Park and Ride for free to boost city centre businesses
Shoppers and visitors alike will be able to make use of our Park and Ride service at all three sites for free this Sunday.
You will be able to take advantage of our new fleet of double deckers too from 10am to 5pm and all of the benefits they bring including:
- individual charging points
- next-stop information
- improved seating and heating
- quieter semi-electric smart hybrid engines
- free Wi-Fi
It normally costs £4 to park in Park and Ride at either New Dover Road, Sturry Road or Wincheap, for the whole day and allows up to six people to jump on one of our high-frequency buses into the city centre and back again.
Richard Moore, Canterbury City Council’s Head of Transport and Environment, said: “As restrictions ease and the city centre springs back to life, this is a fantastic way to showcase our Park and Ride service while offering a boost to the businesses that trade there.
“Persuading more and more people to use the service cuts congestion and helps to improve air quality too.
“While this decision affects the boot fair which is usually held at the Wincheap site on a Sunday, no long-term decisions have been made about its future.”
Free parking at the council’s Park and Ride sites is just one of a range of district-wide discounts and incentives being devised by the city council in conjunction with the team at the Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID) and representatives of traders in Herne Bay and Whitstable.
Lisa Carlson, Chief Executive at the BID, said: “It is no secret the businesses we represent would prefer parking discounts all-year round but we recognise the challenges the council is facing as it tries to balance its books and at the same time continue to deliver vital frontline services.
“We’ve welcomed sitting down and working together to find ways to make the £50,000 budgeted for the discount scheme give a boost to businesses in the most effective way as the roots of a post-pandemic retail recovery take hold.”
Published: 14 April 2021