Portway park and ride explained

Portway Park and Ride
Address:Shirehampton, Bristol
Country:England
Coordinates:51.4908°N -2.6891°W
Operator:Bristol City Council
Bus Routes:1
Bus Stands:1
Bus Operators:Stagecoach West
Connections:Rail
Parking:830 spaces
Accessible:Ramp Access
Opened:April 2002 (bus)
August 2023 (rail)

The Portway park and ride site is on the A4 Portway at Shirehampton, to the north-west of Bristol, England, close to junction 18 of the M5 motorway.

History

The site opened in April 2002 with 300 car parking spaces as part of the Bristol park & ride network. There had been considerable opposition from local residents.[1] The site was expanded in 2008 to provide 830 car parking spaces, to coincide with the opening of the Cabot Circus shopping mall in Broadmead.[2]

Services were operated by First West of England until CT Plus took over in April 2012.[3] First resumed operating the services in September 2016.[4] In March 2023, First Bus handed the route over to Stagecoach West, who rebranded the service as route 9, which now runs beyond the city centre to Brislington Park and Ride.

Buses

The site opens at 6:00am with the first bus leaving at 6:15am Monday to Saturday. On Sunday, the site opens at 9:00am with the first bus leaving at 9:30am. The last bus leaves Bristol city centre at 8:57pm Monday to Saturday and 6:19pm on Sunday. The site closes at 9:30pm.[5] [6] The service operates a 12-minute frequency during peak times Monday to Friday, with a 15-minute frequency throughout the day. It also runs up to every 15minutes on Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays.

The site also serves Ashton Gate stadium during Bristol Rugby and Bristol City home fixtures. The AG1 service operates for both 3:00pm and 7:45pm fixtures of both clubs.

Railway

See main article: article.

The Severn Beach railway line runs adjacent to the site. In 2009, proposals were made for a station to be built to serve the site, on land which had already been set aside.[7] The station was allocated £2.2million in June 2017 from the Local Growth Fund, via the West of England local enterprise partnership,[8] and at that time completion was expected in 2019.[9] Spending of £1.5million was later moved to the 2021–22 year.[10] After multiple delays, the station was opened on 1 August 2023.[11] [12]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: £2m park-and-ride opens . Staff . . 15 April 2002. . 10 July 2011.
  2. Web site: Bristol park-and-ride sites beefed up for Cabot Circus traffic . Staff . This Is Bristol . 23 September 2008 . Bristol News and Media Ltd. 10 July 2011.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20220106184812/http://hctgroup.org/1172/CT+Plus+takes+over+Route+902%2C+Bristol+Park+and+Ride++/about_us/hct_group_news?page=13 CT Plus takes over Route 902, Bristol Park and Ride
  4. New Enviro400 variant for First Buses issue 740 November 2016 page 12
  5. Web site: Travelwest . Portway Park & Ride . 1 July 2023.
  6. Web site: Stagecoach Bus. Park and Ride service 9. 1 July 2023.
  7. Web site: Railway station could be built at Portway park and ride. Evening Post. Northcliffe Media. 13 January 2009. 14 April 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100109133326/http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Railway-station-built-Portway-park-ride/article-610200-detail/article.html. 9 January 2010. dmy-all.
  8. Web site: Funding Boost for West of England Transport Projects. 28 June 2017. West of England Combined Authority. 28 June 2017.
  9. News: Portway Park and Ride train station set to open in 2019 as work starts. 16 August 2017. 15 August 2017. Bristol Post. Local World.
  10. Web site: 4 December 2020. Joint meeting - West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee. 14 July 2021. West of England Combined Authority. 73.
  11. News: Bristol's new train station at Portway Park and Ride confirms opening date. 26 July 2023. Bristol Post. Local World.
  12. News: Portway Park & Ride – Britain's NEWEST Station is Open!. 1 August 2023. Geoff Marshall.