Park and Ride - a filthy phrase for Car Lovers...but....
Discussion
Been commuting down the M27 Eastbound to my University in Portsmouth for the last 18 months or so. The campus is situated on 'Portsea Island' - basically down near Southsea. As it is an island, there are only 3 roads on and off the place, so it can be difficult and congested.
Being a petrolhead, the very thought of not driving my car from door to door, or even worse using public transport, brings me out in a rash
However, it is a flipping nightmare trying to park near the University. There are SOME 3 hour free bays, which are like gold dust, and the only alternatives are paid bays - which cost up to £12 a day to use. If I use a 3 hour bay, then it's a hectic bun-fight at lunchtime to go and move the car and try to find another bay within the time...which I often can't, and hence have to pay 6 quid or so for the remaining afternoon lectures.
The council recently opened a Park and Ride on the main road in. A couple of months ago, I thought I would give it a go.
And it's.....alright actually
It's £3 for the entire day's parking - and that's £3 per car, so if there's 3 or 4 of you, it's a pound or so each. The car park is huge, brand-new, with some nice, wide spaces with plenty of room between each space. As it's still so new, it only gets about a third full at the moment, meaning one can park at the back, and never risk another numpty parking next to your P&J.
There's an indoor waiting room, with a coffee shop, whilst you wait for one of the very frequent buses to come along. But they arrive every ten minutes or so anyway. The buses are all brand new, very clean, very comfortable and nice and warm inside. There's an information screen inside with a constant RSS news feed ticker to look at.
The buses use some new, dedicated Bus lanes created at the same time (to the detriment of the other traffic, it must be said) to waft past all the queues, and deposit you at one of 4 or 5 destinations in the city - with mine being a 5 minute walk from the campus.
Coming home, I have never had to wait more than 5 or 6 minutes for a return bus.
I know this is an anathema to us car drivers....but....they've built the facility, it's not going to go away, so if you can't beat 'em etc...
I quite like it. Anyone else use a Park and Ride regularly, and if so, is it any good??
Being a petrolhead, the very thought of not driving my car from door to door, or even worse using public transport, brings me out in a rash
However, it is a flipping nightmare trying to park near the University. There are SOME 3 hour free bays, which are like gold dust, and the only alternatives are paid bays - which cost up to £12 a day to use. If I use a 3 hour bay, then it's a hectic bun-fight at lunchtime to go and move the car and try to find another bay within the time...which I often can't, and hence have to pay 6 quid or so for the remaining afternoon lectures.
The council recently opened a Park and Ride on the main road in. A couple of months ago, I thought I would give it a go.
And it's.....alright actually
It's £3 for the entire day's parking - and that's £3 per car, so if there's 3 or 4 of you, it's a pound or so each. The car park is huge, brand-new, with some nice, wide spaces with plenty of room between each space. As it's still so new, it only gets about a third full at the moment, meaning one can park at the back, and never risk another numpty parking next to your P&J.
There's an indoor waiting room, with a coffee shop, whilst you wait for one of the very frequent buses to come along. But they arrive every ten minutes or so anyway. The buses are all brand new, very clean, very comfortable and nice and warm inside. There's an information screen inside with a constant RSS news feed ticker to look at.
The buses use some new, dedicated Bus lanes created at the same time (to the detriment of the other traffic, it must be said) to waft past all the queues, and deposit you at one of 4 or 5 destinations in the city - with mine being a 5 minute walk from the campus.
Coming home, I have never had to wait more than 5 or 6 minutes for a return bus.
I know this is an anathema to us car drivers....but....they've built the facility, it's not going to go away, so if you can't beat 'em etc...
I quite like it. Anyone else use a Park and Ride regularly, and if so, is it any good??
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
The buses use some new, dedicated Bus lanes created at the same time (to the detriment of the other traffic, it must be said) to waft past all the queues, and deposit you at one of 4 or 5 destinations in the city - with mine being a 5 minute walk from the campus.
Portsmouth News clickyclicky said:
Furious drivers fed up with long-running problems travelling into Portsmouth are today sending out a stark message – this must end now.
Motorists outraged over daily queues and congestion on roads into the city centre say it has become a ‘disaster area’ and something drastic must happen to eliminate problems once and for all.
They believe the introduction of traffic lights on Rudmore Roundabout and a new bus lane to coincide with the launch of the park-and-ride bus service last year is the root cause.
Seems like it's your fault RLY. Bloody students. Motorists outraged over daily queues and congestion on roads into the city centre say it has become a ‘disaster area’ and something drastic must happen to eliminate problems once and for all.
They believe the introduction of traffic lights on Rudmore Roundabout and a new bus lane to coincide with the launch of the park-and-ride bus service last year is the root cause.
Edited by Impasse on Thursday 29th January 00:30
tr7v8 said:
Always use Maidstone P & R on a saturday. Have used Cambridge P & R a few times although that is weird because of the routes in.
Maidstone one any good during the week do you know? I have jury duty coming up in a couple of weeks, and although I could park right outside the court, I wont be reimbursed for parking costs, but they will pay for the P&R ticket.Funnily enough, I've used the Cambridge one too. No issues.
I've used the Cambridge ones. They're slow and expensive and you now have to pay once for the car, and again for every riding passenger.
I use the Chelsmford P+R every day. Ten minutes in, twenty out, dedicated bus lanes and a short cut through the uni, always got a seat, air suspension, air con, £3 a day for a well drained and attended car park with toilets, can't complain.
It's got nothing to do with being a PHer or not IMO. Park at a P+R for £3 and get what, 40 cars off the road per bus, or sit nose-to-tail all the way to the back street/multi-story etc, and pay £15 (£26 in Cambridge) for a day's parking? It's a no brainer.
I use the Chelsmford P+R every day. Ten minutes in, twenty out, dedicated bus lanes and a short cut through the uni, always got a seat, air suspension, air con, £3 a day for a well drained and attended car park with toilets, can't complain.
It's got nothing to do with being a PHer or not IMO. Park at a P+R for £3 and get what, 40 cars off the road per bus, or sit nose-to-tail all the way to the back street/multi-story etc, and pay £15 (£26 in Cambridge) for a day's parking? It's a no brainer.
The key element that makes Park & Ride system work is that all the people on the bus own a car by default. This reduces the 'rancid moron' factor quite considerably.
Having said that, I did watch a chap exit the Park and Ride in Oxford in one of those strangely narrow and tall Korean or Japanese people carriers and turn a little too much so mounted the curb a little and just flip himself on his side. So the buses do still transport some muppets but the key is that they aren't dribbling or smelling like a Frenchman.
Having said that, I did watch a chap exit the Park and Ride in Oxford in one of those strangely narrow and tall Korean or Japanese people carriers and turn a little too much so mounted the curb a little and just flip himself on his side. So the buses do still transport some muppets but the key is that they aren't dribbling or smelling like a Frenchman.
DonkeyApple said:
The key element that makes Park & Ride system work is that all the people on the bus own a car by default. This reduces the 'rancid moron' factor quite considerably.
Having said that, I did watch a chap exit the Park and Ride in Oxford in one of those strangely narrow and tall Korean or Japanese people carriers and turn a little too much so mounted the curb a little and just flip himself on his side. So the buses do still transport some muppets but the key is that they aren't dribbling or smelling like a Frenchman.
No 'like' button..... Having said that, I did watch a chap exit the Park and Ride in Oxford in one of those strangely narrow and tall Korean or Japanese people carriers and turn a little too much so mounted the curb a little and just flip himself on his side. So the buses do still transport some muppets but the key is that they aren't dribbling or smelling like a Frenchman.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
The buses use some new, dedicated Bus lanes created at the same time (to the detriment of the other traffic, it must be said) to waft past all the queues, and deposit you at one of 4 or 5 destinations in the city - with mine being a 5 minute walk from the campus.
We had extra lanes built to take the buses. The capacity of the road for cars hasn't been reduced at all, in fact getting the buses out of the traffic lanes has probably been an advantage for all user types. Have the people using the Oxford P&R used it daily, I think your opinion will change. I started using it, ended up paying £200 for a space and driving in. It is dire! No parking spaces (at 7am), if you get one, it's tiny. Busses have a time table, but operate as if they are taxis. They will just go when they see fit.
The roads are bad quality, which makes the busses thud about. There are also too many busses in Oxford now, so you end up waiting behind an other bus at a stop too. All for the cheap cheap cost of £100/month.
I'd rather be in traffic in my own warm car with my music and the flexability it gives.
The roads are bad quality, which makes the busses thud about. There are also too many busses in Oxford now, so you end up waiting behind an other bus at a stop too. All for the cheap cheap cost of £100/month.
I'd rather be in traffic in my own warm car with my music and the flexability it gives.
robinessex said:
Instead of buses, why can't we have an overhead cable car system. Don't need any roads, just masts every 100mtrs or so. Like you get in theme parks
Judging by the ticket price for the one in London by the o2, these must be really expensive to install. And are also really slow. They should have built a foot bridge.You know, public transport isn't always as bad as people make out.
In cities it can be horrendous. I know that, having lived in London until I was 21, but now I'm a bit more rural, besides the lack of options, the public transport really isn't that bad.
I've had to get the bus to work for months at a time whilst between cars or whilst theyre off the road etc and it's not the bus itself I dislike, it's the british weather and not being able to accurately predict one day to the next.
As for paying for parking.. Ever thought about parking a bit further away and walking?
I commute by car 80% of the time (cycle the rest when the weather is good) and when I go by car, I park about 1/2 a mile from work and walk in for 10 mins because it's free. I could pay £55 a month and subscribe to the multi-storey, or I could walk for 10 mins each morning and not pay a penny.
In all of our locations (city/town centre) there are always free options if you are prepared to walk 1/2 a mile. If parking is really as bad as you suggest, find a residential area down the road and park there instead. I bet everyone else does
In cities it can be horrendous. I know that, having lived in London until I was 21, but now I'm a bit more rural, besides the lack of options, the public transport really isn't that bad.
I've had to get the bus to work for months at a time whilst between cars or whilst theyre off the road etc and it's not the bus itself I dislike, it's the british weather and not being able to accurately predict one day to the next.
As for paying for parking.. Ever thought about parking a bit further away and walking?
I commute by car 80% of the time (cycle the rest when the weather is good) and when I go by car, I park about 1/2 a mile from work and walk in for 10 mins because it's free. I could pay £55 a month and subscribe to the multi-storey, or I could walk for 10 mins each morning and not pay a penny.
In all of our locations (city/town centre) there are always free options if you are prepared to walk 1/2 a mile. If parking is really as bad as you suggest, find a residential area down the road and park there instead. I bet everyone else does
robinessex said:
Instead of buses, why can't we have an overhead cable car system. Don't need any roads, just masts every 100mtrs or so. Like you get in theme parks
Mainly as it would become a sport to drop half eaten McFlurry's on Traffic Wardens as the cars pass overhead... Actually thinking about it I see no downside to this concept, someone needs to make it happen.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff