West regularly modified routes and schedules to support city events, including the Olympic Torch relay (2012), Olympic Homecoming Parade (2012),  annual British Fireworks Championships, Plymouth Argyle matches at Home Park, Plymouth University Open Days, and concerts at Plymouth Pavilions

Simultaneous Closure: Just like Plymouth Citybus before them, First South West ceased operating both PR1 and PR2 on the exact same date (6 September 2015) - we will come to this in a later post!

Next time we will start having a closer look at the buses used on these services.  They were quite an upgrade from Citybus before them!

A quick treat though as this was one of the buses on offer for the PR6 Christmas service. If I recall correctly they had three Routemastesr at the time: