Portsmouth's Park & Ride reaches its one millionth customer

Portsmouth's Park & Ride celebrated its one millionth customer on Monday 8 October.

Travelling from West Sussex with her husband, Joanne was surprised and delighted to receive the news that she was the one millionth person to use the Park and Ride service since it launched in April 2014.

In recognition of the milestone, Joanne was the lucky winner of passes to Portsmouth's best attractions: The D-Day Story, the Historic Dockyard and the Emirates Spinnaker Tower. Joanne also receives a Park & Ride smartcard to use over the next two years, so she can continue to travel into the city with ease.

Joanne said. "We have been using the Park & Ride since our friends recommended it to us. We used to drive to the seafront and park in the D-Day car park, but now we always use the Park & Ride because it is so much easier and cheaper than driving into the city."

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth's Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transport, said. "I am thrilled we have reached one million Park & Ride customers. There is a real appetite for the Park & Ride in Portsmouth, especially at weekends and during the holidays when we welcome a high number of visitors to the city. In our fourth year we have launched a new university service, and we look forward to continuing to develop this much-needed service."

The first Park and Ride bus departed the M275 terminal on Saturday 5 April 2014 and during its opening week welcomed more than 7,000 customers.  On average the service sees 4,500 passengers a week and 18,500 a month.  August 2018 was the busiest month to date with 40,000 passengers choosing Park and Ride to travel in to the city.

Conveniently located on the M275 entrance to the city, the Park and Ride is open seven days a week, 363 days a year, with stops for Portsmouth International Port, Charles Dickens Birthplace, the city centre, and The Hard for the Historic Dockyard and Gunwharf Quays. A new PR2 route was launched in September, which runs every 30 minutes and serves the city centre, Guildhall Square and university buildings. 

By parking their cars in the car park and using the Park & Ride bus to travel into the city, passengers have helped save over 1,000 metric tonnes of CO2 and almost three million vehicle miles: that's equivalent to six trips to the moon and back!

For more information on the service visit www.parkandride.portsmouth.gov.uk