The York Park and Ride says it has been given an overwhelming vote of confidence by customers.

In the latest survey of users, nine out of 10 (93%) said they are satisfied with the service and with journey times into the city.

The average journey times for trips between each P&R site and the first city centre stop are:

  • Poppleton – Clifford Street: 20 minutes
  • Rawcliffe – Theatre Royal/Museum Street: 20 minutes
  • Monk’s Cross – Stonebow: 9 minutes
  • Grimston Bar – Piccadilly: 17 minutes
  • Designer Outlet – Clifford Street: 16 minutes
  • Askham Bar – Tower Street: 18 minutes

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Cleanliness of buses and willingness to recommend the service scored even more highly, with 96% agreeing buses are ‘clean and tidy’ and 95% confirming they would encourage others to use Park and Ride.

The York Park and Ride is operated by First Bus in partnership with City of York Council.

It carried 4 million passengers in 2023 and First Bus says it is the UK’s biggest all-electric Park and Ride bus network.

Kayleigh Ingham, Commercial Director of First Bus in North & West Yorkshire, said: “These are stellar results and recognise the effort our team makes every day to deliver reliable journeys, and the investment we continue to make in the network.

“We work closely with City of York Council’s transport team to review frequencies, fares and other improvements. It is clear from these results that customers are loving the bus and we will do all we can to keep their appreciation and win over new users.”

The survey, carried out in March and April, also revealed almost 90% of people were satisfied with the reliability of service and that the Park and Ride is cheaper than using car parking in the city.

Cllr Kate Ravilious, Executive Member of Transport at City of York Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see such strong support for our Park and Ride service. We’ll continue working with First Bus to make Park and Ride an even better option for residents and visitors alike.

“We’ll also be working with the Mayoral Combined Authority to link the Park and Ride service to travel across the region, and we’ll be designing our Movement & Place Plan to help buses bypass traffic congestion, making them the smooth, clean and reliable option for travel in and out of York.”

More than a third (35%) of non-users said the fact that the network is fully zero emission buses could influence their travel habits in future.

Kayleigh added: “Together with the council we are looking at ways to convince infrequent users and car drivers to consider using the service more often.”

“We firmly believe there is good opportunity to grow our commuter customers and encourage more people to think of leaving their car on the outskirts of the city. In doing so, this helps reduce carbon emissions in the city and create a better environment for everyone.”