Partnership boost for Oxford park and rides
Parking and riding in Oxford became even easier from 1 September when all five city sites come under one management arrangement.
Oxford City Council took over the operational management – through its trading arm Oxford Direct Services - of Oxfordshire County Council’s Thornhill and Oxford Parkway (formerly Water Eaton) park and ride sites.
Previously the City Council ran three park and rides at Redbridge, Seacourt and Pear Tree. The County Council was responsible for running Thornhill and Oxford Parkway.
Making better parking more attractive
Drivers will now notice that all five sites will have ticket machines supplied by the same manufacturer for paying on the day. It will make it easy for them to use any of the five sites and pay in much the same way regardless of the site they choose. The cashless system RingGo was also introduced in August to all the park and rides to offer more ways of payment to the users.
Oxford Direct Service’s Streetscene team are now responsible for cleaning the public buildings and will do so twice a day. In addition, the park and rides will be litter picked three times a week.
More flexible season ticket options
Earlier this year the County Council introduced new lower season ticket prices at Thornhill and Oxford Parkway park and ride sites with the new tickets being valid at all park and rides. The result has been not only a better deal, but also a more flexible scheme for season ticket holders.
Revenue from Thornhill and Oxford Parkway will still go to the County Council.
One service with a focus on reducing congestion
The two councils will be working together to ensure that the sites contribute to reducing congestion in the city by continuing to be an attractive option for people visiting and working in Oxford.
County Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Environment, said: “Traffic, congestion and parking are big issues for Oxford. By working together with the City Council we believe we can provide a better service for users and attract more people to the park and ride sites.
"There are also savings and efficiencies for the County Council, which will allow us to continue to focus on reducing congestion and improving air quality in the thriving city of Oxford and beyond.
“We will continue to focus on the park and rides and seek improvements wherever possible.”
Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Oxford City Council’s Cabinet member for Planning and Sustainable Transport, said: “Bringing all Oxford’s park and rides together under single management means that the service will be easier for customers to use and more efficient for the councils to run. Season tickets will now work on every site, meaning that users can pick whatever car park suits them best, making it even easier and more convenient to use the park and rides instead of driving into the city.”
Simon Howick, Managing Director of Oxford Direct Services, said: "This initiative will create a single, uniform, park and ride service across the city, making the facilities easier to use and more attractive to visitors to Oxford.
“This change to the way the locations are operated aims to further reduce the number of vehicles that need to come into Oxford and so help reduce vehicle emissions in the city centre."
Using the new machines
All the new machines will take contactless payments. The user needs to enter their full registration number and then proceed to make payment to get a ticket. Payment must be made within ten minutes of arrival.
Anyone experiencing problems or needing can contact the Oxford Direct Services car park office on 01865 252489. This number will be displayed on the notices at the point of payment.
Parking season tickets, which for many users can represent the best value for many users, can be purchased via https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20159/park_and_ride
Full details of the park and ride site is available at www.oxford.gov.uk/parking