A park and ride scheme for Brighton and Hove could start this summer if the council’s cabinet gives its approval.
Cabinet members are due to discuss the options at a town hall meeting next week, with a report proposing the use of existing car parks and bus routes in the first instance.
Brighton and Hove City Council said: “Discussions have been taking place with landowners, large car park operators and other stakeholders and the council hopes to announce where the new scheme will operate from soon.
“The council has also submitted a request to the Department for Transport to use funding from our Bus Service Improvement Plan to help it develop the technology necessary for the park and ride to operate.
“Funding from Transport for the South East has been secured to cover the cost of a business case for a purpose-built scheme in the future that will work alongside the new flexible model approach being recommended.
“If approved, the new park and ride would use existing car park space for motorists to park who will then take existing bus services into the city centre and out again.
“This approach has been used by several other local authorities, including Oxford and Portsmouth, to support the case for a purpose-built scheme.
“It would also include developing technology to help with things like ticketing, payments, journey planning, information and signage.
“Once established, the council would be able to use the model to expand to other locations around the city.”
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport, parking and the public realm, said: “If approved, this will be a great scheme.
“After decades of discussion, 2025 will be the year we deliver park and ride for the city.
“Using existing car park space, we intend to create a park and ride in time for summer.
“Once in place, we’ll be able to monitor, learn from and make improvements to the scheme, before rolling it out to other parts of the city where needed.
“This initiative will operate alongside our efforts to make parking simpler and fairer, our expansion in electric vehicle charging – and our improvements to the city’s walking and cycling infrastructure.
“It all adds up to a comprehensive, city-wide strategy to give our residents and visitors more options to travel sustainably.”
To read the cabinet report, click here.
Well this is potentially great news – depending on where the car parks are, and what the final cost is to those parking there, and how easy it is to then get a shuttle bus into the city centre.
I wonder if the Marina car park is included?
I always felt that Black Rock was the obvious place for a park and ride, for people arriving from the east.
At the west end of the city, and perhaps to the north, you’d need to find a car park near to the A27. We then need the bus service to work with that facility.
Unfortunately I can’t think of many car parks in west Hove. The King Alfred car park is small, and will probably be built on when the new swimming pool is developed.
Now we have the new Hove Beach Park, I’d be bold enough to suggest that the ‘western lawns’ area immediately to the west of the King Alfred car park should be the new park and ride area. In terms of green/climate change policy, you’d have to dress that change up with some tree planting or something, but a visitor car park, plus a shuttle bus running along the seafront from there, would make sense – in addition to the existing Stagecoach 700 service.
A shuttle bus service running all along the seafront, from Hove Lagoon to the Marina, makes total sense.
Let’s hope there’s wriggle room in tight budgets to do the right thing. And the transport department could finally achieve something positive – that actually benefits the city’s residents and encourages visitors.
Have you read the actual report? The car parks are EXISTING car parks and all that is happening is that the council seem to be arranging buses going back and forth to the existing ones already in use as car parks. It just reads as tokenism to me – eg Labour made such a song and dance about delivering something on park and ride, and that in the absence of being able to identify any new sites or new workable scheme nearly 2 years into their administration, they’ve cobbled together something with existing car parks.
What they’ve announced look kind of ridiculous to me.
Yes, and did you read what I wrote?
I mentioned the Marina car Park and the King Alfred one, and then made some comments about the proposals – for which we are yet to get the exact locations.
The idea of park and ride locations – to the west, north, and east of the city – seems like a very good idea to me.
The Greens always blocked the idea because they think any car park is bad, and their anti car policies resulted in worst city centre traffic congestion – which of course is not green at all.
What we need is practical solutions for modern transport, be that public transport of otherwise. With a tourist economy, we also need to make it easy for visitors to get to the city. This is a step in the right direction, at a time when there is little spare money to spend.
I did read what you said, which also included a rather random suggestion of a car park on the seafront in Hove.
If you think residents in Hove would support that you’re more naive than I thought Billy, but it does help us all to see why your ideas align so often with this clutching-at-straws Labour administration 😉
If you’ve driven all the way into West Hove and battled to get that far, people are not going to park up there and jump on a 700 at that point. People will carry on doing what they are doing and park up further along the route and pick up there 700 before they anywhere near Hove – Portslade, Shoreham, even Lancing have become unofficial places where people pick it up – your suggestion wouldn’t encourage more people to visit the city from the West, at most, it would just mean the same people already coming the city would pick up the 700 in West Hove rather than Southwick.
The ideas in the Cabinet papers are an administration with no ideas. There’s nothing innovative in the proposals.
Preston Parker
The suggestion of a car park on the seafront in Hove is actually a valid shout. For argument sake they could build a multi storey car park on the King Alfred site.
People wouldn’t travel on the 700, they would use the dedicated Park and Ride, an express limited stop that is whole point. You haven’t considered that locals would use the P & R too.
The article also stated landowners, this could be the University, the Amex or even a farmers field. Lets see what the plans are before kicking it into touch.
So ..the plan is …nothing tangible yet! But Muten says it’s fantastic news! What a load of blarney – just what you’d expect from BHCC
I love how Muten lives rent-free in your head, Tom.
Marginally offensive! Getting a bit edgy, Benjy?
It’s a good idea but why should the council be paying for a project that would potentially bring in a huge profit for Brighton and Hove busses a massively profitable private company. Went can’t they put some Dosh in the pot.
Because there is something called joint partnerships where bus companies, councils and other interested parties will contribute. B&H buses put forward a workable plan a couple of years ago where they would run and operate the P&R with an initial one off council contribution of £100K and the various traffic orders etc. The ‘Greens’ didn’t support this scheme so the experimental project was withdrawn by B&H buses.
It is likely the bus company, whoever it is, would contribute under the partnership agreements, you assume B&H would be the likely operator, but that may not be the case and could be a contract. If it’s a contract the council would pay a set price and therefore wouldn’t be a huge profit margin.
Good to see the debate moving on from ‘car bad, here’s your bicycle’.
Using existing bus routes is not a park and ride.
Park and ride is a non-stop bus between car park and destination.
This is pointless.
“Pointless” is a good point though. 😜
I think that statement is a little mis-leading, I would guess that service’s would be Express, Limited stop like the 1X.
It’s a first set and welcome news. If this proves popular than perhaps funding can be obtained for a permanent solution. I have always be surprised by the Greens opposition to this. About 40% chose to drive for tourism to the city for a variety of justifiable reasons. Keeping as much of this traffic away from the city will help.
Will people Park and Ride if you have to pay for parking and then pay a bus fare. That’s the state of affairs at Withdean. Not park and ride as I know it.
An extension of our existing pretend park and ride. No additional car parks or bus services, so presuming that the only difference will be pricing to encourage people to use the service. Basically a further subsidy for motorists, but where will the subsidy come from?
Earlier in the year it was revealed that existing measures to encourage modal shift are working and fewer people are driving into the city, whilst visitor numbers are improving. This upset the council as it meant parking revenue was down and they rushed for a plan to increase car traffic once again and encourage people to drive into the centre. Seems like – counterintuitively – this is part of the plan. Seek central government money to help subsidise motorists to use existing car parks under the guise of park and ride. Use the p&r false flag to encourage people to drive city and achieve the exact opposite of the stated policy, but at least the car parks will be full.
Am I right? If London Rd car park appears on the p&r plan, then yes I am.
Cycling has decreased Brighton. These are the facts
Interesting, where did you get these facts from?
DfT and BHCC counters.
Anarkish, from your comment, I’m guessing you are anti-car – or ‘ideologically Green’, as I see it.
I also call that ‘fake Green’ because it doesn’t look at the practicalities and economic realities of behaviour. And that’s where most Green policies fail.
Many of us use bicycles and we walk when we can, or else we take the bus, but then we also drive if that makes sense for the chosen journey. In the latter case, for example, if we arrive from out of town, and have kids to move around, then we may well use a car to visit Brighton’s fun spots – because that’s more practical and convenient for that particular need or choice.
What is not ‘convenient’ is to sit in a traffic jam, and then to find you can’t park anywhere – or else you get stung with a £25 quid NCP fee just for a few hours parking. That time wasted, and that fee, then makes us think twice about coming here again. And all the money we might have spent – in local shops and on cafe food and in cinemas and bars etc – then goes instead elsewhere, perhaps to Amazon, Netflix, or to Just Eat.
So the modern concept about a park and ride is to create easier and affordable parking on the edges of the city, and that allows the limited money in the family pocket to be spent on fun stuff and in local businesses. – And the city gets that trade while keeping vehicles and their pollution on the outskirts of the city centre.
If that cheaper car park is on London Road, or out at Withdean, Black Rock, or near Hove Lagoon, then so be it. It’s not a further ‘subsidy for motorists’ as you describe it. It’s a welcoming virtue flag that encourages motorists to park up quickly, and at the edge of town.
Billy+Short
Anarkish, is a Green or anti-car, that’s clear in the rubbish they write.
I agree with your great post.
An interesting post that is complete nonsense. Lets look in more detail.
If you read the article, it informs us Brighton and Hove City Council are having discussions with with landowners, large car park operators and other stakeholders and the council hopes to announce where the new scheme will be.
So additional car parks will be in the scheme and one would imagine new bus routes too.
Further subsidy for motorists, seriously, where do you get that from, motorists receive no benefit or subsidies.
Where will the subsidy come from? Again, read the article and educate yourself, it tells you, application to Department for Transport to use funding from our Bus Service Improvement Plan to help it develop the technology necessary for the park and ride to operate. And we also have the profits from parking revenue too.
Earlier in the year it was revealed that existing measures to encourage modal shift are working and fewer people are driving into the city. No such evidence can be provided that existing measures have made an impact on people driving into the city. It’s been proven beyond doubt that cycling numbers have dropped and there is no data that shows visitor numbers are improving. While the data can show that numbers have increased, if you read the small print, it tells us the numbers include some venues that weren’t included before. Also, it tells us they count rooms that are not avalible and unoccupied, that would be Hotels like the Albion etc…
Parking revenue is down due to removal of hundreds of parking bays across the city, extreme increases in prices and difficulties getting in and out of the city forcing people to go elsewhere, the complete opposite to what you claim.
Once again, motorists are not subsidised in any shape or form.
Putting in place various P & R around the city should encourage people not to come into the city and will benefit normal passengers who may want a quicker ride into the city, win win.
Funding to provide P & R no matter where it comes from should be encouraged, and if the car parks are full, great, means they are not coming into the centre, and the scheme hopefully will pay for itself and expand.
A tram route between Hove Lagoon and Brighton Marina would be amazing.
It would also cost an arm and a leg for what would actually be very little benefit.
Seafront road structure is not up for it
Have you ever been to Blackpool, Nottingham, or Sheffield? Let’s see if a strategic solution is possible, linked to the rail network, and park-and-ride options near the A27 – A23 rather than being obsessed with buses. If we can dedicate space for cycle lanes, can’t this be reallocated for trams?
A proper park & ride system requires a purpose built large car parking area on the outskirts of a town or city where a one off fee to park AND ride into the centre of said town or city is paid. It also requires a dedicated 5 to 10 minute frequency non-stop bus shuttle there and back. This plan has absolutely nothing in it to suggest that is what’s going to happen.
The current suggestion is a half baked load of rubbish where you park your car in a car park pay for it, and get on any old bus that happens to be passing at normal fares with everyone else who lives in the area that bus serves.
A complete waste of time and will provide zero benefit to anyone!
Who would get on a regular bus service from P&R to the centre which will add about an hour each way?
Clearly the Council haven’t thought this through. They just want to issue a statement that they’re pretending to do something about P&R. When in reality, they haven’t got a scooby!
Aren’t there signs up in Westdene about the current Park & Ride? Does it not exist then?
I have no real extra interest in this other than to help fight against a woke Council paying lip-service and millions of pounds of residents’ hard-earned cash to expensive uneconomical transport plans with a fake/false/deluded narrative of CLIMATE DISASTER and GLOBAL BOILING!
I’m happy to use my car, taxi, bike & feet, not necessarily in that order but with full confidence that my transport decisions are not destroying the planet, and that these changes will do diddly-squat for any reported greenhouse gas emissions.
The Westdene scheme could be immensely improved as other posters have mentioned.
It’s close to both the A27 and A23, so accessible from every direction. Room to build upwards of extra capacity is needed.
Pricing needs to be figured out. Bus or parking charges. Can’t be both.
Would need a frequent, dedicated service in the summer months. As well as a park to beach bus lane. Preston Circus is a bottleneck, with cars and buses stuck alongside each other, which negates any time saving. If one lane was made a dedicated bus lane during peak times, that would be a huge incentive to park up and take the bus.
bus lanes?
they generate far more rage that cycle lanes do!
Check the councils own data https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/parking-and-travel/counting-traffic-brighton-hove
Every year since the pandemic ended has seen cycling reduce, and shows a, dramatic drop off in the winter months when the “fair weather” riders return to their nice warm cars.
Nationally the bubble has burst with cycle shops closing faster than other retailers.
And the weather hasn’t got any better to encourage cycling, even among those able to do so. Bicycles are not an inclusive or practical transport solution for the vast majority. And the e-bikes are an environmental joke reliant on lithium batteries.
Bricycles say putting in more cycle lanes reduces congestion and lowers pollution!
Would be interested to see any data that supports their biased beliefs.
The OSR temporary cycle lane extension pushed through by the Green-Labour coalition during the pandemic showed clearly how badly designed ones just cause unnecessary congestion and increase emissions.
And remember Green Councillor Pete West’s fiasco with the Aquarium > West Street cycle lane had to be removed after it caused gridlock in the town centre.
Standby for VG3 where all the predictions (except for Bricycles) are for another disaster.
Vespasian
Evidence tells us the opposite…
Another Emperor’s new clothes promise. Existing car parks are not new and are extortionate and inaccessible enough to put most visitors off already.
Remember this is the party that gave us the i360. So don’t expect much then you can’t be disappointed.