Park & Ride

It continues to be very quiet in terms of service registration changes so there is very little to report, however what has been submitted all appears to be Park & Ride based so lets have a recap of what's going on at the moment.

Exeter

Dealtop Ltd Dartline

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH0005305.090	NPR3	Sowton Park & Ride, Exeter	Aming Drive Park & Ride, Exeter	22-Jan-2024	NEW Registration Monday to Friday. (no new timetable published)

Nothing much to report here in that this appears to be a new registration for an existing Park & Ride service. I have yet to find a new timetable. This serves the NHS Nightingale Hospital at Exeter which has no public parking available.

Taunton

Whilst aware that Taunton isnt strictly within my usual Devon & Cornwall area, this will be of interest to many readers here as it does concern two of our main operators

First South West Ltd Buses of Somerset

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH0004983.473	PR1	Gateway Park and Ride	Silk Mill Park and Ride	10-Feb-2024	cancel

PARK and ride bus services in Taunton will be put under new management in the New Year after Buses of Somerset said it was pulling out of its contract.The company has been operating services from both the Silk Mills and Gateway sites since July, 2021, when it was awarded a five-year county council contract with the possibility of a two-year extension. But First South West, which trades as Buses of Somerset, has told Somerset Council it was ‘no longer viable’ for it to run the service, despite a recent increase in passenger numbers.

West Somerset Free Press

Stagecoach Devon Ltd

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH1020951.422	PR	Silk Mills Park and Ride	Gateway Park and Ride	12-Feb-2024	Monday to Saturday

The new Taunton Park & Ride will be provided by Stagecoach who will run it from their Tiverton base…

Stagecoach has submitted a successful bid to operate Taunton's park and ride service.The southwest based bus operator has been awarded the contract to run busses from Monday to Saturday from the Silk Mills and Gateway sites, commencing from February 12. Peter Knight, Managing Director at Stagecoach South West said: "We are proud to be delivering this Park and Ride partnership with Somerset Council and other key organisations in Taunton. We look forward to the service commencing on 12 February 2024 and meeting our new customers in Taunton, providing them with reliable, affordable and sustainable travel across the Taunton Park and Ride service."

Wellington Today

Somerset Council has awarded a new contract to run Taunton’s Park and Ride service to Stagecoach South West following a successful tendering bid.The South West-based operator will run buses Monday to Saturday from the Silk Mills and Gateway sites from 12 February 2024, taking over from First Bus South.The cost of a ticket will remain just £1 for any single journey, and whilst frequency will change slightly to every 20 minutes, larger double-decker buses in striking new livery will service the routes from 6am to 8pm Monday to Friday, with a slightly later start on Saturdays.

Somerset County Council

It remains to be seen what the ‘striking’ new livery will be!

Truro

Taunton isnt the only Park & Ride that First were wanting to drop

A reliable source within the bus industry has advised me that First Bus has given Cornwall Council notice to cease operating the Truro park and ride. The contract signed by the Council and First Bus says, at clause 43.2.1, "Without affecting any other right or remedy available to it, either Party may terminate this agreement at any time by giving six (6) months written notice.” I assume, therefore, that this is what First has done, although it has been rumoured that they may have only given 3 months’ notice. Whether it is 6 months or 3 months, this gives Cornwall Council a major problem.

Cornwall Buses August 2023

In August 2023, First Bus gave Cornwall Council 6 months’ notice to cease operating the Truro park and ride service. The notice period presumably expires some time in February 2024 but there has been no news from the Council about what it is going to happen to the service then.
However, a reliable source informs me that First has secured from the Council an improved deal for continuing to operate the service at least through the summer of 2024. After that, who knows what will happen.

Cornwall Buses January 2024

There is then a further update

"We can confirm that the Truro Park & Ride will continue to be Operated by First Kernow until at least October of 2024. We are anticipating that the service will be tendered in March for an end date of March 2028, and an indicative starting date for October 2024. The current operating model has been in place since 2015 and there is now an opportunity to revisit this, to ensure that the service is sustainable for the future. Officers are currently working on this, including seeking feedback from interested Operators and stakeholders, and this information will be used to feed into the future tender specifications. At that point we will be able to know any financial implications.”

Cornwall Buses

It does seem that Cornwall CC are not helping things when it comes to car parking policy as detailed in Cornwall Buses latest post:

When it becomes clear to motorists that it will only cost them £2.50 to park in the centre of Truro, how many of them will continue to pull into Tregurra or Langarth and delay their journey into the city by 10-15 minutes in order to save themselves 30 pence? And, of course, if there are two in the car, it will cost more to use the park and ride than parking in the city centre. Expect, therefore, to see a dramatic reduction in park and ride passenger numbers this year at the same time that the Council will have to find more money to run it following First Bus forcing the Council to increase what it was paying them to run it.

Read more here

We will be watching this story develop over the coming months!

Dartmouth

Stagecoach Devon Ltd

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH1020951.339	91	Dartmouth P&R	Dartmouth	29-Feb-2024	Cancellation accepted

This is a seasonal operation that usually runs from Easter through to October. The cancellation may just mean a new tender contract comes into force in Easter. We will have to wait and see!

Plymouth

Nothing much to report here really. There are plans in place to add an extra deck to the George Park & Ride site which will increase capacity as its often full especially by Derriford Hospital staff where parking is extremely limited. I have yet to see any movement on this though but Derriford staff were told it is happening.

This is just part of a raft of plans to expand Park & Ride in Plymouth as reported back in September 2023

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

Plymouth Live

Park & Ride to and from Derriford remains a big issue for hospital staff. Lack of capacity at the George. Restricted opening hours at Coypool (although hours are extended at Coypool this month apparently which should help) This is served by Stagecoach 52 which is only hourly, the alternative is a fair walk to catch the 50/51s which isnt ideal. The other big area of complain is with the Milehouse Park & Ride which now relies on the half hourly 34 since Stagecoach decided to re-route all the Park & Rides through Mutley which is now served by the 42s and the 1s so offers a very frequent service. The heady days of high quality buses running service which the council decided on have long gone sadly.

The good old days…

The old Park & Ride showed what can be done with decent funding and good cooperation between councils and operators. This is how Park & Ride should be done. Highly visible, frequent and limited stop services between large safe car parks and the City Centre / main transport hubs. I am not convinced we will see the like again in Plymouth but lets hope we can get something closer.

Woolwell and Outland Road

Catching up with some Plymouth City Council news…

Bottleneck

Plans to tackle one of Plymouth’s worst traffic bottlenecks have been given the green light.

We have allocated £420,000 for design work on a scheme to alleviate congestion at the notorious pinch point between Woolwell Roundabout and The George. We have also committed more than £15 million in its capital budget to deliver the scheme, which will help reduce congestion along the A386 Tavistock Road and support proposed new developments in the north of the city. We are exploring options to widen the road between Woolwell Roundabout and The George and provide two lanes in each direction, removing the need to merge and reducing journey times for everyone. The scheme will also include plans to upgrade the junction with Woolwell Road, as well as improved public transport, walking and cycling links.

The Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan, due to be published later this month, identifies Derriford and the northern corridor as one of three strategic growth areas where most of the planned growth in the city will take place through to 2034. The vision for this area is that it will be transformed to create a high quality, distinctive, vibrant, mixed-use new heart for Plymouth. The vision supports major investments and radical improvements in transport infrastructure and the Woolwell to the George project is the flagship infrastructure project as part of this.

Plymouth City Council

Plan

An ambitious plan for what Plymouth and South West Devon could be like in 2034 covering important issues like health, transport, homes, jobs and the economy, green spaces and infrastructure is to be considered by three councils next week.

The Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan is going to the Full Council in each local authority on the following days:

• Plymouth – Monday 27 February
• West Devon – Tuesday 28 February
• South Hams – Thursday 2 March

The Joint Local Plan is a culmination of months of planning and discussions between local communities, neighbouring councils, landowners, businesses and developers, interested in shaping the future of the area.

Councillor Patrick Nicholson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing, Transport, and Planning said: “This plan is vital for the future success of Plymouth, West Devon and South Hams. We have planned for the new homes and jobs that we need so that the area can thrive. A huge amount of work has gone on behind the scenes to take on board as many different views as possible. Here in Plymouth we’ve made huge efforts to strike the right balance between the need for growth and protecting our important green spaces for generations to come.

All three councils will be asked to agree that the Joint Local Plan is ready to submit to an independent Government Planning Inspector and if approved, a final consultation will get underway and will run from 15 March to 26 April 2017. This will be the last chance for the public to comment on the Joint Local Plan before it is formally submitted for examination. At this stage, the public and other interested organisations will be able to make comments but these need to relate to the soundness of the plan.

For more information visit http://web.plymouth.gov.uk/plymouthplan

Outland Road

Work to improve a key junction on one of the busiest roads into the city is nearing completion.

The Outland Road Junction Improvement Scheme aims to reduce congestion between Peverell Park Road and Torr Lane, improving journey times for motorists and service reliability for buses on this busy route. It will also improve road safety by upgrading pedestrian crossings and providing new on-road cycle lanes.

The first phase of the scheme at Peverell Park Road was completed in March 2016. The main works between Torr Lane and Weston Park Road / Ham Drive junctions began construction in September 2016. The original programme had a completion date of March 2017 but the contractor uncovered poor ground conditions that resulted in the completion date extending by a few weeks. This was unfortunately unavoidable.

We are coming towards the end of the scheme and aim to have the improved junction at Torr Lane reopened next week, which will alleviate much of the disruption to local residents and businesses. The current closure of Weston Park Road is also due to be lifted at the end of this week. From next week there will be a westbound closure of Ham Drive between Outland Road and Camilla Terrace, which will be in place for a maximum of three to four weeks. As with all the road closures so far, signed diversions will be in place for both motorists and pedestrians.

The diversions are essential in order for the works to be carried out safely, with the minimum amount of disruption to all road users. With a scheme of this size, at such a sensitive location, it is not possible to provide improvements without some delays being experienced. However we are trying to keep these to a minimum as far as possible.

Although there has been some weekend and night working to reduce the length of the construction period, this is disruptive to those living close by and the associated costs are substantial.

We work closely with the contractor, Amey LG, to ensure the scheme is delivered as far as is possible within the programme timescales and budget. Although there has inevitably been some disruption, the scheme will have significant benefits for the city in terms of providing better transport facilities for the future

A Flavour of a Busy Weekend

It has been a great weekend with fantastic weather. For me it was too hot and I am now suffering with sun burn (my own fault!) but it was great for the bus events that were happening.
I didnt get to Exeter but did make it to Bretonside which had a great showing of buses and coaches and drew large crowds of people. I also got the the Sunday event at The George which was equally brilliant. As I am still looking through my own photographs I present just a few pictures of my own below as a hint of the flavour of the weekend.
One of the highlights of these events was the chance to get to meet up with old friends and also the chance to put faces to names for the first time.
As usual I would like to continue posting photos of all the weekend events over the coming week, so if you have any photos you would like to share here please send them in (dbg@plymothiantransit.com) It would be nise to see some from Exeter and the calvacade if possible and also on some of the many trips that were on offer over both days. The more the merrier!

A small gathering of buses a while before the cavalcade arrived



Seeing a variety of coaches entering a packed Bretonside Coach Station, brought back memories a what seems like so long ago now



The colours of Citybus!
This last photo is especially poignant as for some time in the afternoon it was not possible to get this photos as the area was cordoned off by police after a very nasty accident when a car ran into the back of the Blue Flash Volvo see at the far end here. I wont go into any details but it was very lucky that no one was killed (although the driver had to be cut free from the car) . I am sure it will be in the local news on Monday. Our thoughts and prayers are for the people involved, that they make a full recovery.
Special thanks to all the organisers of all the weekend events and the many volunteers to helped with conducting, piloting, and general marshalling around the sites. Especially as the events on Sunday unfolded and tours were suspended for a while they maintained their cool and their professionalism.
Special thanks have to go to the Emergency Services who responded in some numbers to the emergency and those who were first at the scene of the accident including Martyn a coach driver who just happens to be fully trained by the Ambulance Service and is exactly the sort of person you would want there. 

Targeting Derriford

" at first glance this seems like a win win situation for everybody? ”

A shot I wouldn't normally use but I have realised I do have a bit of a gap in my photo collection when it comes to Target Travels pink solos. I am also pretty sure that this particular bus has now been lettered up for the new service 60. Hopefully I will get up to Derriford next week and start to update my photo collection! News release from Plymouth City Council recently caught my attention: A new bus service to Derriford Hospital is being launched as part of a £750,000 package of improvements at the George Park and Ride site. The service will start on Monday 6 July. The new number 60 bus link, operated by Target Travel, can be used by members of the public as well as hospital staff and will run every seven to eight minutes during peak morning and afternoon travel times. Buses will run every 20 minutes throughout the rest of the day and a return ticket will cost £1.20. Plymouth City Council has extended the car park at the site to provide 250 dedicated spaces for NHS staff using the service as well as an additional 60 spaces for members of the public. The NHS car park is accessed by barriers which are opened using special passes issued to hospital staff. There is also a new, second entrance on Plymbridge Road, meaning that motorists approaching the park and ride from Derriford no longer have to drive up to the roundabout near Tesco and back down Tavistock Road to access the site. Councillor Kevin Wigens, Cabinet Member for Transport said: "The George park and ride terminal was a design first for the Council, combining some of the latest eco-friendly features with high-quality facilities for customers. Ever since it was launched in 2006 it has been enormously popular with passengers, offering a reliable, comfortable and efficient bus service into the city centre. "This second park and ride bus link will provide a hassle-free way for staff and visitors travelling by car to get to and from the hospital, helping to reduce congestion around the site and alleviating some of the pressure on its car parks. "We are also really pleased to be responding to the needs of our customers and improving access to the park and ride site by providing a second entrance on Plymbridge Road.” Andrew Davies, Facilities and Environmental Services Manager for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust added: "The Trust has been a supporter of the George park and ride ever since its conception and has seen it as a viable alternative for staff, patients and visitors. "This extension is the culmination of over two years of working in partnership with Plymouth City Council to meet the needs of those that use the Northern Corridor routes. The Trust is also pleased to be working in partnership with Target Travel, who will provide a direct and regular service from the park and ride to the hospital for all staff, patients and visitors who have chosen to use the facility." The Council will be carrying out landscaping improvements at the site later in the year. The new-look park and ride site and hospital bus link mark the start of a programme of improvements planned for the city’s Northern Corridor (the main transport route from Woolwell into the city centre) this year and next year. Other plans include new off-bus ticket machines at the park and ride, a new bus lane at Derriford Hospital, a new bus and cycle lane on Tavistock Road (between Charlton Road and the Crownhill flyover), road resurfacing, improved pedestrian crossing facilities, better road signage and road layout changes to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion. A leaflet has been published by the Council with details about the Northern Corridor improvements and will be available soon from community centres, local libraries, doctors surgeries along the route. It will also be sent out to everyone who took part in the Council’s 2007 consultation exercise on improving transport links from the north of the city. If you would like a copy of the leaflet call 307751. As far as the Park and Ride site at The George is concerned this is great news. The new entrance is something that is long overdue and I am sure will be very popular. We certainly used to use the Park and Ride quite a lot but got fed up with having to drive up to the Woolwell roundabout just to get in, and then have to go back up again to get out. We never did understand why this wasn't designed in to the site in the first place, but better late than never! The new Derriford staff parking is also very useful and has been heavily promoted within Derriford Hospital. If used by staff it should free up more parking for patients which will be welcomed by many people. So at first glance this seems like a win win situation for everybody? Well I am not sure that First Devon and Cornwall will be seeing it quite that way. The extra peak time buses will be very useful and I would imagine be quite popular. Off peak  “Buses will run every 20 minutes”. This is made to sound like a new facility, but seems to forget that First already operate a bus every twenty minutes during the day along this route. The 7 continues to run every twenty minutes between Derriford and The George, but the new Target Travel 60 will now be departing from The George 3 minutes before the 7! If this new service is going to be as popular as it is hoped then this has the potential to be a significant loss of revenue for the route. I am all in favour of extra competition but you cant help but think that it could have been timed to run ten minutes after the 7 so that you can then tell Derriford staff that there is a bus every ten minutes. It is noticeable in all the publicity put out within Derriford that the 7 does not get mentioned at all. I can imagine that the 7 does cost more than the 60 as Target is generally cheaper but I am sure a deal could have been done with First for a special fare on this section? I am still not sure to what extent Target are getting subsidised for this new service. It is noted that the service is not supported by the council yet it does appear in their list of subsidised services (although it might just be the 60A that is supported?). I am sure that First will be watching revenue on this route very carefully over the coming months!

Cutbacks: 60

Previous Posts: Cutbacks 4 Keyham 6 Goosewell 7D Radford Park 10 and 226 12, 19 20 13, 14, 16B 18 39

Continuing our look at the re-tendered services after the cutbacks on the 5th July 2009 Service 60/A Derriford - The George - Broadley Park View Plymouth Bus Services: 60 in a larger map Routes 60 and 60A are new routes being run by Target Travel Monday to Fridays. The main daytime service being the 60 which will run every 20 mins between The George Park and Ride, Marjons and Derriford Hospital (mapped Green above). In the morning and afternoon peaks they are joined by the 60A (The blue section above - the route includes the green section as well) linking in Woolwell and Belliver Way to the 60 route. This combines to give a very frequent service between Derriford and The George. It states in the timetable that the 60 is provided as a commercial service by Target Travel. The routes replace the old X56 X57 and Taxibus 225. This does seem to be a bit of an interesting gamble by Target but it does help that Derriford Hospital staff are encouraged to park at the George Park and Ride site. I can also see it hitting First Devon and Cornwall service 7 which also provides a twenty minute service between the two locations. Target Travel leaving The George 3 minutes before First which I am sure is pure coincidence! Getting towards the end of these posts now. Later there will be one more - the new 227 service and then one further post next week looking at the other changes due to happen on the 5th along with a few comments!

Lucky Clover Leaf

Residents of Glenholt are looking forward to an end of months of uncertainty over bus journeys in the north of Plymouth, after the city council awarded the contract for a new service in the area.Target Travel will launch the number 57 Clover Leaf Connection on October 28. From October 30, it will provide an hourly service daily from Mondays to Saturdays between 9am and 4pm.The clover leaf-shaped route includes stops at Birdcage Farm, Glenholt, Belliver and Woolwell, for residents travelling to and from the medical centre, Tesco Extra supermarket and other shops, into the George park-and-ride site and Derriford Hospital. This is Plymouth

This seems like a good idea and will provide good links with Derriford Hospital and the George Park and Ride site which is turning into a good transport interchange. Lets just hope that the residents use the service that they have fought so hard for.

The George

© Ashymoto - Blogged via Flickr
(Click on the photo to visit the Flick page of "Ashymoto" and view his other photos)

An interesting development with the new Park and Ride at The George today as reported in This is Plymouth.
Just a year ago, Plymouth City Council was predicting that the bus terminal and car park would ease congestion on the busy A386.But today the authority confirmed that it is looking at creating an entrance on Plymbridge Road - because motorists from Glenholt, Southway and Derriford can only get in if they take a one-mile detour around Woolwell roundabout.
The residents' groups think the park-and-ride, in use since March, is an 'excellent facility'.But they want to know why the only way in is by heading towards the city, on the A386, and turning left.Buses are the only vehicles travelling towards Woolwell allowed to turn right, at traffic lights, and there is no entrance from Plymbridge Road.
As a user of the Park and Ride myself I have to agree it does seem strange that we cant have access to the site from Plymbridge Road. We have to drive passed the site and then make the long detour to the next roundabout and then drive back into the site. The same problem exists when you leav - as you are only allowed to turn right and head off towards Tavistock! Needless to say many people just turn left anyway - or use the Bus Lane exit to make the turn.

Lets hope that something does happen fairly soon. There is certainly unused capacity at the site so anything that helps the service gets more use has to be a good idea

Park and Ride building

On Friday evening after work I found myself at Crownhill needing to get a bus back to Derriford Hospital and was pleased to see an 83 Tavistock bus come in. These all go through Derriford. Well, all apart from this one it seems! Not feeling very well at all I decided to stay on the bus and get off at the George so I could see the new Park and Ride operation in use. Above is the very smart new building which houses a fully manned (by First D&C) reception desk, toilet and shower facilities and snack machines. Sadly it was all but deserted when I was there but hopefully it will increase in use over the next few months. A quality effort all round. It just shows what the Council can do when it wants to!
didbygraham

Park & Ride

Recently came across this wonderful aerial view of The George junction from August 2004 on the excellent Cyberheritage web site. This area is now almost unrecognisable. The large new Park & Ride site is in the top right hand side of this photo.
didbygraham