Transport Minister Eddie Noel has spoken to St Peter Constable John Refault and Deputy Kristina Moore about trialling a scheme that would allow those working in the west of the Island to drive to a central point in the parish before getting a bus to town, with the Airport thought to be the most likely location for such a site.
Park-and-ride schemes in the UK are most commonly used in historical towns or cities to ease congestion on narrow streets.
The first UK park-and-ride scheme was introduced in Oxford in 1973.
Ten years ago, there were 92 such schemes across England which were used by thousands of commuters.
During a quarterly Scrutiny Panel hearing this week, Deputy Noel said that a park-and-ride scheme, which is still in the early stages of discussion, may help ease town congestion and could form part of the Sustainable Transport Policy, which seeks to reduce the number of people using their cars to commute.
The minister added that a similar system was trialled a few years ago, when LibertyBus offered more bus journeys in the morning and evening from Les Fontaines car park in St John, but that it was not particularly successful.
Deputy Moore said that she would welcome such a move and that she was hoping to continue discussions with Deputy Noel to get the scheme up and running.
‘I think it is a really good idea and the Airport would be an obvious starting point. We have a good bus service from there and lots of car park space so it would make sense.
‘It could be efficient for people living in the west of the Island in terms of getting to town. Rather than having to find a parking space, they would be able to walk to work from the bus station.
‘To make a difference to traffic we would need a considerable amount of people to use it, so we have to explore whether incentives can be put in place for those travelling by bus.’
