Free first week on offer as new 1,000-space Temple Green park and ride service gets set to start

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY WEST YORKSHIRE COMBINED AUTHORITY AND LEEDS CITY COUNCIL

Leeds’ new, 1,000-space Temple Green Park and Ride, just off Junction 45 of the M1 motorway opens on Monday (19 June).

Located next to the A63 at the heart of Leeds’ Gateway45 Enterprise Zone, Temple Green Park & Ride will provide commuters with a 15-minute bus link to the city centre, running every 10 to 15 minutes.

Tickets will cost as little as £2.70 per day and up to three children travel free with every fare-paying adult.

But for the first week, from Monday 19 to Saturday 24 June, people can try out the service for free.

They simply need to park and get on board the modern, free Wi-Fi equipped, low-emission First West Yorkshire bus that will be waiting to whisk them to the city centre’s Boar Lane stop. Buses back to Temple Green leave from the same stop.

Weekdays, services will run between 6am and 9pm and on Saturdays from 7am to 7pm.

Temple Green Park and Ride has been developed after the huge success of the Elland Road facility, which opened in 2014. West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Council have already doubled the capacity of the Elland Road Park and Ride to around 800 spaces, due to its popularity. And this week the opening hours were also extended.

Like Elland Road Park and Ride, Temple Green will have indoor heated and staffed passenger facilities which include toilets, a baby changing area and ticket machines. And as well as disabled parking spaces, there is also cycle and motorcycle parking and electric vehicle spaces with free charging points.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:

“We are delighted to see this new park and ride service open at Temple Green, adding to the fantastic success of Elland Road and offering people in east Leeds the same increased choice in terms of travel options to get to and from the city centre each day.

“Park and ride and improved bus services are a key element of our transport strategy for the city, taking cars out of the city centre and helping to reduce emissions and improve air quality which is vitally important.

“We are pleased to be working with our partners at West Yorkshire Combined Authority and First West Yorkshire in delivering this new service, and look forward to seeing it being well used in the weeks, months and years to come.”

Councillor Keith Wakefield, Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, said:

“Temple Green Park and Ride is the second major West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund scheme to be completed, following on from the opening of the Wakefield Eastern Relief Road in May.

“The Combined Authority established the £1bn Transport Fund projects to support economic growth and the creation of new jobs and providing links between Leeds city centre and the Gateway45 Enterprise Zone, Temple Green Park & Ride has been designed do just that.

“I am confident that these new services will prove popular with people approaching Leeds on the M1 and from the east of the city.”

Will Pearson, Operations Director at First West Yorkshire, said:

“Following on from the success of Elland Road Park & Ride, we’re pleased to be the official operators for the new Temple Green Park & Ride site.

“As one of the major bus operators in Leeds, we remain committed to working in partnership with Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to provide reliable bus services and encouraging even more people to travel by bus, and we look forward to welcoming customers on board this summer.”

ends

Issued by West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Contact Martin Driver at 0113 251 7214 or 07818 04 14 63.

Notes to editors

Details:

• Temple Green park and ride is located at is situated adjacent to the A63 Pontefract Lane close to junction 45 of the M1. Postcode: LS9 0PU
• Services will run:
  • every 15 minutes from 6am-7am, Monday to Friday.
  • every 10 minutes from 7am-7pm, Monday to Saturday.
• Buses run every 10-15 minutes.
• £3 Day ticket or £2.70 when people buy five or more on a smartcard.
• 15-minute journey into the city from Temple Green.
• Up to three children travel free with every fare-paying adult.
• Staffed, heated waiting facility with toilets / baby changing area and ticket machines.
• Free Wi-Fi on all buses.
• 1,000 spaces, safe, secure, well-lit parking and CCTV.
• Disabled, cycle and motorcycle spaces.
• Electric vehicle spaces with free charging points.

For more information visit www.iparkandride.com

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is the driving force for economic growth across the Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield districts, the City of York and the wider Leeds City Region.

Uniquely, West Yorkshire Combined Authority includes the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), bringing key decision-makers together into a single body delivering enhanced economic growth for West Yorkshire and Leeds City Region.

At £64.6bn the Leeds City Region’s is already the largest city region economy outside London and the largest in the north. The Leeds City Region Strategic Economic Plan aims to deliver 35,700 additional net jobs and £3.7bn additional economic output (above and beyond business-as-usual growth) by 2036, unlocking the Leeds City Region’s full economic potential and making it the low-carbon ‘growth engine’ for the North.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is using its £1bn Transport Fund Programme to improve access to jobs and leisure, making the City Region a better place to live and work.

www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk

Gateway45 Leeds incorporates Leeds City Council’s newest park and ride transport hub, connecting the scheme effortlessly to the city’s available workforce.

More information at www.gateway45leeds.com/