More buses as park and ride extended

Ellen Knight
BBC News, West Midlands
BBC A light purple bus, with 'arriva' and 'Shropshire Council' written on it in white writing. It's driving along a road with a red brick house visible on the other side of the street. The sky is bright blue and there's strong sunshine. BBC
Buses currently run every 20 minutes, but at peak times it will be every 12 minutes

Shrewsbury's park and ride service is being extended to have buses run more frequently.

From Saturday 28 June, buses into the town centre will set off every 12 minutes at peak times, rather than every 20 minutes.

The changes will be made at all three sites - Harlescott, Meole Brace and Oxon - in an effort to reduce congestion.

Councillor Rob Wilson said it will mean people in Shrewsbury will have a "more reliable service."

Between 08:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday, and between 10:00 and 16:00 on Saturdays, the buses will run every 12 minutes, and every 20 minutes outside of these times.

To make this happen, the council is bringing in four extra buses and drivers to operate all three routes.

The change is being funded from Shropshire Council's allocation of bus improvement funding from the Government.

The local authority said the money "will also be spent on improvements to the three park and ride sites", as well as changes to other bus services around the county.

Rob Wilson, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for transport and economic growth, said it will result in "a better, more reliable service".

"People using park and ride won't have the worry of finding or paying for a parking space," he said, adding that it "will help to keep the town centre free of congestion and unnecessary traffic".

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