P&R sites to cut congestion this summer

Stagecoach East Scotland have reported a higher number of passengers travelling to and from Glasgow since the frequency increase at the beginning of this month.

The company increased the number of journeys operating between Fife and Glasgow on 5 June and has already seen a 4% increase in passengers making use of the new 15 minute frequency.

Stagecoach have confirmed that over 1000 cars were parked at Halbeath P&R on Saturday (17 June), and the good weather over the weekend had a positive effect on the number of people travelling to both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The company have also reported a 34% increase year on year in passenger use of the route to Edinburgh Airport, JET747, since more journeys were introduced to the route in April. With the JET747 bus to Edinburgh Airport calling at Halbeath and Ferrytoll P&R sites and providing the only direct public transport link from Fife to the airport, customers can leave their car at the sites for free and travel, hassle free on the JET747.

The concourse at Ferrytoll P&R was recently extended as part of the ongoing works in the area, providing increased space for vehicles using the site, which will prevent congestion and make it easier for customers to see their bus approaching.

Douglas Robertson, Commercial Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: "The extension of the bus turning circle and access arrangements made recently to Ferrytoll P&R have greatly improved the flow of traffic in the area.

"As the summer holidays approach and we expect increased traffic on our roads, particularly during events such as the Royal Highland Show and the Edinburgh Festival, it's the ideal time to leave the car behind, benefit from bus lanes, easy journey connections and relax on our frequent bus and coach services. We've already noticed a 5% increase in passenger numbers using our express services to Edinburgh, all of which stop at Ferrytoll P&R.

JET747 currently operates up to every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day and operates from Halbeath P&R, Inverkeithing rail station and Ferrytoll P&R to Edinburgh Airport. The bus stance is directly outside the terminal building and connections from many other bus and coach routes are available at the P&R sites, with through ticketing also available.

The restriction to park at Ferrytoll P&R for no more than 7 days at a time has now been lifted following the renovation of the site and Stagecoach are keen to encourage customers to continue to use the site to prevent any potential overcrowding at Halbeath.

Douglas continued: "Lifting the 7 day parking restriction at Ferrytoll P&R will make it even easier for customers to plan transport for their summer holiday travel - it's easy and secure to leave the car in the multi-storey car park during their trip."

The Express City Connect network, operated by Stagecoach East Scotland, recently won the Gold award for Top Express Operation at the UK Coach Awards, for the third year running. All services travelling from Fife to Edinburgh currently stop at Ferrytoll P&R, providing a journey up to every 5 minutes in peak times, and every 10 minutes throughout most of the day.

Timetables for the new Express City Connect routes are available to download at stagecoachbus.com and customers can download the StagecoachBus app to plan a journey, view live bus arrivals, see updates and buy mobile tickets.