THE Infrastructure Minister has vowed to continue work on a park-and-ride trial scheme after revealing that just 26 permits have been granted since the launch.
Andy Jehan said that many of the permits, which allow users to park at the Airport playing field free of charge and take the bus into town, were not being regularly used by commuters.
They were instead being used on an “ad hoc” basis outside of rush hour, he said.
The pilot initiative began operating out of the playing field car park near Les Quennevais School last month in an effort to cut congestion at peak travel times.
The site was chosen following discussions with the Jersey in Transition environmental group, which initially suggested the trial.
Park-and-ride schemes have proved popular throughout the UK and Europe, enabling commuters to park on the outskirts of a town or city and travel into the centre by bus or another form of sustainable transport.
Mr Jehan previously said he expected a low uptake at first, a prediction which has proved true.
Speaking to the JEP this week, he said: “We’ve issued around 26 permits so far, and we’ve just printed a few more off. I didn’t set a limit to the number we can issue.
“The permits have been well received. However, in terms of success, we’re seeing only a few people have been using them. The car park is not full every day.
“And from our little intelligence, it doesn’t appear to be commuters who are using it. It tends to be people going later in the day, and on a more ad hoc basis. The problem is that it’s available to everyone.”
Mr Jehan continued: “We’re keen to see it work and consider other areas that might be suitable. What we want to do is try to find a couple of suitable alternative areas, where it’s not going to impact on existing activity and where there is a good-frequency bus to make it attractive.”
Mr Jehan further said that efforts had recently been made to publicise the scheme, including featuring it in the parish magazine and Rural magazine.
“I think there’s merit in pursuing this initiative,” he said. “It’s only been several weeks, so let’s give it time. There remains a significant financial saving in terms of bus fares against parking fees each day.”
Jersey in Transition chair Nigel Jones previously said he hoped to see the scheme replicated in other parishes should the trial prove successful.
