Free travel from Arle Court Park and Ride until the New Year

The county council is helping shoppers travel more sustainably this Christmas with free Park and Ride from Arle Court into Cheltenham until the New Year.

Gloucestershire County Council is wishing passengers a Happy Christmas with the gift of free travel.

It is hoped that this offer will encourage residents to try the newly re-contracted service whilst also thanking regular users for their patience during the disruption caused by the construction work at the site as part of the £20 million Arle Court Transport Hub and the uncertainty they faced when Stagecoach cancelled this service. Fortunately, the county council was able to procure a new provider, Bennetts Coaches, who are now operating the Park and Ride. The urgent need for the new service resulted in a short term ticketing issue which the county council has decided to take advantage of as a way of encouraging people to reduce traffic into Cheltenham and to support the local economy. While the problem could be resolved sooner, the county council has decided that the free travel offer will remain in place until 2 January 2023 with regular fares restarting from 3 January 2023.

Cllr Philip Robinson, cabinet member with responsibility for buses, said: “Gloucestershire’s bus users have had a challenging few months, which makes this good news all the more welcome. We want to say thank you to our loyal Park and Ride users as well as encourage others to try it out for the first time while they do their Christmas shopping.

“We hope that the free Park and Ride helps encourage people to travel more sustainably where possible and to shop locally this Christmas season. Merry Christmas from all of us here at Gloucestershire County Council.”

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk