Actually the Cairnshill park-and-ride in Belfast, Northern Ireland has proven that this is not necessarily true.
According to roadsni.gov.uk, the road service website for the Northern Ireland government, The Cairnshill park-and-ride “will provide over 700 car parking spaces along with a terminal building ... The site will be served by a dedicated bus service operating to and from the city centre ... The scheme is an important element of the Department's commitment to promote more sustainable travel, by offering commuters on this corridor an attractive alternative to using the private car for their journey into the city centre.”
The Belfast Telegraph reports however that the facility is virtually empty. On July 29, the day the facility opened, Transport Minister Conor Murphy encouraged local residents to use the £7.9 million project as a park-and-share facility, rather than a park-and-ride, because dedicated bus service was not secured.
Currently, two stops are made per day by Translink, a local bus service provider. Translink says there are up to ten passing bus services per hour at peak times with bus stops located within a 5 minute walk from the car park.
But the Belfast Telegraph reports that currently very few are using the lot for any reason. In fact, Belfast Media reported in September that the car park is mostly used as a skateboard park by local youths.
The Department for Regional Development (DRD) is working on finding a bus company to operate service from the car park to the city centre.
This seems to be a case of a very expensive cart being placed before the horse.
SDLP Regional Development Spokesperson Conall McDevitt says, “DRD has invested £8million in this facility. What the commuter is being offered today is a car park and a five minute walk to the nearest bus stop. That is just not good enough. Minister Murphy must make the completion of the full park and ride scheme an urgent priority.”
Pete Goldin
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