Growing demand sees Leeds' Elland Road park and ride services extended

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

Scheduled Sunday services from Elland Road Park and Ride start at 10.15am this Sunday, 18 June, as part of extended operating hours at the facility.

In a further move to meet growing demand, Elland Road Park and Ride services are going to start earlier and continue later on weekdays. And as a result of the service’s popularity with shoppers as well as commuters, Sunday services are being introduced.

From Monday 19 June, weekday services will start an hour earlier, at 6am, continuing through until 9pm, two hours later than the current end of service. On Sundays, Park and Ride buses will run between 10.15am and 5.40pm. 

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:

“When we asked them, the people of Leeds told us they want to see better services and infrastructure, more capacity and closer working between local authorities, bus operators and other partners, and we are determined to deliver a transformed public transport network that meets those aspirations.

“As by far the most popular method of local public transport, buses and park and ride have a major role to play in the Leeds’ future.

“Elland Road has been a huge success, the new, 1,000-space Temple Green Park and Ride opens on Monday and looking further ahead, more park and ride sites are planned at Stourton and north Leeds.”

West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Chair Cllr Keith Wakefield said:

“Due to its popularity with motorists, we have already doubled the size of Elland Road Park and Ride to around 800 spaces and in December we opened the new passenger facility. Now we are extending the hours of the service as well to meet demand and introducing Sunday services, which proved a hit with shoppers when we trialled them in the run up to Christmas.

“People travelling to Leeds from along the M62 corridor, from Huddersfield, Bradford and Halifax and even from as far afield as Manchester are using the Park and Ride to save themselves the cost and hassle of parking in Leeds city centre.

“In turn this is benefitting the local economy and fittingly in the week of Clean Air Day, it’s also improving the local environment by reducing congestion and pollution on city centre streets.”

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

“This is great news for our customers and a clear indication of the popularity for more Park & Ride sites in Leeds. We’re proud to be the official operator for the scheme, working in partnership with the Combined Authority and Leeds City Council, and look forward to welcoming more customers on board the buses, as we continue to deliver fast, frequent and great value services, directly into Leeds City Centre.”

Details of Park and Ride services at Elland Road and Temple Green are at www.iparkandride.com

Monday 19 June also sees the opening of the new Temple Green Park and Ride, which will take the number of park and ride spaces in West Yorkshire to approaching over 4,500 including rail stations.

Through its West Yorkshire Plus Transport Plan, West Yorkshire Combined Authority is adding 53 additional park and ride spaces at South Elmsall rail station, bringing the total to 111and investigating the potential use of land adjacent to over 40 local stations for additional park and ride spaces.

A link to details of local stations and their facilities can be found at www.wymetro.com/TrainTravel.

Further plans to create additional parking at Fitzwilliam, Hebden Bridge, Knottingley, Mirfield, Mytholmroyd, Normanton, Shipley, Silsden and Steeton stations will be progressed later this year.

ends

Issued by West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Contact Martin Driver on 0113 2517 214 or 07818 04 14 63. 

Notes to Editors

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